Farewell Old Friend

April 6, 2016. The last time we’ll be watching NHL hockey played at Rexall Place. (Northlands Coliseum, SkyReach Center). In my 30+ years on this earth and as a fan of this team I’ve built some fantastic memories in that building.

I’ve seen wins, I’ve seen losses, I’ve seen exuberance and I’ve seen heartache. When watching my favourite team play I’ve felt a part of it all, like the way I cheer or how I react to said plays might actually have an outcome on the game on the ice.

In Seattle, Seahawks (puke) fans call themselves the 12. Here in Edmonton, at times, the fans have been like that 7th player on the ice, that building has been so loud that I can’t believe they haven’t had to do more roof repairs.

Lately there hasn’t been much to cheer about, but through the years at Rexall there has been plenty. Stanley Cups, NHL records, unlikely playoff wins. That building has really seen it all. I’m going to share with you some of my best memories.

First Game

Not the first game at the Coliseum of course, but my first game. I was young, 5 maybe 6, I don’t remember the year to be exact. My great Aunt and Uncle had season seats and I was lucky enough that they took me to a game when I was down visiting from Fort McMurray.

I got my first taste of Rexall popcorn, my first glimpse of what the ridiculously long wait for the washroom at intermission would be like, but it was also the very first time I was lucky enough to watch Wayne Gretzky et al skate live, right there just a few rows below me.

The Oilers were playing the Toronto Maple Leafs in a regular season game, which shouldn’t really have had much significance to it, but turns out it was the highest scoring game in Oilers history. The Oiler lost that game 11-9. At the time it didn’t really mean all that much to me, but now, imagine a game in which 20 goals were scored, in fact, as far as the Oilers were concerned it would never happen again.

Amazing. Something else stood out for me that night as well; I learned a lesson on sportsmanship, something that would stick with me for the rest of my life.

At some point during the game the Leafs goalie was injured, down and out lying on the ice I cheered, 5 or 6 year old me thought hey, with the starting goalie out the Oilers would have a better chance to win, and that’s all that mattered, right? Wrong. My uncle let me have it, and not crazy yelling, but he reminded me that you never want to see a player hurt, no matter what logo they wore on their chest. When the goalie was help up off the ice (I don’t remember if he stayed in the game or not) all 15,000 or so fans in the building cheered for his quick recovery, I was amazed and it stuck.

My First Concert

This one should give you a laugh. My mother lived in Edmonton and I used to visit frequently. She always had fun things planned for me: Klondike days, Fort Edmonton Park, the circus, Space and Science center.

I’d never been to a big concert and she wanted to surprise me. Mom picked me up that day at the Greyhound station downtown and had this weird smile on her face. She was horrible at surprises, you see.

Anyhow as we drove back to here place I could sense her anticipation and started bugging her about it. It turns out she’d gotten tickets for a concert at Northlands that night; it was none other than the legendary MC Hammer! Well, I could barely contain my excitement.

Jumping up and down as my Hammer pants caught the wind. We went that night and had a great time. I remember rapping along to “Stop Hammer Time” and “2 legit to quit”. It was a great night for sure. Make all the fun of MC Hammer you want, but 12 year old me would do it all again in a heart beat.

Thanks Mom, I miss you.

First NHL Game for Dad

Dad immigrated from England in the late 50’s to Toronto, so naturally the Leafs were his team. He was never a huge hockey fan but knew I enjoyed it so he watched more and more so that we had something we can do together.

When I turned 18 he brought me to a game against the Leafs. If I remember correctly this was his first NHL game and he’d been in Canada for over 40 years. Anyhow I honestly don’t remember the score of this game.

What I do remember is nearly getting into it with a group of Leafs fans sitting behind me. We were yelling and cussing back and forth with each other all game, trying to see who had the biggest…..jersey. I know Dad was plenty embarrased, but after telling me to shut up numerous times he gave up and got into it. At one point the Oilers scored, Dad turns around the the Leafs fans behind us and gives them the double bird. I’ll never forget it.

My old man now watches the games on TV at home when I’m not around. He doesn’t have to, but he’s become a huge Oilers fan.

First Playoffs

My first live playoff game came in the late nineties. A group of people I worked with at the Earls in Fort McMurray travelled down to watch the Oilers in their first round match up with the Colorado Avalanche. I had very little money at the time as I was in college, but the people from work didn’t seem to mind and let me mooch off of them the whole day. Thanks Doug, Neil, Chris and everyone else who bought me a beer that night.

The best part of this game was where our seats were, about 6-7 rows behind the Avs net. The whole section was rowdy that night. Every time the Oilers had a chance on net our section would absolutely give it to Patrick Roy to the point where he was becoming visibly annoyed.

During one stoppage in play Roy placed his mask on the top of his smug head and took a drink of water. Someone in our section yelled at the top of his lungs, “Hey Roy, How’s your wife and my kids?” As I tried to stop that glorious Coliseum beer from shooting out of my nose, Roy turned around and sprayed water into the crowd right by where we were sitting. We were under his skin; mission accomplished.

The Oilers went on to win that series in 7 games before losing the first of 5 straight playoff series’ to the Dallas Stars. Oh how I hated the Stars back then.

2006

Game 6 round 1, Oilers versus Detroit. I’ve never been in an atmosphere like that before, or after, the building was jumping from start to finish. Paul Lorieau and the crowd sang one of if not the best version of O Canada I’ve ever heard. It was electric in there and you could sense what was coming. A premonition of the excitement that was about to engulf not just the city of Edmonton but the whole province.

I did attend the game, but I wasn’t supposed to. You see I worked the night before, in Fort McMurray. A few of us started talking about how cool it would be to head down after night shifts and go to the game. I called my beautiful wife and mentioned that I might head down after work to watch the Oilers and come back first thing the following morning.

She wasn’t all that warm to the idea; in fact I knew that me going wasn’t what she wanted to see happen at all.

We secured our tickets, drove home from work at 6 am, I snuck in to my own house, threw a change of clothes and my jersey in a bag and hit the highway.

Around 10 that morning my cell phone rings. It’s my wife.

“Where are you?!”

“Just past Boyle, why?”

click…..

I went to the game, and enjoyed every second of it. As I left the Coliseum I waited at the door and high fived every single person that walked out until my reddened hand couldn’t take it anymore. I did get in a world of trouble and spent many consecutive days in the doghouse. It isn’t something I would recommend, nor something I’d ever do again, but being at that game made it all worth it.

The Down Years

There hasn’t been a lot to cheer about lately and that’s an understatement. But since 2006 I’ve been able to attend many games with my wife and daughters. I’m glad I got to share experiences with them at such a hallowed barn. My children won’t remember Rexall for the greatness, but they’ll remember it for the good times it provided with their dad. Tomorrow you’ll be silent, but I’ll only remember the glorious noise. Thank you Northlands, SkyReach, Rexall. I’ll miss you very much.

Please share some of your best memories below.

Thanks for reading.