River City Writer

Despite the fact that, just 2 days ago, the media was reporting that rodeo would be Alberta’s official sport, the news now is that it won’t be. Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett curtailed the motion, saying that there are other sports just as deserving, and that rodeo should not be given any special status.

Kevin Taft, of course, was upset that he won’t be able to leave this small legacy behind when he steps down as Liberal leader next month.

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I recently wrote a post about why I disagree with Kevin Taft’s proposal that rodeo be declared Alberta’s official provincial sport. It turns out that I’m not the only one who disagrees with the idea.

Fellow Edmonton-blogger Mack Male made his distaste for the idea very clear, with two simple words: “Um, no.”

St. Albert book-blogger Peter Bailey wasn’t quite as terse in expressing his opinion, saying that Kevin Taft has either:

lost his mind from the pressure of trying to convince Albertans to vote Liberal;

misjudged the effectiveness of political stunts (Sarah Palin?);

come up with an unusual way to get complimentary tickets to Canadian Finals Rodeo this weekend;

got the wrong idea from What Not to Wear when a man was told to “wear more hats – they look good”; or

grown tired of waiting for ice time at his local hockey rink.

Of course, these are just three voices opposed to the idea. Maybe Mack, Pete, and I are in the minority. Maybe most Albertan’s welcome the idea of rodeo becoming the province’s official sport. Where do you stand on this issue?

For anyone who watched the CFL Eastern Semi-Final this weekend and wondered why the Eskimos are playing in the Eastern Division, the CFL website has a handy explanation of how and when the crossover comes into play.

If the fourth-place team in division A has more points, not tied, than the third-place team in division B, the fourth-place team will crossover to division B, replace the third place team in division A, and compete against the second-place team of that division.

I was unaware of this rule, myself, and couldn’t figure out why the Esks were playing in the Eastern Semi-Final. I didn’t much care, as my team was still in the running for the big cup, but I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.

If the Esks manage to pull this off and win the Eastern Final and make it to the Grey Cup, they’ll be the Eastern Division Champions. Very weird. Of course, as long as I get to see the green and gold go for the Cup, I don’t care if we’re pretending they’re from the east.

Alberta Liberal Party leader Kevin Taft has announced that he’ll be putting forward a private members bill this month to have rodeo declared Alberta’s official sport. While I have nothing against rodeo, and a part of me even enjoys certain events, I don’t like this idea, for a couple of reasons.

Rodeo & the Perception of Alberta as Hick Country

Despite the fact that Alberta is an urbanized province as much as any other (nearly 2/3 of the province’s population lives in the Edmonton and Calgary metro regions, let alone the province’s other major cities), we continue to be thought of as a province of rural rednecks by the rest of the country. Adopting rodeo as the official sport of the province will only help to reinforce this belief.

As I said, I have nothing against rodeo, nor do I have anything against rural people. I do, however, take issue with the rest of Canada viewing this province as some kind of inbred, backwater province that’s only worth keeping around because we’ve got all of this oil. Do we really need to give them more reasons to feel this way?

Rodeo is not a Sport

The other issue I have with Taft’s proposal is that rodeo is not a sport. Rodeo is a series of sporting events. Chuck wagon racing is a sport. Bull riding and bronco busting are sports. Rodeo is not a sport.

Calling rodeo a sport is like calling the Olympics a sport. Yes, it’s an exhibition of sporting prowess in a variety of areas, but it is not, in and of itself, a sport.

Of course, some sources will disagree with me on this point. Even Wikipedia says that “Rodeo is a sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia.[1]” And I understand that by declaring all of rodeo (rather than a particular event) as the official sport, the province would be highlighting Alberta’s rural heritage in a broad way.

Still, it seems to me that declaring rodeo as Alberta’s official sport is like saying that our provincial sport is track & field. While you may want to call it a sport, it’s closer to being an event that exhibits a number of different-but-related sports.

Ultimately, adopting rodeo as the province’s official sport will likely result in nothing other than another photo op for Kevin Taft—a photo op that won’t gain the Liberals any of the rural support that Taft is likely expecting to win as a result of this move—and another punchline for the rest of Canada to use against Albertans.

Congratulations Kevin Taft, you’ve successfully managed to continue to illusion that Alberta is a rural province; a province where urban centres are just places for the “liberal elite” (i.e.: you); and a province that’s still stuck in the 19th century. Maybe you’re not so different from Stelmach’s Tories after all.

Edmonton Eskimos fans have something to be excited about today, as the Esks announced that they’ve resigned Jason Maas.

Maas was traded to Hamilton after the 2005 season, where it was assumed that he’d get the chance to become a full-blown CFL starting quarterback, instead of playing backup to Edmonton starter Ricky Ray. This never happened, partly because of a shoulder injury that plagued him through his time with the Tiger-Cats.

The Tiger-Cats traded Maas to the Montreal Alouettes last season, and that club sent him off into the world as a free agent. Today, the Eskimos announced that they’ve signed Maas to a one-year contract plus option.

Re-signing Maas doesn’t mean that Ricky Ray will be losing the starter’s role. He won’t. Ray will still be the starter, and the second-string position will remain with Stefan LeFors. Maas will be competing with teammate Steven Jyles for the third-string role.

