A Jersey Story

I think I've rewritten this introductory paragraph a dozen times in light of what has surfaced today in the NHL surrounding the Chicago Blackhawks. I will speak about that tomorrow rather than sending this effort down the drain, but I think there needs to be a lot of reading done with the report that was put out, a lot of soul-searching that needs to be done by the NHL, its member teams, its players, and its fans, and everyone needs to take a deep breath surrounding this scandal because this may only be the beginning. Without getting into that further, though, let's explore a jersey story that involved the jersey and the player shown above.

We'll jump back to the spring of 2001 when I received a phone call from a friend who had a wild and crazy idea: we should go see the Oilers in the playoffs this year. Admittedly, I wasn't very fond of this idea off the top because I was not an Oilers fan by any means in that era, and watching the Oilers in the playoffs was something I wasn't doing often as it was.

My friend was persistent, though, and he eventually wore me down on the idea that we'd have a good time, see some live NHL hockey, and have some laughs in Edmonton. The one caveat that he had for the trip was that we had to get a jersey to look like we were one of the Oilers' faithful. Again, my nose wrinkled at the suggestion of buying a jersey for a team that I disliked, but October 26, 2001 was the exact day that the Oilers rolled out their new alternate jersey that was designed by Oilers co-owner and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane.

I went to my trusty jersey guy at that time and asked what the chances were that he could source an Oilers alternate jersey within four to six weeks so I could wear at the Oilers' playoff games that spring. He laughed at first, knowing that the Oilers alternate jersey was a popular piece of merchandise, but he realize that I was serious and set about finding a jersey.

A few weeks later, he had pulled enough strings to get me a jersey, and I was set for Edmonton. Let's just say that hearing the hype of NHL Playoffs and all that was enough to change my tune about seeing the Oilers play. We arrived in Edmonton for Games Three and Four on April 17 and 19, respectively!

The NHL rules were pretty strict about teams being unable to wear their alternate uniforms for the playoffs, but that didn't stop the Oilers' crowd from wearing them. Nearly every person inside the Skyreach Centre had a jersey on from every era. Home jerseys, road jerseys, and a smattering of these new alternate jerseys were seen throughout the crowd as the teams took to the ice for warmups. Radek Dvorak, above, was looking spiffy in his home whites, but that picture I snapped took some negotiation to get with an usher.

I had brought my camera to me to capture the sights of NHL Playoff hockey since the Jets were long gone to the desert climate in Phoenix and the Thrashers were a decade from being moved north of the border. Thinking it would be no big deal to head down to the bottom reaches of the stairs behind the benches, I made my way from my seat to the lower areas of the rink where a kindly seat usher stopped me cold in my tracks.

She informed me that they weren't allowed to allowed to let people into sections for which they didn't hold tickets due to safety concerns, so I told her that I worked for The Manitoban, the University of Manitoba's newspaper, and I was doing a story about the return of the NHL to Winnipeg one day. My story was based on population size, climate, and arena sizes, and the Oilers fit all three of those criteria well when it came to accurate comparisons.

The catch? None of that story was true. I had no story and I certainly wasn't employed by the newspaper in any capacity. Heck, I didn't even attend the University of Manitoba. The entire time I was laying this fabrication on this sweet, older lady, though, she was listening intently to every word I said.

After a few seconds of deliberation, she looked me square in the eye and asked, "How long have you been an Oilers fan?"

"Ever since the Jets left. It's why I'm here - cheer on the team!" Sorry, Miss Usher. I lied to you again.

"Alright," she said, firmly. "We're not supposed to do this, but go down, take your pictures during the next break, and get going back to your seat!"

I scrambled down, snapped a few pictures including the one to the left and the one of Dvorak above, and got out of Dodge before anyone knew I had been there. That excitement became madness in the third period of Game Three when, down 2-0 and looking outplayed, the Oilers stormed back with two Ryan Smyth goals in 56 seconds at the end of the period to make it a 2-2 game! The Skyreach Centre's roof almost came off with the energy in the building!

Benoit Hogue would play the ultimate villain, however, as his goal at the end of the first overtime period sent Oilers fans home unhappy as the 3-2 overtime loss moved Dallas to a 2-1 series lead. Would Game Four be any better?

Anson Carter scored in the first period while Mike Keane evened the game at 1-1 in the second period. With no scoring in the third period, out trip ended with a bang as Mike Comrie sent the fans home elated with his power-play marker in overtime to even the series at 2-2! We wouldn't be in Edmonton for Game Six as the Stars came back to Edmonton up 3-2 in the series and finished it off, but my jersey saw the Oilers go 1-1 in person during the playoffs, saw me tell a pile of lies to an usher, and saw me enjoy some Edmonton's nightlife as we truly did have a blast for those four days in April 2001.

You might be asking what the Adam Oates connection is since he wasn't mentioned at all in the story above (and would have been playing for the Washington Capitals in the playoffs that year). Having not seen the Oilers wear this jersey, there were thoughts that Ryan Smith would be the best player to get on the back as he was the heart and soul of the Oilers for so long.

The problem is that my jersey collections feature a lot of cameos from players and a lot of ugly jerseys. I truly believe that this Oilers jersey is their best alternate uniform ever designed and worn, so the "ugly jersey" criterion won't be filled with my Oilers alternate jersey. That means it came down to a cameo from a player, and I had literally settled on three names - Petr Nedved #93, Sergei Samsonov #12, or Adam Oates #77.

Since I already own a Petr Nedved jersey, that eliminated him from the running. Samsonov would have been my choice for the this jersey had Adam Oates not worn the Oilers' 25th anniversary patch, and I wanted something on the front to make this jersey unique. As a result, Adam Oates' one season in Edmonton in 2003-04 where he wore the alternate jersey in a handful of games with the patch on the front became the choice for my Oilers alternate jersey.

Twenty years ago today, the Oilers unveiled their McFarlane alternate jersey to the world, and my jersey has quite the travel tale to go along with it. Adam Oates' name on the back fits the theme of my jerseys more than it fits the story about the 2001 Oilers' playoff games, but that's the entire tome behind my Oilers alternate jersey that turned twenty today.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!