menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Happy Festivus! Let’s share our Oilers feats of strength and air out our grievances

2 44
yesterday
If you’re a Seinfeld fan or have been hanging around the site for a while, you already know that December 23rd is Festivus, which means it’s time to air out our grievances and celebrate feats of strength. And with the calendar only being a few short days away from flipping over to 2026, there are plenty of Festivus items we need to discuss.

Being as obsessed with the Edmonton Oilers as we are makes Festivus feel like it was invented specifically for this fanbase. We pay enough attention to earn the right to air a few well-intentioned grievances, and every now and then, we even get to celebrate the wins along the way. If life is about balance, then Festivus might actually be the perfect holiday. Our loyalty buys us the right to complain, and the grievances I’m laying out this year are only meant to help the Oilers be better. With that, let’s get into it.

THE GRIEVANCES

Everyone’s list of grievances is different, but these are the three things that annoyed me the most about the Oilers this past year and that I’d like to see cleaned up in 2026. Even though no one at OEG has ever asked for my opinion, I’m climbing onto my soapbox anyway to purge some of the dark cloud energy I’ve been lugging around all year.

Tough Sports Run

When I think back over the last 18 months, it’s honestly hard to believe how much elite level sports pain has been crammed into such a short window. We got a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final loss for the Oilers, followed not long after by the Blue Jays losing a World Series Game 7, is a brutal run that feels almost targeted and personal. That’s not just disappointment. That’s a sustained emotional grind that never really lets you reset.

The first Cup Final loss hurt because it felt like that was our moment. The comeback story, the way the season went, it all seemed to fit. The second one hurt because it felt like the moment that was supposed to flip the script or right some kind of wrong. By the time the Oilers were back on that stage again, it felt like we earned a win this time. It felt like the group had learned the lessons and taken the scars with them. Watching it end the same way, again, albeit one game shorter, is a kind of pain that sits a little deeper.

And before there was any real time to process that, the Blue Jays piled on. Another season that seemed to build toward a climax at just the right time. The Jays were another team that dragged us all the way to the brink of euphoria. Another Game 7 where you sat there thinking this had to be the one, only for it to slip away in the final innings. Three massive heartbreaks in 18 months is a lot to ask of anyone, and yet here we are, still showing up, still investing, and still convincing ourselves that eventually one of these........

© Oilers Nation