Let us Show Spirit of Winnipeg


I jumped on the bandwagon late.  Even then, I was warmly welcomed and people said to me, "there is always room for another Jets fan."  I didn't attend any of the street white out parties but cheered by heart out for the Jets.  I watched all the news reports.  They said on the first night, there were some minor problems, none at the others.  In fact, opposing fans indicated that our parties were the best, just a celebration and even opposing fans were treated courteously.  Nine amazing parties.

And now, we are hearing how costly they were.  I'm a little floored by this.  $788,000 in police overtime costs alone.  The police have said one of the reasons for the large bill was that they had no time to plan.  Really.  How much spirit is that showing?  Even though I was a late Jets fan, I knew they were going to make the playoffs and go fairly deep.  I think the police who are responsible for public safety might have taken the opportunity to open a newspaper or turn on a radio.  Why were they surprised and unprepared?   Wouldn't it make more common sense to plan that we were going all the way to the Cup?   What would have happened if we actually won and then required a parade?   How much would that bill be?

Why couldn't they tap on the incredible support of Jets fans to lower the cost?  I know it is not the same thing but my sweetie and I just paid $100 US to volunteer at the World Men's Curling Championships.  This doesn't include our hotel, air fare, and meals.  But, we were happy to pay this as we got a once in a lifetime experience.  I bet there would have been hundreds of Jets fan who would have paid for the opportunity to be "Jets Peace Officers" and their fee would include a Sweatshirt, coupon for a food truck, and a training session.  Fans policing fans make all the sense in the world.  Let's face it.  We want to have White Out parties every year for the next 20 years.  We don't want some hooligans to screw it up for us.  There would be no better way to show the spirit of Winnipeg than to have fans making sure all fans enjoyed the experience.  I don't think we needed an almost $1M overtime police bill.  I think the fans could have handled it better and cheaper.

I heard a rumour that atleast 2 police officers booked their vacation during the event so that they would be called back for mandatory overtime.  I think those people would not be invested in making the parties a success.  If anything, they would be more interested in having incidents getting a little out of control in order to justify the use of police.

Winnipeg, we have shown the world that we have incredible spirit.  Now, we just have to prove it to City Officials before next playoff season.  Tap into our spirit and believe what we know.  We are the best fans anywhere and we can be trusted to be responsible.

#WinnipegSpirit.

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