Are the Calgary Flames losing the next generation of fans in Alberta to the Edmonton Oilers?

[Tobias Kahun]

True but if the trend stays the same(Flames in no man’s land and Oilers doing good), these kids will grow Edmonton Oilers fans.




They are converting to Oilers fans inside Calgary lol, kids wearing Oilers jerseys, bars giving 10% discount if you wear Oilers gear.

Which bars are giving a 10% discount to wearing Oilers gear.

Sounds like a made up situation.

Wait, bars in Calgary give people 10% discounts if they wear Oilers gear? WTH is that about…

I’m actually a little thrown by any NHL jersey getting someone a 10% discount at a bar but getting one for a rival city’s team’s jersey is just weird.

I highly doubt thats true.

As an Oiler fan in Calgary, i'd be taking advantage of that if I knew about it.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

The Calgary Flames have done jack shit the last 2 decades, the Edmonton Oilers are kind of in the same boat.

But, now the Oilers have McDavid and Draisaitl leading the way and doing very good.

With the Oilers doing good and the Flames stuck in no man’s land, is it safe to say that the Calgary Flames are losing the next generation of fans in Alberta to the Edmonton Oilers?

The reason I say this is because I have seen soo many kids in Calgary wearing Edmonton Oilers jerseys, I went to pick up my son from school and a lot of kids had Edmonton Oilers Jerseys on top of uniforms and this is just a small sample I have seen.

Both teams have had their ups and downs.
It’s Calgarys turn for a down period.

 

[Brookbank]

The Oilers have always been Alberta’s team.

I live in Calgary as well and it’s not just your anecdotal observation, there are a lot of Oiler fans here.

Only in the eyes of the national media. The Oilers had Gretzky and won those cups so the team has a higher stature in the country because of it. Higher stature in the national media than the Flames or even Canucks.

Greater Vancouver and the rest of BC is 5.5+ million people. Thats close to the size of the GTA. Edmonton isn't half that

 

[thaman8765678]

It's embarrassing to be a Flames fan. There are plenty of fans, but we don't admit we cheer for them in public any more.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

If they are, it’ll be the Edmonton fans they poached when the league had to change the lottery rules because Edmonton had won too many 1st overall picks LOL

 

[Some Other Flame]

They already did.

 

[Paper]

Just wait until Dube comes back from his mental health break!

 

[viper0220]

Which bars are giving a 10% discount to wearing Oilers gear.

Sounds like a made up situation.


I highly doubt thats true.

As an Oiler fan in Calgary, i'd be taking advantage of that if I knew about it.

Jameson’s pub.

Which bars are giving a 10% discount to wearing Oilers gear.

Sounds like a made up situation.


I highly doubt thats true.

As an Oiler fan in Calgary, i'd be taking advantage of that if I knew about it.

Jameson’s pub downtown I believe had this offer.

 

[Oleksiak]

I personally think it's great that kids are taking such an interest in their local AHL team. It can only be good for the sport.

 

[viper0220]

Jameson’s pub.


Jameson’s pub downtown I believe had this offer.

Calgary's best sports bar - Jamesons Brentwood

Jamesons Brentwood Pub: Calgary's Best Sports Bar for Thrilling Games and Exceptional Fun. Join us for the ultimate sports viewing experience

www.brentwood.jamesonspubs.com

Brentwood, not downtown apologies.

Wait, bars in Calgary give people 10% discounts if they wear Oilers gear? WTH is that about…

I’m actually a little thrown by any NHL jersey getting someone a 10% discount at a bar but getting one for a rival city’s team’s jersey is just weird.

Calgary's best sports bar - Jamesons Brentwood

Jamesons Brentwood Pub: Calgary's Best Sports Bar for Thrilling Games and Exceptional Fun. Join us for the ultimate sports viewing experience

www.brentwood.jamesonspubs.com

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Well for nearly a decade the Oilers had Gretzky/Messier and it probably turned a ton of people in Alberta into Oilers fans for life. Now they have McDavid/Draisaitl and if they ever start winning Cups it'd be a case of history repeating. But I have seen kids in McDavid jerseys even in the U.S. and he's the only current hockey player I've seen on a TV commercial in the U.S., so clearly he's the 'face of the game' either way.

I think people in Calgary should probably stick with the Flames any way, it's not like going up to Edmonton to attend games in person is a great, sustainable option, so you may as well root for the team whose games you can go and see.

 

[viper0220]

Which bars are giving a 10% discount to wearing Oilers gear.

Sounds like a made up situation.


I highly doubt thats true.

As an Oiler fan in Calgary, i'd be taking advantage of that if I knew about it.

Calgary's best sports bar - Jamesons Brentwood

Jamesons Brentwood Pub: Calgary's Best Sports Bar for Thrilling Games and Exceptional Fun. Join us for the ultimate sports viewing experience

www.brentwood.jamesonspubs.com

Which bars are giving a 10% discount to wearing Oilers gear.

Sounds like a made up situation.


I highly doubt thats true.

As an Oiler fan in Calgary, i'd be taking advantage of that if I knew about it.

