What about the Canadians? Life here, north of our American cousins, with our dog, Scout.: ALL CANADIAN BOY

When you are Canadian and your Father is a hockey player, you learn to love hockey and Ryder will be no different. Sunday night, September 25th, Ryder went to his first NIHL hockey game in Calgary. You will notice in the pictures that Ryder is wearing an Edmonton Oilers T-Shirt (and he is grabbing his Dad's beer.) He is dressed in the orange and blue because the Calgary Flames were playing the Edmonton Oilers that night, because I dressed him and because the Oilers are "my " team. When I say, "my team" it sounds like I am a hard core fan. I am, but not the kind of fan that knows all the stats or even all the players names. I am the kind of fan that cheers for the Edmonton Oilers even though we live in Caglary and I have been to more Flames games than I have ever been to Oilers games. I am the kind of fan that cheers for the Oilers even though we personally know one of the Flames players. I am the kind of fan who cheers for the Oilers even though some of the kids of Flames players go to our school and I teach them. I am a huge Oiler fan because....my Dad was!

Even though my Dad was as American as they come, when he moved to Edmonton, he became a hockey fan, an Oiler fan. I can remember Dad taking over the TV, announcing that Hockey was what was on the agenda for the night. Forget the "Cosby Show," "Full House," "Friends, "Seinfeld" or anything else us girls might have preferred to watch. Begrudgingly, we'd grab our homework, the phone or whatever other distraction we could find and flee the room. When the Oilers played, Dad watched.

Dad would holler at the TV, sometimes cheering, sometimes cussing, but always with the passion of a man who loved his hockey team. He'd stomp his feet in disgust or in excitement as the plays unfolded and before we knew it, his cheering would become contagious. Slowly we'd drift into the livingroom. One by one we'd gravitate towards the TV and the game. Dad's enthusiasm and LOUD unignorable cheering made a fan out his three daughters. Before we knew it, we knew the players names and numbers and all about penalties and good fights and bad calls. We were Oiler fans during the Gretzky era, when the Oilers won the Stanly Cup a few times. We were fans when Craig Simpson was the league hottie. We were fans when Aimee bought a car and randomly got the bill of sale witnessed by Essa Tikkanen. We were fans when the Oilers were the best in the league...but we were also fans when things weren't so great. When the Oilers traded Gretzky, when the Oilers slowly fell from the throne and we are still fans today, during the "re building phase."

Dad never owned an Oiler jersey and I am pretty sure he never went to a game, but because he loved the Oilers, I do too and always will.

I loved being part of Ryder's first NHL hockey watching experience and I loved carting him around the arena in his Oilers shirt, but I wouldn't blame him if, when he is old enough to dress himself, he pulls on a "Canucks" jersey because the Vancouver Canucks are his Dad's team and everyone little Canadian wants to cheer for his Daddy's team...unless he becomes a Flames fan because probably all of his friends will be....LOL