Do they make you wear a jersey if you are sitting in the Lower Bowl in Edmonton?

[2 Minute Minor]

I thought Edmonton fans all started wearing jerseys in the lower bowl a few years ago, in case they needed to throw them on the ice after the game.

 

[patnyrnyg]

There's a local-turned-national sports media guy in Nashville who absolutely despises when people wear jerseys (outside of soccer). Especially player jerseys. He likes to say if you wear another man's name on your back it's like saying you'd give him permission to have sex with your wife.

Extreme take, but although I'm not married, if I was, I don't think the guy on my jersey...Mike Fisher...would be interested.

I would ask him then what is the point of following pro sports at all? Why should men root for and get so emotional over the athletic accomplishments of other men to whom they have no real connection? I think he needs to get over himself.

 

[Oil Gauge]

I thought Edmonton fans all started wearing jerseys in the lower bowl a few years ago, in case they needed to throw them on the ice after the game.

Hence why all the jerseys you see now are fairly new.

if you have one of these its a sign of a decade of misery.

"I survived the Lotteries"

 

[scb23]

We have a winner!

No way 18k people are all spending $180+ on the current jersey.

This is hilarious. No way? This city is crazy about the team. I was at sport chek on a game day last week and there was a line up of about 40 people all buying jerseys. Every store that typically has 100's of jerseys in stock is reloading every few days. You underestimate the fandom in Edmonton. Go for a 5 min drive and I guarantee you'll be able to count 100 Oilers car flags. 18,000 people with jerseys at a game is a drop in the bucket.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Not sure what the LOL is about, its an honest fact. Last year every Oilers season ticket holder got a free Orange jersey.

so everyone in the building is a season ticket holder eh?

 

[Bank Shot]

I thought Edmonton fans all started wearing jerseys in the lower bowl a few years ago, in case they needed to throw them on the ice after the game.

We need one jersey for every cup the Blues haven't won.

 

[zar]

The dude who posted that is from Kansas...


Now, to be fair. Calgary has had a red jersey for forever. It's a culture thing to wear jerseys to games. A person can wear an older jersey from a decade ago and fit in today. Looking at that older picture, you can see older jerseys as well as white Flames away jerseys that some fans are wearing. Fans also borrow jerseys from friends all the time or wear knock offs that blend in perfectly to that "sea". Flames fans have had decades of red jerseys to choose from and many opportunities to acquire discontinued jerseys for cheap (ie: Liquidated prospect jerseys or traded players). Not that anyone berates anyone for not wearing a jersey in the lower bowl or otherwise, but there are many fans who feel more comfortable blending in color wise.

What is I guess worth pointing to and worth giving Edmonton props, is that the orange jersey is newer. Many of those jerseys must have been purchased recently. That's a sign of a healthy hockey fan base. We can either call it Oil money, fandom or culture, but they're all definitely wearing a color that hasn't been common for quite some time.

I don't know enough about what's going on in Edmonton, but in some playoff runs in Calgary, you start seeing people selling knock off jerseys for $30-60 a pop after buying them by the dozen from China. I don't think you'd be able to identify those jerseys easily from a few video frames on TV. In person, you can identify those "things" about 20-30 feet away if you know what you're looking for.

I always say, as much as I despise the Flames, their fanbase is a loyal one... stand by their team through thick and thin... it's the Alberta way.

There are a lot of knock-offs all over the city. I am not a fan of them... many of them are quite bad... but I understand that not everyone can afford to buy an authentic sweater... and some people just choose not to spend the cash.

That's around 14 or 15 thousands jerseys which is a drop in the bucket.

Go to any bar playing the games on game night and 60-70% of the people in the bar are wearing jerseys.

If you live in Edmonton, there is a pretty good chance you own at least one jersey.

This statement is absolutely true... might actually be low-balling at 70%.

I own 4 sweaters myself... many of my friends own more than one.

This also replaced the $100/seat in Oiler Bucks (basically cash credit at the arena) that is given away each year to season ticket holders if they renew their seats before the deadline. As the blank jerseys were retailing for $130 and you get a 20% discount on them with your season seat card, we were basically forced to buy a jersey at $4 cheaper than we could of on our own. That being said, of the handful of people that have come to a playoff game with me, 4 of them bought an Orange jersey for the occasion.

Correct, I forgot about the loss of Oiler bucks.

