Quote:
Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy
They've been the worst franchise in all of pro sports for 10 years. They have one good season and all of a sudden I'm getting texts and emails from ####heads that I've never talked hockey much with before simply because they know I'm a Flames fan. Get a ####ing life you rejects. I never sent them emails and text jokes about the oilers once in the last ten years, not even when the Flames made it to round 2 a couple years ago.
Fans like that deserved every minute of the previous 10 years and they sure as #### didn't deserve getting McDavid on their piece of crap hockey team.
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That's frustrating to hear about, especially from people you barely know. I've been an Oilers fan my whole life and never felt confident enough to gloat. In a group chat/fantasy hockey league with a bunch of Flames fans who I've known my whole life. I'd say it's always them who do the chirping. Had a friendly bet with one about who'd finish ahead, and even when the Oilers were 10 points up in February didn't feel confident enough to say anything. Glad I didn't, haha. I remember the last decade, and the long time before 2006... all too well.
I think there can be bandwagon, petty, or unsportsmanlike fans for any team though. Part of what makes cheering for a team fun is the group identity, but it's also a drawback, especially with the internet. It's frustrating to me that any idiot can throw Oilers flair on in the hockey reddit, here, or on the notorious HFBoards (i've never been, haha) and as someone with the same allegiance I get put in the same camp. At the end of the day it's a game. Because I wear one jersey doesn't mean I'm like those who'd punch people, throw food at other teams, send unsolicited hate, etc. I try to keep that in mind and don't infer anything from someone's character based on their team choice. Unsurprisingly though, there's close to even representation of terrible people within most fanbases as there is in the general population. And with rivals especially, there's confirmation bias at work.
As for the topic at hand, I don't really get why any Flames fan would cheer for the Oilers, as never would I do the reverse. The 'Canada's team' thing is laughable. The only team I'd want to carry that title is my own. If the Leafs, Flames, Canucks or Canadiens were the team to make it to the final, I'd cheer for anyone over them, including teams in California or Florida. Ottawa or Winnipeg may be exceptions, but indifference would probably be the best I could muster. Oilers top the Ducks in 6.