After the Oilers won the Western Conference on Saturday, 30,000 to 50,000 fans gathered on Whyte Avenue to celebrate the ol’ fashioned way. Forget shots on goal and penalty minutes, here are the important stats of the night.
15: people arrested9: fires set with garbage, pallets, etc.
2: phone booths uprooted and destroyed
2: lights ripped apart atop a 30-foot tall light standard
1: man who urinated in crowd
1: man who fell from a guy wire
1: woman who broke her ankle
Only 15 people arrested, 9 fires set, and 1 urination? Are you kidding me? In Detroit, they set people on fire and then urinate on them to put it out. You’ve got a long way to go, Oilers fans. Perhaps you want to study this instructional video from soccer hooligans, the kings of rioting.
It just might be a warmup for the Stanley Cup so we’ll cut em some slack here. It seems the Edmonton police need some practice too.
Police kept their distance. One officer, leaning on his bicycle and watching the edge of the crowd, said he and his colleagues would be crazy to wade in. It’s not worth it. We don’t want to die.
Good luck in the Final Round, Edmonton.
Links:
[Edmonton Journal]: Hockey hooligans rampage on Whyte
[Winnipeg Sun]: Oiler fan turmoil
