AMA Travel Diaries: The vibes were excellent but the execution was not

Yesterday was a very long day but after making it through our layover in Calgary, Jay, Tyler, and I finally arrived in Vegas with a song in our hearts and a bounce in our step. For the second straight year, our boys are through to the second round and I couldn’t have been more excited to get after it.

After getting settled in our room at the Excalibur — rooms were cheap this weekend for real — we knocked out an episode of Oilersnation Everyday and then Better Lait Than Never before doing a fit change and hitting the strip. The first thing I noticed was the smattering of blue and orange jerseys that were littering the strip. Even though I expected a bunch of us to be coming down for the start of this series, the number of Edmonton fans I saw was incredible — we really do travel well.

Leading up to the game, we made our way to T-Mobile Arena pretty early for a couple of pops outside the rink in this little pre-game zone they had set up outside. There were food trucks, spots for drinks, a DJ, and pretty much everything else you’d expect Vegas to do. Once we got there, the first thing I noticed was how many Edmonton fans were around and how the vibes amongst us were fantastic. There were chants, there were high fives, and there were hundreds of us excited about what was to come. I mean, how could you not be excited to be in Las Vegas to watch your favourite team in pursuit of the Stanley Cup?

Once inside the rink, we took our usual spins around the concourse to hand out stickers and find as many fellow citizens as we could, and as I mentioned before, there were a lot of us in there. One of the fun parts, for me, is seeing how many people recognize Jay and Tyler and want to chat but literally could not care less about who I am because I never appear on camera. Anyway, the point I was getting to here is that there are a bunch of Nation Citizens that came down for the games and we were all in the mood to party.

When we got to our seats, we were actually surrounded by Oilers fans and it made for a really fun atmosphere for us because we were all there for the same thing. And when Leon scored an early power play marker to give the boys the lead, all of us thought that goal was going to be the start of a fantastic night. Unfortunately, that first goal was about as good as it got for the Oily Boyz as most of the team struggled mightily to produce at even strength. Even with four goals from #29, Edmonton just couldn’t outscore their mistakes because the hole they dug for themselves proved to be too deep.

As for us, we’re going to spend the day wandering the strip and catching some sun before checking out the Tournament of Kings back here at the Excalibur. Personally, I am SO excited about this because I’ve always wanted to see one of these shows. When I was younger, A Knight’s Tale was one of my favourite movies and I cannot wait to see the spectacle that is this medieval times style show. I can’t wait for the giant beer, I can’t wait for the giant turkey leg, and I cannot wait to experience something I’ve never done before.

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