Monday, November 14, 2005

Own a Piece of the Oil

The order has been placed and in a couple of weeks the Edmonton Oilers will bring down the banners. However, hockey historians should note it's only a brief bit of down time, about as long as it takes to put on a new clip and raise exact replicas of the 22 banners currently hanging from the Rexall Centre rafters.

The 22 originals have started to show some age, so the Oilers have put up the cash and put out the contract to replicate those golden moments one more time, this time hopefully with a sturdier version of hockey history. The original supplier is once again providing the finished product using more modern material and dyes for a longer lifespan.

The original banners will be auctioned off at a memorabilia auction with the proceeds going to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation. With so much hockey history tied up in the storied banners it's expected that the Foundation will find a pretty good pot of gold at the end of the bidding.

The new banners go up on November 21st when San Jose comes to town, with 22 banners to be raised, the Sharks would be advised to forgo their usual pre game nap, they'll have plenty of time to get some rest while the Oilers and their fans celebrate the glory years one more time.

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