Edmonton Construction 13 (November 2015)

[Hallsy's Toupee]

Editorial: City of champion rehashing
http://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-city-of-champion-rehashing

Like watching the Edmonton Oilers with a 3-0 lead in the third period’s dying minutes, Edmontonians thought it was safe to move on.

But the City of Champions controversy has returned and that’s almost as inconceivable and frustrating as the Anaheim Ducks coming back in Game 5.

It was almost exactly two years ago that Edmonton city council voted to cast off what was seen as a obsolete tagline from several highway entrance signs, which like the slogan itself, evoke all the stylistic flair of a wood-panelled basement rumpus room in the 1980s.

Coun. Tony Caterina is calling for the civic rallying cry to be resurrected and the issue will be dutifully rehashed on May 30.

The issue’s return dovetails with the resurgence in popularity and on-ice success of the city’s NHL franchise. But with the Oilers still battling in the preliminary rounds after 11 years out of the playoffs, it seems somewhat premature to dub ourselves civic titleholders of anything — other than the rousing of sleeping dogs, recycling of worn-out material, or re-enacting the movie Groundhog Day.

Caterina insists he’s not reclaiming this hoary debate from the trash heap because of the Oilers’ coincidental return to glory. He reminds us that the slogan has nothing to do with sports at all, but is dedicated to the volunteers who cleaned up the city in the devastating aftermath of the deadly 1987 tornado.

That claim has been around as long as the slogan itself yet most people still associate the catchphrase with sporting achievement alone. Visitors too can be expected to continue mocking the self-proclaimed city of winners when its athletes fall short.

To erase any confusion, Caterina wants the moniker back, this time with an explanation of what it actually means. But slogans which require footnotes or explanatory origin stories automatically fail the job of quickly conveying the intended message.

Muddying the waters, there are other communities which call themselves City of Champions and make no bones about the fact it’s because of sporting accolades. There’s Duncanville, Texas, Brockton, Mass., and Inglewood, Calif. to name only a few of North America’s cities of champions.

That Edmonton would share the City of Champions name with various small- to mid-sized municipalities is yet another strike against it. If Edmonton really needs a slogan, let it not be a generic label but one that reflects a unique and compelling city.

Sadly, to outsiders and residents alike, it’s the endless bickering about whether Edmonton should be called the City of Champions that says more about the place than any slogan ever could.

Fully agree, especially the last sentence.

[SHOFEAR]

bring it back. it should have never went away in the first place.

[Urban recluse]

Time to debate serious issues.

[ciudad_del_norte]

Ack. Let the slogan die already. Totally agree that if you have to explain and educate that a slogan doesn't mean what everybody thinks it does, it's not a good slogan.

I've never understood the attachment to the slogan or what sort of percieved benefit it brings.

[Rocket252]

My vote - Let it die - we have grown up and do not need it. Spend time on more important things

[adam-machiavelli]

You do realize Caterina is only doing this because we're approaching election silly season, right?

[ciudad_del_norte]

Yes and that only makes it worse.

[Rocket252]

Caterina should retire. He has overstayed his welcome and an example of why I would support term limits for civic politicians

[Hallsy's Toupee]

'It dawned on me how important this is to our culture:' Fans say Edmonton still the City of Champions
http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2017/05/10/what-makes-edmonton-the-city-of-champions.html

Seriously? This is why I think Edmonton still has a way to go before it can consider itself a big city. Because the people here still want to be an inferior hick town that relies on lame slogans and giant baseball bats to define itself.

[McBoo]

Nothing screams Aaron Slick from Pumpkin' Crick quite like "City of Champions."

https://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http...HW-JBwkQ_B0IdDAK&ei=tZIUWZSeGo7OjwPvkp5I

Why we ever gave Gateway to the North away for free is beyond me. Then again, on a larger scale, we also gave Sunny Alberta away for free in exchange for Wildrose Country ...

[Rocket252]

Slogans are tough because they have to come from within most times instead of being introduced by a company or individual that has no clue.

And of course you can't please everyone so that factors into play.

[GreenSPACE]

No real city needs a slogan. Time to move on.

[s211]

Originally Posted by GreenSPACE

No real city needs a slogan. Time to move on.

Succinct and totally to the point. If council can't wrap their heads around something so simple, .....

[fortroad]

Originally Posted by GreenSPACE

No real city needs a slogan. Time to move on.

"City of Edmonton" is all that needs to be said, the City will tell visitors what its all about when they come here!

[Black Star]

The City of Champions

River City

The Big E

EdmonCHUK

Pick one.

All cities have at least 1 nickname.

[McBoo]

Always been partial to Big E.

[Mikemike]

Please not "River City". We are not a "River City". Compared to all the other "River Cities" out there, our river is farther away from our daily life than any other I can think of. Winnipeg and Saskatoon and St. Louis and Pittsburgh and about a hundred other cities just on this continent beat us in river-ness.

Don't get me wrong, we have a great river, but we don't interact with it and it doesn't define us.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by Black Star

The City of Champions

River City

The Big E

EdmonCHUK

Pick one.

All cities have at least 1 nickname.

They may have a nickname but it doesn't have to be advertised.

[Black Star]

Originally Posted by Jaws

They may have a nickname but it doesn't have to be advertised.

Mmmm...they always are!!

Hence the nickname.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by Atlguy33

I can't put my finger on it, really. I just kept seeing Edmonton in the World Book Encyclopedia and I got intrigued with it. I would write letters to the city's tourism board to get brochures in the mail. I finally visited Edmonton for the first time in 2001. I loved being there, like a dream come true. I've since visited a number of times, and have made friends there as well as have met some of the forumers on here. The last time I was in Edmonton was in May, 2012 with my dear companion, who tragically passed away in December of 2013. I hope I can go again next year when the Ice District towers are mostly complete.

Atlanta is a pretty awesome city, but to me it's just getting too big and congested. I live in a suburb called Marietta. I used to go into Atlanta a lot but don't very often anymore, mainly because of the traffic. I guess that's part of me getting older, LOL. For skyscraper geeks, the coolest thing about the Atlanta area is its several different dense areas, each with a distinct skyline. Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, the northern Perimeter area, and the Cumberland/Galleria area, now home to SunTrust Park, where the Atlanta Braves now play. That's about 20 minutes from where I live.

I'm in Atlanta now for the second time, staying in Midtown and I have to say that I quite like it here. This area of the city anyways reminds me a lot of Vancouver's west end. Very comfortable and familiar feeling. This is a place I look forward to coming back to