Truth is... this city has gone nuts, from payoff deprivation from the past decade. The support for this team is amazing.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

You're not a real fanbase until the entire lower bowl is wearing suits. Where's the class Oilers fans?

 

[PensPlz]

I prefer the old days of dressing up in your Sunday best to go to a game.

 

[big ape]

Why did Edmonton switch to the Orange jerseys as their primaries? The blue looked way better. Oh wel, I got a pretty sweet deal on my Blue McDavid jersey (doesn't have the C though, which kinda sucks).

No bro. That's his rookie jersey. It's gold

 

[Lunatik]

I have never seen so many fans wearing a Jersey in my life, literaly like 100% of the fans are wearing an Oilers Jersey

Flames are like that too, even during the regular season.

 

[Lunatik]

Yes Calgary, you're important too.

He's not a Flames fan

The dude who posted that is from Kansas...


Now, to be fair. Calgary has had a red jersey for forever. It's a culture thing to wear jerseys to games. A person can wear an older jersey from a decade ago and fit in today. Looking at that older picture, you can see older jerseys as well as white Flames away jerseys that some fans are wearing. Fans also borrow jerseys from friends all the time or wear knock offs that blend in perfectly to that "sea". Flames fans have had decades of red jerseys to choose from and many opportunities to acquire discontinued jerseys for cheap (ie: Liquidated prospect jerseys or traded players). Not that anyone berates anyone for not wearing a jersey in the lower bowl or otherwise, but there are many fans who feel more comfortable blending in color wise.

What is I guess worth pointing to and worth giving Edmonton props, is that the orange jersey is newer. Many of those jerseys must have been purchased recently. That's a sign of a healthy hockey fan base. We can either call it Oil money, fandom or culture, but they're all definitely wearing a color that hasn't been common for quite some time.

I don't know enough about what's going on in Edmonton, but in some playoff runs in Calgary, you start seeing people selling knock off jerseys for $30-60 a pop after buying them by the dozen from China. I don't think you'd be able to identify those jerseys easily from a few video frames on TV. In person, you can identify those "things" about 20-30 feet away if you know what you're looking for.

Eh, they have a ton of blue jerseys too, the orange shoulders help them blend in

 

[Fourier]

I don't mind them giving jerseys away. I do find it funny that someone criticized fans elsewhere for not wearing them. The poster said real fans wear jerseys not T-shirts. Jerseys cost $200+ while T-shirts cost $20+. When the jersey is free then don't call others phony for not buying an expensive piece of cloth.
I noticed on the replay there was a bunch of #97 jerseys and few other numbers.
I don't wear a jersey and don't want one. My daughter has a Filip Forsberg jersey that she wears but I personally don't like them, mainly because I don't like long sleeves unless it's a suit.

The free jersey give away was last year, for season ticket holders. But had that not happened it would probably have made a very minor difference.

I was at the season opener both this year and last year. There were of course more orange jerseys this year but probably not more people wearing jerseys of any type than there had been in the past few years. I say this because at the 2015-2016 season opener the guy beside me and I joked about being literally the only two people in our whole section that did not have a jersey on. It was freaky.

I now have a jersey by the way which I even wear to games when I am in town. It's basically part of the experience. As strange as it sounds if you don't wear one it feels a little like you are an outsider at a strangers party. This is definitely new to me since I was a season ticket holder through the glory years and cannot remember anyone I know who wore a jersey to the games.

The orange jersey, combined of course with McDavid, has been a marketing boom for the Oilers. From say September 2015 until well into January or February of 2016 you could not find an orange 97 jersey anywhere. Stores would receive shipments unexpectedly and they would sell out almost instantaneously. By late last season, the orange jersey was the most common at games I went to. I like the orange version a lot. It is a throw-back and tribute to the team's history and at the same time it is symbolic of a new era.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

That's what real hockey fans do.

Do they also throw their jerseys on the ice?

 

[patnyrnyg]

I prefer the old days of dressing up in your Sunday best to go to a game.

I am always amazed when I see highlights of old games or when NHL Network shows cup clinchers over the summer and almost everyone is in a coat and tie.

