Blue and orange forever: Oilers superfan dons face paint for every game
As the Edmonton Oilers face off against the Los Angeles Kings Wednesday night at Rogers Place for Game 2, superfan Dale Steil gets prepared as he would for any hockey game – with blue and orange face paint and a costume to boot.
Steil began dressing up at the Oilers' first game in the 2022 season. After that victory, Steil was bombarded with fan requests to get pictures taken with him, and that trend hasn't stopped.
"On a slow night, it's easily 150, 200 pictures of people. I'm a pretty social guy so I loved it," said Steil. "That just kind of took off like a whirlwind. I haven't looked back since."
It's not just face paint, his outfit screams Oilers superfan. The outfit is an orange sleeveless button up shirt with overalls covered in Oilers-related pins and blue and orange cowboys boots. Steil is almost never without his Oilers drum when it comes time to rally the fans.
Steil admitted that he isn't the most artistic person in the world, but that doesn't stop his passion for the Oilers as he takes inspiration from many of his interests including comic-book themed designs with Oilers colours, classic pro-wrestler face paint designs and Grant Fuhr's classic goalie mask.
In his early stages, a Steil-original face paint would take him about an hour to create. Now his more intricate designs can take nearly two and a half hours to complete.
When asked about how much he spends on face paint, Steil admitted the number was in the thousands of dollars "easily."
Since 2022, Steil has painted 91 different designs and he hopes to push that number to 100 this play-off season.
Steil is attending Game 3 and 4 in Los Angeles and he hopes his face painting antics won't stir up any security personnel in Los Angeles like he did last season.
"I went down there for Game 6 in April and security wouldn't let me in because my full face was painted," he said.
When Steil responded with a quip about how Will Ferrell paints his whole face when he comes to games, he says security asked him if he was comparing himself to a celebrity.
Steil facetiously responded with, "I'm kind of a local celebrity." Steil had to clean up half of his face and lose the drum before he would be allowed back in the arena.
A catalogue of Steil's face paint designs can be found on his Instagram.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Golf season a summer tourism driver in Canada
Golf is a sign of spring and summer and a major driver for seasonal tourism, experts say.