A city in ruins

We had the chance to read Brownlee’s uplifting article a few days back and we had another reason to be happy we left town — we are unfamiliar with the locations of suicide stations over here in Europe and so the show had to go on.

And are we glad we chose to soldier on! How the tides have changed! Four straight wins! Lubo on fuego! Fourth line domination! It makes us want to commandeer a flight home and begin preparatory planning for a Stanley Cup riot/parade! You there — order some streamers, illegal Mexican fireworks and disposable cameras to capture all the soon-to-be-bared bosoms. Step lively mind you! The Oil are back!

How apropos that the next stop on the Wanye 2009 World Tour™ hath done brung us to Rome — a city more famous for what it was in the past than what it is today.

People come to Rome largely to look at the old ruins and exclaim in wonder "Wow, this place must have been awesome once upon a time."

Romans — now called Italians, apparently — will try and tell you that it’s still pretty radical, but the only real thing it has that makes it stand out from other big European cities is the ruins of its former glory.

"Remember when Rome used to rule the world?" these ruins seem to suggest. "Well, now the Coliseum looks like hell, there hasn’t been a Caesar in years and the only Roman soldiers you see in the streets are actors that charge two euros to take a novelty picture."

*Picture missing as it wasn’t worth 2 Euros*

We hope to high heaven that the sun hasn’t officially set on the once glorious empire of the Edmonton Oilers. Will tourists one day wander around looking at the remains of RX1 and remembering better days?

"This is where post-season hockey was once played," guides might proclaim pointing to the banners that flutter high in the rusted rafters, as actors dressed as champion Oilers players pose with tourists for a couple bucks a pop.

Mildly depressing thought isn’t it?

Consider this our rousing support for Kay-Z’s proposal to build a new arena. Our words may not carry the same weight as a David Staples endorsement but dammit we are out seeing the world! We have comparable scenarios with which to compare scenarios!

Take a gander at that pic above. Would you want to take your life in your hands and take that staircase to your seats? How is this facility supposed to host sporting matches, rock concerts or other large-scale eventery? Where is Caesar supposed to put on his games to benefit the glory of the Roman Empire? It can’t be in this obsolete pile of bricks and the citizens of Rome have no one to blame but themselves. Would it kill them to brace some of the crumbling sections or slap a coat of paint on this thing? Huh? HUH?

This stadium is in absolute ruin. Broken seats, crumbling aisles and a completely inadequate luxury box count for a facility this size. This is what happens when you don’t build a new facility every generation or so, Nation. Sure, you can get away with it for a few hundred years thinking "Oh, this is sufficient for the time being," but sooner or later team revenues fall, fans become less willing to sit on crumbled bricks instead of plush Corinthian leather seating and all of a sudden BOOM! your empire crumbles to dust and your team can’t win a game to save its life.

For heavens sakes start building a new arena ASAP. Use all the government money you need to Kay-Z, don’t even worry. That’s what a three per cent provincial sales tax is for.

Isn’t that right, super sexy lingerie mannequin that a drunken Wanye mistook for a real woman, only to cross the street only to be bitterly disappointed by?

Totally.