If I can preface this, what a wonderful post and its my wish you would post more often.
A few people on here believe it's not the time or place to voice your opinions and think you should have just kept your opinions to yourself. I think they're wrong and believe this is exactly the place to voice your opinions. It's the whole purpose of these boards IMO
. Indeed. If a fanbased messageboard isn't the place to express connected topical thoughts than what is?
In saying that, I disagree with a lot of what you said. It's not that I think you are completely wrong in your opinions. I really didn't feel a need to bring in guys like Shawn Belle and Ryan O'Marra who contributed basically nothing to the arena. I just feel that your views of what Rexall/Northlands/Coliseum/Skyreach represented and what last night was all about differs from how most other Oiler fans see it.
Yes, but to somebody that knows the history intimately, and what an interesting history it is, the ceremony waxed very briefly over the founder Bill Hunter, without which the dream of the Oilers, Rexall, NHL, doesn't exist. So in Essence a Shawn Belle got as much air time as a Bill Hunter. That's plain sad.
While yes, the whole ceremony was for a building that stood as a centerpiece for the city for so many years, it's actually the history and memories created inside the building that made the Arena so special.
Here I disagree. Its the visions and foresight of forefathers to build one of the best arenas in the world at the time in the sleepy backwater called Edmonton that put this city on the map. No less than Wayne Gretzky is unequivocal that he wouldn't have signed here without the Arena. People in the know have long known Badali, his agent was Leaning Winnipegs way and with the way the Jets played the game (euro styled hockey) being a natural fit for Wayne. All of what people think about at Rexall doesn't occur without the visions and hardwork to get the Excellent Coliseum built.
When people think about Rexall they think about the Stanley cups, the broken records, the magical talent that called this building home and even the '06 cup run that brought not only a city, but a whole Country together. Being from Newfoundland I can assure you that there was no place I'd rather be in the world as a game at Rexall Place during that epic run. What better way to celebrate than to invite as many guys that contributed to those memories as possible, save for the Shawn Belle's and Ryan O'Marra's.
Yeah, on the right day I'm as nostalgic as anybody but I know all the stories, read all the books, was here for it all. Its great stuff for people that want to rehash that again and/or are less familiar with it. Still, that stated they glossed over a lot of the history. Thing is they spent more time in ceremony than a Queens Coronation and in so doing so celebrating the team more than the building. In effect the Oilers moved the goal posts. This was advertised as a swansong for Rexall. It became imo another multiple hour love in for the Oilers.
You mentioned how we shouldn't be celebrating these special memories or history anymore because of the organization's recent years of losing and embarrassment, but I think you're missing the point of the ceremony. The celebration was about the good years. The special moments that occurred inside the building. It was about for just one night, forgetting about the losses, forgetting about discontent of the organization and fans and forgetting about whatever changes are about to happen, It was about with each name called during the introductions, bringing back a memory of a time inside this arena that we'd like to go back and relive. It was a night to celebrate the end on an era and to remember all the great moments and for one night, forget about the recent bad ones. It's why guys like Lowe who played a major role in running this team to the ground the last few years received as many cheers as a legend like Fuhr or Coffey.
This is where being from out of town means you may not have the whole story. The Nostalgic ceremonies here have been endless the last dozen or so years. The Oilers have been milking this for seemingly ever. While putting out a losing team for a decade that has missed the playoffs for a record decade. A low point in NHL history and celebrating? After a 5-0 loss on home ice to Calgary?
I guarantee you if this ceremony would have occurred immediately after the Flames game reactions would be unpredictable. The team **** the bed that night and it seems as if one W lets them off the hook because the fanbase is induced down memory lane yet one more time.
I mentioned in an earlier post that being from Newfoundland I've never actually had the privilege of experiencing Rexall Place so maybe I'm out to lunch with my opinions and comments and shouldn't be entitled to such a strong opinion, but I truly believe there's something magical about this arena and organization in general. How else can you explain a kid from "The Rock" surrounded by Leafs and Habs fans becoming so fascinated by a team, City and Stadium that I've never stepped foot in?
A lot of people here have commented that the Oilers org have utilized these trips down memory lane to distract from the terrible entertainment product and team they have actually been providing for decades. Nor does the one outlier cup run in 06 really dispel that. We've had futility here mostly since 1992. 25 seasons of futility with a paltry 3 playoff seasons in all that duration. In essence we're celebrating in context of that.
