Red Deer Reality Rant #9 - All's Well That Ends Well

Hello! It’s the long weekend and a holiday Monday but I am back at it for another edition of Red Deer Reality Rant. Red Deer, as we all know, is situated right in between Calgary and Edmonton with almost equal distance between the two. But all is not equal here in our city, especially in terms of the Battle of Alberta. Yep, I am talking about the infamous rivalry between Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers hockey.

I won’t pick any sides today, this particular blog is to be an unbiased opinion on the matter. But I will rant about the rivalry! We seem to be a divided city when it comes to our teams of choice. A lot of people I find like to lean towards Edmonton, and there seems to be a lot of loyalty in regards to Edmonton’s sports teams, their schools, their amenities and even their culture.

To be fair, Calgary also has some great teams, schools, amenities and culture, but I haven’t met a lot of Calgary fans. Personally, I would just be happy to see Alberta take the Stanley Cup. But a person living in Red Deer can get into a bit of trouble, even a fight, over which city’s sports teams are the best.

Having lived here in Alberta, I have been in my share of scraps. But just as there are rules in hockey, there should be some rules for fighting. It really gets my goat when I hear of some such fights, especially if the level of violence is uncalled for. It’s a game, people! Large dudes chasing a piece of frozen rubber that are being paid very well to do so.

Hockey is a national sport, there is much pride for it in Canada and rightly so. We have some great teams and the general camaraderie is positive and unifies Canadians. Both the Oilers and the Flames have been putting on a great show for their last 3 games together. Also there are many people who don’t usually watch hockey, myself included, who are tuning in for these games.

The stadiums are packed and you can barely hear the announcers over the din of the fans. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement, however I think some fans of both teams need to keep their banter friendly, or just take jeers with a grain of salt. Whichever team you are rooting for, remember that when the fans of the opposite team are just like you. They want their team to win, they are going to gloat and take jibes at the other team when winning, and might be a bit sensitive when their team isn’t doing so great.

All I am saying is that we need to keep the peace, and have some sportsmanship. Leave the fighting to the players on the ice, and enjoy the spectacle. If someone does say something uncalled for, is making a personal attack, or is instigating a fight, keep your cool. Laugh it off and show that your team’s fans have the best spirit in the game!

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