 

[Rass]

I wish we would do that in Montreal; everyone wears the same color shirts. I find it so bad ass seeing the entire crowd wearing the same colors. But they give these ****** little hand towels for playoff games... boooooooooooooring

Agree and disagree. The fan base in Montreal is so large and diversified. Some nights the Bell centre is filled with jerseys, some you see many suits, others there's so many player's tee shirt. One of the place you'll see the most jerseys in the crowd but nothing like Edmonton this year or Calgary in the last decades. It annoys me too that half the crowd wears red and the other half is in white. So long for the intimidating factor. Plus, the red jersey is one of the best in pro sports, as the white...

 

[Csteamer]

No, that's what people who can afford to sit in the lower bowl for a playoff game in a hockey crazed market are able to do.

My only Flyers jerseys are a hand-me-down Lindros home, pre-captaincy, and a forest green Center Ice practice jersey. And I'm realer than taxes about my Flyers hockey, so.

Very sorry to hear that.

 

[SourOil]

He's not a Flames fan

Yes - I addressed this already.

I was just taking the ****, regardless of the posters physical location.

Calgary has a strong base as well. That's what makes the BOA fun.

 

[Bedards Dad]

No, that's what people who can afford to sit in the lower bowl for a playoff game in a hockey crazed market are able to do.

My only Flyers jerseys are a hand-me-down Lindros home, pre-captaincy, and a forest green Center Ice practice jersey. And I'm realer than taxes about my Flyers hockey, so.

I am by no means rich, but $250 for a new Matthews jersey did not break the bank. If that is too rich for your blood there are always cheaper options, a quick Google search will find you plenty for less than $50.

 

[Lunatik]

Yes - I addressed this already.

No you addressed him being from KC, fans can be from anywhere. Taking opportunities to take veiled shots at a team is not what rivalries are about, it is juvenile.

 

[SourOil]

No you addressed him being from KC, fans can be from anywhere. Taking opportunities to take veiled shots at a team is not what rivalries are about, it is juvenile.

Holy sensitive man. Haha. My God.

 

[popo]

Noticed a couple fans not wearing the Orange jerseys, but instead getting creative.
One was wearing a full Dumb-and-Dumber style orange tuxedo.
Another had a blinding flourescent orange fleeze coat on, on top of a jersey.

 

[Rich Nixon]

I am by no means rich, but $250 for a new Matthews jersey did not break the bank. If that is too rich for your blood there are always cheaper options, a quick Google search will find you plenty for less than $50.

That's my car payment and insurance right there, $250. And I ain't broke as I once was, I just got a whole lot more to do with $50 or $250 than buy a cool shirt that I can only wear in a handful of situations.

I ain't knockin' jersey ownership, I'd be happy to have one or two new ones. But I know a ton of diehards, both in Philly and from my years in Pittsburgh, who don't own or feel any obligation to procure a new hockey jersey. We all got a hat or two and a a t shirt and a sweatshirt, and $35 cash now and then to scalp some nosebleeds. I just vehemently reject the notion that there's some "real fan" card you get for shelling out on a jersey. I'm on a train to Maryland for a few days and then a plane to California for a few more. My $15 Flyers hat will be on ny head the whole time, regardless of the fact they didn't even make the dance.

 

[Snakepit]

That's my car payment and insurance right there, $250. And I ain't broke as I once was, I just got a whole lot more to do with $50 or $250 than buy a cool shirt that I can only wear in a handful of situations.

I ain't knockin' jersey ownership, I'd be happy to have one or two new ones. But I know a ton of diehards, both in Philly and from my years in Pittsburgh, who don't own or feel any obligation to procure a new hockey jersey. We all got a hat or two and a a t shirt and a sweatshirt, and $35 cash now and then to scalp some nosebleeds. I just vehemently reject the notion that there's some "real fan" card you get for shelling out on a jersey. I'm on a train to Maryland for a few days and then a plane to California for a few more. My $15 Flyers hat will be on ny head the whole time, regardless of the fact they didn't even make the dance.

I definitely noticed that difference between Canada and the US and not just hockey. Anything more than a hat is considered too much and you get weird looks

 

[Draiken]

Oilers fan chiming in here. My office has a box at Rogers and they gave us a bunch of jerseys but we ended up putting them in an auction for charity because most of us already have jerseys and they only seemed to give out one size, lots of us have multiple different era jerseys. On game days, if you're out in the city anywhere people will be wearing their jerseys to work or for drinks after work, it's just part of the culture here. Most places have ice cream carts driving around selling ice cream... we have Oiler car flag carts.


A lot of places have 'wear your jersey to work' days.