Edmonton is No Good Episode 4: New Rink, Same Stink

[CaptainCrunch]

Or maybe Drai knows that outside of him and McDavid and Talbot this isn't a good team and with no real prospect base even though they've had so many high draft picks, the future ain't so bright.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

In terms of economy they may be number one and two in the world.

I struggle to think of anywhere else that combines such high earning power (Especially in non prestige fields ie. Doctor, Lawyer, Finance), with such cheap housing prices.

As far as things to do/see. Pretty bland.

No, see this is where you're projecting Edmonton onto Calgary.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dash_pinched

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/o...ish-part-ways/

Originally Posted by Mark Spector

"We’re not saying Edmonton is the only team in the National Hockey League that gives us the feeling that a Stanley Cup championship is imminent...

"But find me a landing spot for Draisaitl that has a better chance than Edmonton of putting a ring on his finger. There isn’t one, and the big German is in on the ground floor of this project, and quite possibly could be wearing a letter in that photo, if the Oilers ever do gather around Big Stanley after a victory in June...

"Draisaitl is still only 21. He’ll likely make well in excess of $100 million in his career. He is McDavid’s preferred linemate, and he’s playing on a team with arguably the brightest future in the entire NHL."

This is nothing new, but I remain continually astonished at the level of entitlement of Oilers fans and media. While Spector to his extremely meagre credit mentions several other teams with kindred championship aspirations, outside of the true heavy weights like Pittsburgh and Washington, those who have been there and done that like Chicago, and those who are insulated from the outside in the bizarro-world of Toronto sports saturation like—well, Toronto, is there another fanbase that is so insistent on counting their future championships that exist only in their fertile imaginations?

Who does this? Flames fans are optimistic about the near future, and we on this board have an ongoing and lively debate about the championship potential of the current core lineup. Yet this discussion falls short of such braggadocios nonsense as insisting that multiple Stanley Cups are already pre-engraved and need but be collected for posterity.

It is nauseating. Shut up, Edmonton. Until your hapless collection of hockey hubris has actually accomplished something—ANYTHING—then shut the hell up.

[Azhouse]

It's not if they win a cup but when and how many. It really is sickening.

Wasn't Maclean spouting this crap 5 years ago when "Tay" was still in town?

[TheIronMaiden]

I am not worried about the Oilers next year and I will tell you why.
The Oilers have count 'em 6 forwards coming off of career years in terms of point production:

Drake Caggiula
Leon Draisaitl
Mark Letestu
Patrick Maroon
Connor McDavid
Anton Slepyshev

It is not unreasonable to think that some of these players might repeat or improve, but it is foolish to believe that all of these players will bring the same level of offense next year. Also, the Oilers were fortunate in terms of injury, with only one top six forward missing games.

Moreover, their goalie will have to repeat a career performance for them to reach the same level of success. It is anyone guess to see if he will ever be that good again.

Lets face it the Oilers were good last year, but I suspect that it was a lightening in a bottle scenario. It will be a tall task for that many players to improve their totals.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by jayswin

No, see this is where you're projecting Edmonton onto Calgary.

Nah.

I think anyone that has been around the world recognizes the cities in Alberta for what they are.

Good places to live and work. Completely uninspiring otherwise.

[JFK]

..

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by JFK

That's his thing. It's about as boring and predictable as it gets.

"Calgary has X, well it's more like Edmonton's Y"
"Calgary does this? Edmonton does this which is similar"
"Calgary drafted here? Well Edmonton did and that didn't work"
"The Flames signed this player? Well the Oilers signed a similar player two years ago, and that didn't work, so it won't work for you guys"

That's his shtick. He'll bring down Calgary on Calgarypuck by using Edmonton comparisons. Just drive or fly into Calgary, beautiful immerse skyline that surprised and amazes most punctuated by the stunning rocky mountains that create the background and border in your head.

Drive into Edmonton and it's nothing. Fly into Edmonton and you're in Leduc.

That's my shtick?

You been "posting here for a month" and you know what my shtick is?

Haha. Good one.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Nah.

I think anyone that has been around the world recognizes the cities in Alberta for what they are.

Good places to live and work. Completely uninspiring otherwise.

Outside of being an hour away from the worlds most beautiful outdoor playground. For anyone who loves the outdoors Calgary is probably the number 1 medium sized city or bigger in the world.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by JFK

That's his thing. It's about as boring and predictable as it gets.

"Calgary has X, well it's more like Edmonton's Y"
"Calgary does this? Edmonton does this which is similar"
"Calgary drafted here? Well Edmonton did and that didn't work"
"The Flames signed this player? Well the Oilers signed a similar player two years ago, and that didn't work, so it won't work for you guys"

Obvious jealousy is obvious.

