If you live in the city of Winnipeg there’s no denying that the Winnipeg Jets are coming back. There’s signs everywhere welcoming the team back and busy building up the hype for the puck drop in Winnipeg on September 20; well for pre-season at least.
In the next 71 days, True North Sports and Entertainment (TNSE) has a few vital things to do. They’ve already begun securing their free agents and building the team. Of course coaching staff has been largely selected too. Then there’s the logo and colors. It took them almost a month to rename the Atlanta Thrashers franchise to Winnipeg Jets and it’s going to take even longer to get a logo, jersey and colors chosen as well.
In an effort to avoid the logo and color guessing game, the other day we asked what are some of the biggest things that you, the fans are looking forward to with the return of the Jets. We got a few responses, but still enough to warrant this post. Jimmy Mac, who’s actually a Jets Alumnus, said that he’s looking forward to the Canadiens. Now he didn’t really clearly state if it was because he’s a Habs fan, or if it’s because it’s the home opener. For the sake of our fans, we’ll assume it’s because it’s the home opener and there just weren’t enough characters on Twitter to say that.
Other replies included the logo and jersey (of course), all the home town whiteouts and of course, Benny. Benny the Jet was named in honor of Ben Hatskin, the first owner of the Jets, and in part of Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets” hit. With all that’s gone on over the years, it’s hard to say if TNSE will actually keep Benny and just give him a nice refresh too, or if they’ll come up with some other new mascot. And of course, how will Dancing Gabe play into the festivities?
There’s just over 71 days until the puck hits the ice for some pre-season action in Winnipeg (we’ve got a cool counter on our schedule page to tell us). What are you most looking forward to with the return of the Winnipeg Jets?
Marshall Stevenson regularly contributes to one of the best Winnipeg Jets blogs as an editor and co-founder while also working on JET FUEL – a documentary about Winnipeg Jets fans. Of course he’s also behind the only official, unofficial Jets fan gear site. And as if he wasn’t busy enough, a co-host on the popular Winnipeg Jets focused Jets Hockey Podcast.
