AS I SEE IT COLUMN: We’re all Oilers fans now (or at least we should be)

Now that the dream scenario of an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers didn’t happen, it’s more important than ever that Canadian hockey fans from sea to sea to sea put aside whatever negative feelings they have about the Oilers.

As a nation, we need to unite in our support of the lone remaining Canadian team in a sport we love that is owned and operated by Americans who don’t share our love of the game and certainly not its rich history.

There are plenty of reasons not to like the Oilers, especially here in Manitoba.

Many Jets fans have a special animus towards the Oilers because they were our kryptonite during the Dale Hawerchuk era. No matter how good a Jets team we had, the hall of fame Oilers led by Messier and Fuhr and Coffey were simply too good a team. We could never get past them.

Then there’s the idea that they should be disliked for all the Stanley Cups they have already won; that they somehow don’t deserve to win any more of them because the Oilers were so dominate in the 80’s.

I would venture that those (and other) arguments are borne from jealously. The Oilers are disliked in these parts because we are envious of their accomplishments. We wish we had their success but because we don’t, it’s difficult for some of us to cheer for our arch-rivals.

But as the intense 4 Nations tournament proved, things have so dramatically changed on the geopolitical front that hockey has taken on an entirely new significance as a source of national pride.

For starters, there is the current occupant of the White House, a convicted felon who is simultaneously a clown and a monster. There were the “governor” insults directed at our then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. There are all the ongoing illegal tariffs meant to cause great stress and harm to Canadians and our economy.

And then of course there is all that crazy talk of Canada becoming the 51st state.

Put those factors together and Canadians are hurt and angry. Canadians have been the best neighbours, allies, business partners and friends the U.S. could ever dream of having. Our brave soldiers have fought and died supporting U.S. causes. Our economies are intricately entwined.

So when the president started treating us as an enemy and not as a friend, that’s when Canadians banded together. From “Elbows up” defiance to no longer travelling to the U.S., to boycotting U.S. products, America’s mistreatment of our beloved country has bound us together in ways that haven’t been seen since WWII.

Cheering for the Oilers is an easy and important way for Canadians to unite as a nation. A Stanley Cup victory won’t lessen the loss of jobs resulting from tariffs, it won’t bring sanity back to the White House, but it will bring our country together, cheering for a Canadian-based team to bring Lord Stanley’s Cup “home” where it belongs; something that hasn’t happened since 1993 when the Montreal Canadians were the best team in the NHL.

Now is not the time for Canadians to cheer for the Florida Panthers, no matter much you dislike the Oilers.

Now is the time for Canada to band together. Our Jets are done, but we have one Canadian team left that can bring the country an emotional high we literally haven’t felt in decades.

The national pride we felt when Connor McDavid scored to defeat Team USA in the 4 Nations was visceral; it was palpable. Think of the intensity of those games, and they were glorified exhibition games.

The Stanley Cup is a quantum leap from that, which is why those of you who have your reasons for not wanting to cheer for the Oilers, need to put those feelings aside and enthusiastically root for Canada’s only remaining team in the playoffs.

Whether they win or lose is obviously completely out of our control. What is completely in our control is who we cheer for, and all Canadians need to cheer for the Oilers.

It is our civic duty.

Be Canadian. Buy Canadian