At Long Last

CLINCHED!

No more speculation. No more numbers. No more bullsh*t. The Edmonton Oilers have made the playoffs and that is now a fact!

With tonight’s 2-1 win over the LA Kings, the Edmonton Oilers sealed their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs as they reach 93pts on the season. God…it felt good to type that sentence.

For many Oiler fans this is something that has been a decade in the making. For others, it will be their very first taste of playoff action in Edmonton. Anyway you slice it, it guaranteed to be a great time if you’re a fan of the Blue and Orange.

For me, and many others, this is something that I have been waiting for my entire life. As a naive 6-year-old living in the frozen tundra of northern Alberta, hockey seemingly flew over my head for the first few years of my life. As shocking as it may seem, my family just wasn’t obsessed with our national pastime. Then along came the magic that was the 2006 playoff run in Edmonton. This is where it all started with me.

It goes to show you how impactful hockey is in Canadian culture. Even though my family did not follow the sport religiously, they still found it worthwhile to throw a viewing party for Game 7 of the finals. We all knew the heartbreaking conclusion of that year but, it wasn’t without some gain. That was the first hockey game that I had ever watched, and I was absolutely mesmerized. The speed of the game, the tension on every play, the atmosphere of the arena….I fell in love. This was my origin story as an Oiler fan, and I feel like this was as best a post to share it.

I became a fan at the very beginning of the Dark Ages. I got to witness my favourite player, Ryan Smyth, get traded for no good reason and then cry in front of a crowd of people. I watched the team with incredible loyalty and passion as they continued to break my heart year after year. I liked to describe my relationship with the team as an abusive one because no matter how much mental strain they put on me, I never once abandoned them. They taught me some important life lessons about the importance of loyalty and carrying yourself with pride in the worse of situations.

The Edmonton Oilers are apart of who I am. Throughout my elementary school days, I was known as “The kid who likes the Oilers” or the “The crazy Oilers fan” because every day my outfit had the Oilers emblem proudly displayed and I never passed up the opportunity to talk about the team I idolized.

In the best of times and in the worst of times I knew I had the Oilers to offer me some sanctuary. Now at the age of 17, I find myself once again embracing that childhood wonder that I used to carry early on in days of an Oilers fan. It is finally happening…I am going to watch my team play for the Stanley Cup for the first time in my life!

That is my story, and it is far from unique. The great thing about Oil Country is that we all see this team as much more than a team. The Oilers are an extension of the city of Edmonton and the fans that cheer for them. This team connects people to each other, inspires people to do incredible and creative things, and, sure, maybe even incite a fight or two (looking at you Russell!), but in the end we are all cut from the same cloth.

At long last, we can leave behind those dark days. At long last, we can embrace our team. At long last, we get to cheer for our boys into Spring.

Let’s Go Oilers!

Thanks For Reading!

Please share your story in the comments below!

You can find me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM

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