I don’t think anyone would be surprised to know that there is a statue of Wayne Gretzky in Edmonton. Gretzky naturally won four Stanley Cups in the city with the oilers, he was announced as a hockey god for the records he set and success he had in the city, and he helped put Edmonton on the sports card as the “City of Champions”. The only problems were that he was traded in 1988 to the Los Angeles Kings, which was ruined what some might have been an unmistakable chance of hoisting several Stanley Cups for the coming years. I am not here to talk about trade today, but the events around that statue of Gretzky, currently in Rogers Place in Edmonton, where everyone can see the big bronze.
On August 27, 1989, the bronze statue was unveiled in the old Northlands Coliseum after he was designed by sculptor John Weaver, who worked for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and the Alberta Provincial Museum. It weighs 950 pounds. And stands on a no less than 9’2 “tall, and the work to get this bronze Gretzky was paid for by Molson Breweries who donated the statue to the city of Edmonton. From there the statue for the old Arena with Gretzky -Hulde stood that Replica Stanley Cup high in the air.
That is where we drop everyone on the pleasure. View the details of this statue Unveiling and tribute to Gretzky below!
After I had never been prime minister in the country, it is amazing that Gretzky would have five swat team members who guard the clock to him, his wife, Janet and daughter, Paulina, while he was honored in Northlands Coliseum and for his stay in Edmonton. Those five men also registered, so they didn’t see Dime van Loon from the city of Edmonton. As an addition to that, another 10-15 SWAT team members in the crowd of 14,000 people who have paid 99 cents to see Gretzky are honored by the Oilers and the city of Edmonton.
Were things really crazy in 1989 that he needed 24-hour protection in the city where he was worshiped for his scoring talents? What was the matter in Edmonton to justify that?
Look, I understand that people can have dedication to their teams that runs deeply, but when the city of Swat teams places a former player who returns to be honored for everything he did in the game and in the community we may have reached a critical stupid point. Today we see it on social media where people threaten players and their families and loved ones, and that is a line that not only cannot be crossed, but should not even crawl over the horizon for a fan.
For the record, Wayne Gretzky and his family were fine during their time in Edmonton, and perhaps these were the local officials who were overy in their protection of Gretzky after the trade that the nation shook a year earlier. He shed a few tears by seeing the statue of himself, and he spoke with courtesy and humility that was expected from Gretzky at the time. At no time during the ceremony it seemed that he was fortunately in any danger.
I know that Gretzky played his best hockey while they were flanked by boys who protected him like Semenko, McSorley, Messier and McClelland, but to see him all enforcers – boys who were instructed to make sure his and his family had never read his family.
Keep your dedication under control, people. After all, it’s just a game.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
#Flanked #real #enforcers