Rowdy in Vegas?
By baggedmilk
6 years agoOver at the Edmonton Journal, they posted a scathing letter about Oilers fans getting out of hand in Las Vegas over the weekend. Is it fair to lump all Oilers fans in together on this? Let’s take a look.
After the McBirthday game on Saturday night, Pittsburgh’s own, Amy Cercone, wrote a letter to destroy some Oilers fans, writing them off as heathens from the North. Not only did we allegedly ruin her Saturday night, we are also a bad name for hockey tourism. Is it true? Are Oilers fans really a brand of despicable vermin that are invading Sin City and having too much fun? Let’s get to the letter.
To date, we have enjoyed several games and fans from visiting teams (Here’s to you Winnipeg — we had a blast) and win or lose the atmosphere has been good hockey fun.That changed on Saturday, Jan. 13.
Is it because the Golden Knights lost? I bet it’s because they lost, right? High five!
Imagine our surprise when we arrived to our season-ticket seats to find them occupied by Oilers fans from Edmonton who refused to leave our seats.
Uh… okay. Have you ever been to a ticketed event before? Sometimes people end up in the wrong seats by mistake. It happens. And what does ‘refused to leave’ mean exactly? After showing them your tickets with the correct seat info on them they still wouldn’t move? Seems like something an usher could sort out in a matter of seconds, no? I mean, I was at the Oilers/Predators game back in December and there was a guy that accidentally sat in my seat. I showed him my ticket, he moved. No biggie.
After we finally got into our seats…
FINALLY! Probably took hours. Anyway, I’m sorry for interrupting. Go on.
…our section was barraged with the foulest language we have heard at an NHL game and we’re from Pittsburgh so we know a few foul words.
I really like the “we’re from Pittsburgh” part of this letter. It’s a weird qualifier, but I guess geography makes you an authority on cuss words. I learned something today. Also, what’s a barrage of cuss words? How many are we talking about here? We talkin’ the occasional F-bomb or something closer to Scarface? Also, are we sure they can speak English? I know when I learn anything in another language the first thing I’m going for is the swear words. I’m just spitballin’ here.
When my husband mentioned to the Oilers fan that there were women and children around he was told, in no uncertain words, to — well, I’m sure you get the picture.
Wait, this letter kinda made it seem like all Oilers fans were a problem. To me, it sounds more like there were a couple of dudes that got out of hand and you’re lumping us all in together. That’s the same thing as me saying everyone from Vegas can get you drugs and hookers — it’s unfair and untrue.
The final insults came in the shower of drinks that rained down on us from intoxicated Oilers fans falling down the aisle and from our potty-mouthed “friend” from Edmonton behind us.
Again, this sounds like you had an issue with a small group of people, and generalizing an entire fanbase seems a bit much, no? Not to mention, are you sure that was an Edmonton fan that spilt his beer on you? We’re not really a beer wasting people, and especially not at a hockey game. That’s our environment. Our home. Our sanctuary. And also, why didn’t you help someone that was falling down the stairs? Not very friendly, if you ask me.
Instead of staying for the end of the third period and overtime, we left T-Mobile Arena and promptly gave away our tickets for the upcoming Oilers versus Golden Knights tickets on Feb. 15.
Man, you really took your ball and went home, huh? I mean, I get walking out of something that makes you unhappy. I walked out of that movie Pitch Black because I didn’t know what the hell was going on and Vin Diesel was annoying me. I also almost walked out of Cirque de Soleil because two drunk party bois* kept kicking my seat, but I asked them nicely and they stopped. Maybe you were just confused about the Golden Knights losing at home? It doesn’t happen much, so I get that.
*probably Oilers fans despite their English accents
Hockey tourism is wonderful for Las Vegas and the NHL.
Agreed. I sense there’s a ‘but’ coming here?
Being drunken, belligerent, mean people is not good for anyone.
This I agree with, and I do think that people do need to do a better job of controlling themselves. But to get out of hand in Vegas? That probably never happens. I mean, I definitely didn’t see two guys get into a screaming match and resulting fistfight right in front of the Bellagio when I was in Vegas in September. I also didn’t see about a dozen cops breaking up a fight outside of Pinks at like two in the morning, either. Then again, they were all probably Oilers fans, now that I think of it. *rimshot*
Perhaps they thought this was acceptable behaviour because this is Las Vegas. I assure you it is not. I only hope the next time our teams meet, the game is as well played in the stands as it was on the ice.
I keep repeating myself here but this really seems like you had an issue with a couple of people, and if they were being jackasses then I apologize for them, but lumping us all in together is a lazy narrative. This sounds like a small crew of dickheads, who I’m not defending, ruined your night, and not the thousands of other Oiler fans that were in attendance. I once went to a game in Phoenix where a Coyotes fan kept calling me a “cat” all night for wearing an Oilers jersey, but I don’t assume that the other eight people in that fanbase are also dicks because of him. Do you see what I’m getting at here?
THE WRAP…
For me, I find it weird to throw out a blanket statement about a fanbase, giving your tickets away to a game that is a month in the future, and acting like getting rowdy in Vegas is weird. Odd considering that it was reported that people within the Golden Knights organization were complimentary of the atmosphere created by Oilers fans. So what’s the truth here? Were Oilers fans great or were they unbearable? Either way, I’m still questioning why you bothered writing this letter in the first place. If you’re rattled that some fools were wasted on a Saturday night in Vegas then you’re going to be really bummed when it happens again on a Monday night.
I would definitely bet money on the fact that there were some Oilers fans that got a little weird and ridiculous, but I refuse to believe that everyone wearing an Oilers jersey got out of hand. So on behalf of the dickheads in the group, I will offer my apologies to you for ruining your night, but to come out swinging and suggest that Oilers fans are a nightmare is a massive oversell. Maybe next time you can go and talk to security and let them deal with it — which is kinda their thing — rather than taking the time to find a carrier pidgeon that would carry your letter to the editor. Then again, maybe you folks from Pittsburgh just don’t know how to party.
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