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Friends from outside the Edmonton area have asked me about the posts and the craze with the song “La Bamba”. Here is the background:
The origins of “La Bamba” as the Oilers’ celebration song date back to when Wayne Gretzky was in Edmonton.
In the 1980s, Gretzky was dating Vikki Moss and became close with her brother, Joey. Gretzky helped Joey get a job as the team’s locker room attendant. “La Bamba” was Moss’ favourite song, and it instantly became a hit within the organization.
“The ‘La Bamba’ comes from a team Christmas party we had every year,” Gretzky explained. “We would have a live band and [Moss] knew one song. He would get up and sing, ‘La Bamba.’ So it’s one of the great winning songs for any professional sports team.”
Moss passed away in 2020. The Oilers brought back the song to honour him in the 2021-22 season and it has stuck ever since.
Although the song started with Moss, its legacy continued with Ben Stelter.
During the 2021-22 season, six-year old Ben began attending Oilers games. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. The Oilers heard his story and began supporting him.
“You never want to see a family go through that thing, you never want to see a kid go through something like that,” McDavid said. “Any joy that we could bring [Ben] was always worth it.”
Ben’s iconic catch phrase, “Play La Bamba, baby!” revitalized the song’s meaning to Edmontonians.
On August 10, 2022, Ben passed away at the age of 6. He will forever be an Edmonton icon.
Photo credits: Mike Stelter/Sportsnet
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Joe Becigneul:
Friends from outside the Edmonton area have asked me about the posts and the craze with the song “La Bamba”. Here is the background:
The origins of “La Bamba” as the Oilers’ celebration song date back to when Wayne Gretzky was in Edmonton.
In the 1980s, Gretzky was dating Vikki Moss and became close with her brother, Joey. Gretzky helped Joey get a job as the team’s locker room attendant. “La Bamba” was Moss’ favourite song, and it instantly became a hit within the organization.
“The ‘La Bamba’ comes from a team Christmas party we had every year,” Gretzky explained. “We would have a live band and [Moss] knew one song. He would get up and sing, ‘La Bamba.’ So it’s one of the great winning songs for any professional sports team.”
Moss passed away in 2020. The Oilers brought back the song to honour him in the 2021-22 season and it has stuck ever since.
Although the song started with Moss, its legacy continued with Ben Stelter.
During the 2021-22 season, six-year old Ben began attending Oilers games. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. The Oilers heard his story and began supporting him.
“You never want to see a family go through that thing, you never want to see a kid go through something like that,” McDavid said. “Any joy that we could bring [Ben] was always worth it.”
Ben’s iconic catch phrase, “Play La Bamba, baby!” revitalized the song’s meaning to Edmontonians.
On August 10, 2022, Ben passed away at the age of 6. He will forever be an Edmonton icon.
Photo credits: Mike Stelter/Sportsnet