An Edmonton Oilers fan holds a sign before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place in Edmonton on June 21.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
There was a time in my childhood in Edmonton when every kid expected Wayne Gretzky to show up on their street every now and then.
In 1984, my family was living in Tipaskan, an up-and-coming neighborhood in the fast-growing, working-class Mill Woods neighborhood on the city’s south side. This great man, who had just begun winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Oilers, was dating Edmonton singer Vicki Moss, the sister of my next-door neighbor.
This wouldn’t have been an issue if Gretzky hadn’t been dating his then-girlfriend’s family: Their neighbor, Jim Moss, was a hockey fanatic who regularly hosted the Oilers star at his home, sometimes throwing backyard parties in his honor.
All the noise was a great disappointment to my father, who was indifferent to professional sports, preferring turned-down folk music and jazz to the rock anthems playing next door. But my father’s indifference was a perfect sign of his respect for Gretzky’s privacy, and he was never upset about having one of the most famous athletes in the game nearby.
(Around the same time, Vicki and Jim’s brother, the late legendary Joey Moss, was recruited by Gretzky to the team, where he began a decades-long career as a locker room attendant. Joey, who has Down Syndrome, was an inspiration to others with developmental disabilities and was as much a part of the team as the stars.)
One day, I was jumping rope on the sidewalk in front of our house when a young Mr. Gretzky drove up in his sports car. He said, “Hey, I got you some new cereal,” and handed me a box of autographed Pro Stars. My mom and I thanked him, went in the house, and gave it to my dad. “Great, your cereal is free,” my dad said. When the whole family was finally finished, we threw the box away.
Fast forward to today, and it feels like being a kid in Edmonton in the 1980s again. The Oilers’ dynasty days aren’t back, but the team’s recovery from being down 3-0 to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals marks the return of a great Edmonton story. And it’s not just stars like Gretzky and Connor McDavid; it’s the team around them and the enthusiasm of Oilers fans.
Just as I didn’t understand the importance of the Prostar moment, I didn’t realize until later how special that era was. To me, the slogan of Our City of Champions was no joke (the sign at the city limits was removed in 2015 after the City Council deemed the sentiment outdated or embarrassing). Queens We are champions was written specifically for the Oilers. I took it for granted that a mid-sized Canadian prairie city often wins the Stanley Cup.
The nostalgia is apparent in the fan art and costumes, even if some are too young to notice. The old orange-and-blue cars, the helmets, the jumpsuits, the mustaches, the mullets – it’s all 1984. It’s also a nod to the team’s roots, named for the city that was the heart of Canada’s oil industry. It may seem anachronistic to some, but the team is having a moment, too.
Mama Stanley, a now-famous grandmother who dons silver makeup, costumes, a sparkly wig and a homemade Stanley Cup hat to every game, became a fan after watching the Oilers beat the New York Islanders in 1984. “It was so awesome and exciting to be in town. I got Oilers fever,” she told the St. Albert Gazette.
Of course, that era ended in the 1990s. But perhaps more than any other franchise, this team has been supported through its peaks and its lows. And this historic comeback leading up to Game 7 is an inspiration for the city, the province and the country. Even in Calgary, the Oilers’ arch rival and now my home base, there are plenty of people who root for their team from three hours north. (There are plenty of die-hard Flames fans who aren’t. With all due respect.)
All of this may be fleeting, but the parties in Edmonton celebrating the Oilers are always great. My mom and dad are cheering now too.