Calgary's best sports bar - Jamesons Brentwood

Jamesons Brentwood Pub: Calgary's Best Sports Bar for Thrilling Games and Exceptional Fun. Join us for the ultimate sports viewing experience

www.brentwood.jamesonspubs.com

 

[hypereconomist]

Calgary was never going to have the same sized fanbase as Edmonton due to Edmonton's history (e.g. 80s dynasty and now McDavid) and the transience of Calgary's population, among other reasons.

Calgary has more out of province immigration than Edmonton by a sizeable degree, and hockey fans immigrating to Calgary (inter and intra-provincial) tend to bring their prior fan allegiances with them. There's no shortage of Oilers, Habs, and Leafs fans living in the 403.

When you layer that on top of the waning popularity of hockey among recent immigrants from abroad and the zoomers, the franchise's lack of success in the last 30 years, and the decreasing affordability of attending games (e.g. Calgary's higher cost of living than Edmonton); fan support isn't looking great for the Flames in the next decade or two.

 

[CanadienShark]

No one cares about the Flames even in Calgary.

 

[Guttersniped]

Calgary's best sports bar - Jamesons Brentwood

Jamesons Brentwood Pub: Calgary's Best Sports Bar for Thrilling Games and Exceptional Fun. Join us for the ultimate sports viewing experience

www.brentwood.jamesonspubs.com

Brentwood, not downtown apologies.

Calgary's best sports bar - Jamesons Brentwood

Jamesons Brentwood Pub: Calgary's Best Sports Bar for Thrilling Games and Exceptional Fun. Join us for the ultimate sports viewing experience

www.brentwood.jamesonspubs.com

Ok, this is more understandable and doesn’t seem like a plot to manufacture more Oiler fans.

 

[Paper]

Pretty obvious this whole thread was made to viral market Brentwood's Jamesons.

Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Unlike Subway™. Eat Fresh.

 

[HolyGhost]

nope. Oilers missed the playoffs for nearly 20 consecutive years(maybe making it once or twice) and the fans stayed loyal. Flames fans will be the same. Oilers had 7 Hall of famers on their team in the 80's and did not get any defections from the flames base

 

[Zenos]

Calgary was never going to have the same sized fanbase as Edmonton due to Edmonton's history (e.g. 80s dynasty and now McDavid) and the transience of Calgary's population, among other reasons.

Calgary has more out of province immigration than Edmonton by a sizeable degree, and hockey fans immigrating to Calgary (inter and intra-provincial) tend to bring their prior fan allegiances with them. There's no shortage of Oilers, Habs, and Leafs fans living in the 403.

When you layer that on top of the waning popularity of hockey among recent immigrants from abroad and the zoomers, the franchise's lack of success in the last 30 years, and the decreasing affordability of attending games (e.g. Calgary's higher cost of living than Edmonton); fan support isn't looking great for the Flames in the next decade or two.

This can't be true, can it? Both cities have *reasonably* similar metro populations and similar rates of growth (Calgary cma = 1,665 Million, 1.8% growth vs Edmonton cma = 1,568 million, 1.65% growth). So I can't imagine that Calgary is receiving the lions' share of interprovincial migration. Who's moving to Edmonton then? Only other Albertans? International immigration? I remain sceptical, but welcome to be corrected.

And Calgary is indeed more costly (mostly due to real-estate), but salaries are also a tad higher. Real-life purchasing power is pretty similar between the two cities.

 

[Bank Shot]

This is pretty common. Kids want to cheer for good teams with star players. There were a lot of Iginla jerseys around the late 90s early 2000s.

And its not just kids...

The first year the Oilers played the Kings, there were a notable number of Kings jerseys in the Oilers rink. This year it was almost impossible to spot one.

 

[hangman005]

Everyone has bad tastes in at least one thing

Well except me, everything is exactly my taste in things.

 

[Kranix]

I was at a birthday party for my young nephew which happened the day the flames were mathematically eliminated and 7 or 8 of the kids were wearing huberdeau jerseys and when the news came down that the flames were out, they all took off their jerseys and threw them on the floor.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Kids say and do the darnedest things.

...


No one leave your drink unattended around this guy.




As for the flames, that's why they traded for Huberdeau and Weegar. Weegar has been tremendous this year, but given retrospect is 20/20 I have to imagine the Canes offer was better.

 

[Rob Brown]

Personal opinion but if you live in Calgary and let your kids become Oilers fans then you're doing it wrong. Vice versa as well.

 

[snag]

Interesting. Didn’t think I’d see it IN Calgary. But I guess it makes sense, do you want your childhood hero to be McDavid or… Huberdeau.

Me when my wife got me a Pajaarvi jersey lol

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

multiple factors as to why Oilers are more popular:
- we had a team first, born out of the WHA 8 years before the Flames came to Calgary
- 80s dynasty fueled a ton of fans from all over...It's surprising how many Oilers fans live in places like Lethbridge and Medicine Hat
- less transient population in Edmonton...a lot more people from other places in Canada and the world move to Calgary and bring their own team allegiances
- the big one....McDavid. people like to watch the best player in the world