[Gallick]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

This is nothing new, but I remain continually astonished at the level of entitlement of Oilers fans and media.

...

It is nauseating. Shut up, Edmonton, until your hapless collection of hockey hubris has actually accomplished something—ANYTHING—then shut the hell up.

I guess that's what you get when an entire town drinks the koolaid. They all really believed the "we're building something special" schtick for all those lean years and now that they've had a taste of success they're just anxiously waiting for the parade to be scheduled.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by GGG

Outside of being an hour away from the worlds most beautiful outdoor playground. For anyone who loves the outdoors Calgary is probably the number 1 medium sized city or bigger in the world.

Well I'd say Vancouver is the number one place for outdoor activities in Canada, before we even get to the world stage.

You're right that if you are a mountain enthusiast, especially a winter sports type of person, Calgary is a great place to be.

How often does the majority of the city go to the mountains though? 5-10 times per year? That much?

I'm not trying to denigrate either Calgary or Edmonton, but there are destination cities in the world like Vancouver, Montreal, Barcelona and London and there is everything else.

Calgary isn't a destination city. It's a stopover city on the way to the mountains.

Maybe that ruffles feathers, but only in people that have an absurd sense of pride in their city...... like they are maybe descendants of the founders or something?

I'm not sure why else anyone would get a swelling of pride from the city they live in. Seems like a weird thing to be proud about.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I think pride should be reserved for personal accomplishments.

So I've never really understood the need to hate, or celebrate superiority over the nearest community that is roughly the same size as the one I currently live in.

I'm not from either Edmonton or Calgary so I don't have a dog in the fight. They are both fine cities as far as I'm concerned, but neither are anything special outside of economics IMO. Neither of them touch the vibrancy you find in places like Vancouver, Montreal, San Francisco, Portland, etc, etc, etc.

Edmonton and Calgary are both rather large devotions to urban sprawl and suburbia. How many neighborhood commercial areas have the exact same 15-20 chain stores/restaurants? Comfortable places to be, but lack the personality to be great.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by GGG

Outside of being an hour away from the worlds most beautiful outdoor playground. For anyone who loves the outdoors Calgary is probably the number 1 medium sized city or bigger in the world.

I've resided here all my life and am as big a fan of Calgary as the next person, but you clearly have not travelled much of the world if this is your opinion.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Corral

I've resided here all my life and am as big a fan of Calgary as the next person, but you clearly have not travelled much of the world if this is your opinion.

For outdoor activities where is better. Just this weekend out hiking at met a guy from New York who said the next 2 miles are the most beautiful place on Earth. He was in awe that this place existed. Just blown away of how lucky we were to live here. It was maybe top 10 in Banff.

We blow the Sierras, Alps, US Rockies out of the water. Equal to the Andes but with much better employment and living conditions. I have not been to the Hemalayas and they are probably nicer but I'd rather live here. Mountain wise we actually have them unlike Vancouver and outside of the drive to Whistler you don't really have good winter options.

For Ski hills our terrain blows Europe out of the water. (They have more crappier hills with a few standouts).

So what city is better for outdoor activities. I think the only comparables would be in Australia which I have not been but then it would be ocean vs mountains and summer vs winter for which you like better.

As for Calgary being a stop over city to the mountains that is what makes it objectively better than Edmonton. The sweatpants and ugly people can be debated but where each is located definitively separates them

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by GGG

Mountain wise we actually have them unlike Vancouver and outside of the drive to Whistler you don't really have good winter options.

The drive to Whistler is 1.5 hours from Vancouver.

To drive to Sunshine from Calgary is the same. Lake Louise is 2 hours.

So Vancouver has proximity to winter skiing in the same ball park as Calgary as well as a much much longer season for regular people to enjoy outdoor activities.

Plus access to water and all the outdoor activities that provides.

It's not even close.

There is no oil and gas there though so I'll stay away.

[Magnum PEI]

The difference in climate in the winter is astounding. It's often snow free here for spells in the middle of winter and the spring thaw is a month earlier.

I think some people don't realize how close the mountains are. It's a 45 minute drive down highway 66 to 1000 m scrambles.

[DirtyMike]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Well I'd say Vancouver is the number one place for outdoor activities in Canada, before we even get to the world stage.

You're right that if you are a mountain enthusiast, especially a winter sports type of person, Calgary is a great place to be.

How often does the majority of the city go to the mountains though? 5-10 times per year? That much?

I'm not trying to denigrate either Calgary or Edmonton, but there are destination cities in the world like Vancouver, Montreal, Barcelona and London and there is everything else.