Maas doesn’t seem to mind. He’s happy to be home—he and his family still live in Sherwood Park—and all reports indicate that he’s looking forward to playing with the Esks again.

Personally, I’d like to see Maas move into the role of backup quarterback, or even take over the starting role, but that’s not likely to happen, especially in light of his inconsistent play over the last couple of seasons (due mostly, I suspect, to the injuries he’s been battling).

Despite that, Maas stands to play a leadership role. According to head coach Danny Maciocia, “Jason is a proven leader and winner whose intensity and passion for the game will be a real asset to the team.”

If nothing else, it’ll be nice to see Maas donning the green and gold again come June.

As I become more and more serious about buying a home in the upcoming months, I’m realizing that my financial situation will probably be a little bit tighter than I’m used to. It won’t be anything that I can’t manage, but I won’t have quite as much spending money as I do at the present time.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to solicit more ideas for free fun in Edmonton. If you can think of more ideas, that aren’t already listed in the original topic, leave a comment here, or in the comments section for the previous free fun in Edmonton topic.

Bonus points if you do me a favour and list free (or inexpensive) date ideas. It seems that my romantic life might be taking a positive turn, so if I can create a fun date that doesn’t cost me a lot of money, that would be great.

Despite the so-called “Alberta Advantage,” most of the Edmontonians I know are strapped for cash. I’m strapped for cash. Maybe it’s just because I associate mostly with writers, artists, and students—people who are stereotypically short of money—but I don’t really see many people enjoying the wealth that has been flowing up from the tar sands for the the past few years.

A lack of money shouldn’t mean a lack of fun, though. I want your help to create a list of fun things that you can do for free in Edmonton. Bonus points if you come up with something that is exclusive to Edmonton. I’ve got a few things to start the list off.

• Take a walk in the river valley. Edmonton has the longest stretch of continuous green space in North America. The river valley is host to a massive trail system, much of which is wooded heavily enough to allow you to forget that you’re in the city for a brief moment. Going for a walk or a run in the river valley is one of the easiest, and cheapest ways to escape the stress of city life. While some people will argue that certain parts of the valley are better than others, I think that the whole stretch is beautiful, and recommend that you check out as many different areas as you can. Other good walks in the city, outside of the river valley include downtown (I love wandering the Core in the autumn, with a good friend to chat with), and Whyte Avenue. Both of these areas happen to be close to the river, so you can experience both nature and concrete in the same walk, if you want.
• Visit your local library. Yes, I’m hitting you with a cliché of “how to have fun for free” lists. One of the cool things about the Edmonton Public Library is that they don’t just have books, music, and movies that you can borrow for free (an adult membership is $12/year, but I’ve been told that they will waive the fee if you are unable to afford it), but they also give free film screenings at the Stanley A. Milner location downtown. I’ve gone to a few of the film screenings they’ve shown, and I’ve yet to be disappointed. I’ve been confused, and uncertain about what think about some of the movies, but I’ve never been disappointed. That said, they show mostly “art house” flicks, so if that’s not your thing, you might not enjoy the movies that are shown in the basement of the library. The Stanley A. Milber library also has an art gallery, that you can view for free. The current exhibit features the photography of Kan Ki Chiu.
• Embrace your inner child: visit a playground. When was the last time that you visited a playground? It might seem silly, but getting together with a group of over-sized kids for a game of sand tag can be surprisingly fun. If you’re into the idea of playing tag, but not into the idea of taking over the local playground, you might want to check out Manhunt.
• Have sex. I can almost guarantee that some joker was going to put this in the comments section. Well, now I’ve beat you to it. Having said that, if you’ve got a willing partner, it’s not a bad suggestion.

I’ve given you some ideas to get started. What other kinds of free fun can you have in Edmonton?

The Labour Day long weekend marks the tragic end of summer in Champion City. While it’s not technically the end of summer, it might as well be. All of the summer festivals are over. The sky gets dark before 10pm. The cold slowly starts to creep back into the air (though, I do like the “crispness” of an autumn morning).

The beginning of autumn in Edmonton does, however, have some good points. To me, autumn means long, aimless walks. The river valley is great for this, though I actually prefer wandering around downtown with a hot cup of coffee and a good friend to chat with. Maybe it’s because I’m not-so-secretly in love with the concrete, but walking the Core with the leaves on the ground, and a scarf around my neck is one of my favourite things in the world.

Autumn also means that the CFL is in full swing. For some reason, I never really pay attention to football until the Labour Day Classic, even though the season actually starts in the summer. This year, I’ve paid enough attention to know that the Esks aren’t doing as well as they usually do. But, after last season, I’m not overly surprised. I blame the loss of Jason Maas (okay, not really, but it does seem like the team has gone downhill since he was traded to the Ti-Cats).

Even though the summer festivals are over, that doesn’t mean that Festival City is suddenly devoid of festivals in the fall. September brings with it the Edmonton Poetry Festival, as well as the Roar Spoken Word Festival (this year’s schedule was posted recently—check it out).

Let me know what you like to in Edmonton in the fall, and I’ll do a “round-up” style post in the near future, using your suggestions. Leave a comment, or send me an email to tell me what your favourite River City autumn activities are.