May 19, 1984: an Edmonton Story
Time travel with me for a moment. Let's go to May 19, 1984, in Edmonton. I'm a little boy, and I'm buckled up in the back seat of my parent's light blue Ford Pinto. We are driving home after spending some time at a friend's house. We would have been visiting someone who lived on the river's south side, and our small car would have driven over the old Walterdale bridge that crosses the North Saskatchewan River. The old bridge would make any vehicle rumble and vibrate as it passed over the steel-grated deck. After we made it across, we would have driven uphill on 105th street and eventually made it to Jasper Avenue. There was nothing unusual about this car ride.
It was getting close to my bedtime, and I'm sure I was starting to nod off when I began to notice something was off. When we reached Jasper Avenue, people were walking around the street shouting and screaming. Something didn't feel right to me - and for good reason. A man ran up to our car, banged on our roof, and screamed. Some people started throwing beer bottles up against walls and at windows. Looking out my backseat window, I was starting to get scared. I didn't like the screaming and commotion. We were caught in the early stages of a riot on Jasper Avenue. A riot that would bring over 3000 people into the downtown core of the city.
My Mom picked up on my angst and told my Dad that I was starting to cry. My Dad turned around, looked back at me, and said with a huge smile, "Jordan! We won the Stanley Cup! This is great! Don't worry! This is GREAT! We did it!"
That is where I was May 19, 1984, on Jasper Avenue when our team, The Edmonton Oilers, won our first Stanley Cup. Someone told me recently that the police got the crowd under control, and it didn’t take long before everyone was back to celebrating our team. This memory is also a very small part of the experience of being an Edmontonian during a playoff run. Even as a little kid, the joy of the moment still came through.
I love this years reverse-retro Jersey!
Decades later, we're all getting ready for the 2023 NHL Playoffs. I'm not a hardcore hockey fan, I enjoy watching the games, but more than anything, I love when our city comes together to celebrate. You don't have to be a sports fan to get into the spirit of things. Perfect strangers high-five each other on the street, and businesses will let staff wear Oiler Jerseys to work. For those living in an apartment building downtown, open your windows and listen to city go “yeeaaah” when the team scores a goal. If you're living in Edmonton during this run of the playoffs, let me make the following recommendations.
1) Watch a game or two with Friends. Accept an invitation if someone offers it. If you don't get an invite, create the party and have some friends over.
2) Support a local business. In my humble opinion, the best place to watch an Oilers game is Arcadia Brewing Co in Manchester Square. You'll love sitting in old seats from Northlands Coliseum and taking in the game with a great refreshing pint. Go support this amazing home ground business!
3) Have fun, but be responsible. Let's all be adults and ensure everyone can spend the next few weeks celebrating. Let’s look out for each other!
Alright, Edmonton, Let's go make some new memories! Let's cheer the team to our 6th Stanley Cup. Go Oilers!