Calgary isn't a destination city. It's a stopover city on the way to the mountains.

Maybe that ruffles feathers, but only in people that have an absurd sense of pride in their city...... like they are maybe descendants of the founders or something?

I'm not sure why else anyone would get a swelling of pride from the city they live in. Seems like a weird thing to be proud about.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I think pride should be reserved for personal accomplishments.

So I've never really understood the need to hate, or celebrate superiority over the nearest community that is roughly the same size as the one I currently live in.

I'm not from either Edmonton or Calgary so I don't have a dog in the fight. They are both fine cities as far as I'm concerned, but neither are anything special outside of economics IMO. Neither of them touch the vibrancy you find in places like Vancouver, Montreal, San Francisco, Portland, etc, etc, etc.

Edmonton and Calgary are both rather large devotions to urban sprawl and suburbia. How many neighborhood commercial areas have the exact same 15-20 chain stores/restaurants? Comfortable places to be, but lack the personality to be great.

Not sure if you meant it that way or you're trying to prove a point but to only take pride in personal accomplishments seems fairly self centered. I think it is natural to take pride in accomplishments outside of merely personal accomplishments, including the city, province, and country which one lives. Why bother caring about anything beyond yourself, including being a hockey fan, if you can only find pride in your own accomplishments?

I also find it a little ironic that you're criticising people for making fun of Edmonton when you're username is a jab directed towards Edmonton.

Have you been to Portland? Outside of craft beer (which we have plenty of) and funny bumper stickers, I didn't find it to be overwhelmingly "vibrant".

[Corral]

Originally Posted by GGG

For outdoor activities where is better. Just this weekend out hiking at met a guy from New York who said the next 2 miles are the most beautiful place on Earth. He was in awe that this place existed. Just blown away of how lucky we were to live here. It was maybe top 10 in Banff.

We blow the Sierras, Alps, US Rockies out of the water. Equal to the Andes but with much better employment and living conditions. I have not been to the Hemalayas and they are probably nicer but I'd rather live here. Mountain wise we actually have them unlike Vancouver and outside of the drive to Whistler you don't really have good winter options.

For Ski hills our terrain blows Europe out of the water. (They have more crappier hills with a few standouts).

So what city is better for outdoor activities. I think the only comparables would be in Australia which I have not been but then it would be ocean vs mountains and summer vs winter for which you like better.

As for Calgary being a stop over city to the mountains that is what makes it objectively better than Edmonton. The sweatpants and ugly people can be debated but where each is located definitively separates them

Northern California and the Sierras I think rolls over Calgary on every category IMHO. Likewise the coastal range north of Vancouver is far more than just Whistler and having the ocean beside you is a huge plus for YVR. Could say likewise for Seattle Denver Colorado provides similar access to the Rockies with a much shorter winter - and much of the Colorado range is over 14000 feet.

the Rockies are incredibly scenic but the rock can be quite poor in quality and the skiing here is actually not that great because we live in a dry pocket (ie. low snowfall) and the winter is too damn cold.

Off this continent but staying in the G8 - Southern france and the Alps are amazing - with a better climate and granite mountains - albeit very crowded. Auckland New Zealand is also highly ranked for urban living and outdoor lifestyle - again with the climate that beats Calgary every time.

I like it here - but its far from #1

[jemjey]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

The drive to Whistler is 1.5 hours from Vancouver.

To drive to Sunshine from Calgary is the same. Lake Louise is 2 hours.

So Vancouver has proximity to winter skiing in the same ball park as Calgary as well as a much much longer season for regular people to enjoy outdoor activities.

Plus access to water and all the outdoor activities that provides.

It's not even close.

There is no oil and gas there though so I'll stay away.

I've lived in Vancouver and Calgary and if you like mountain/winter activities it really isn't a contest between the Rockies and Whistler/Blackcomb + the lil' ####ty hills.

Whistler is quite expensive and crowded.

If I can't afford to buy lift tickets, I can drive for 1/1.5 hours and find amazing lines and glorious POWPOW in the backcountry. If you don't mind hiking and being out in nature it truly is a glorious experience.

Plus, Van is so wet and grey in the winter...

That being said summers in B.C. are great.

tl;dr; Van > Calgary for summer sports; Calgary > Van for winter sports. Not even close

[Groot]

Why are we talking about Vancouver? If we're not going to talk about how E=NG then let's at least keep the conversation around cities that at least have an NHL team.

Anyway...
http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/wo...017/index.html

For at least the 5th year in a row (I only looked back to 2012) Calgary is ranked 5th most liveable city in the world

For at least the 5th year in a row, Edmonton is unranked because nobody gives a #### about Edmonton, except to marvel at how much E=NG.