'Play La Bamba Baby': Newest giant sign echoes Ben Stelter call to hear Joey Moss' favourite song
"Play La Bamba Baby" is the most recent Oilers cheer to show up in giant orange letters against Edmonton's skyline.
The lettering at the south end of Walterdale Bridge is a show of support for the Edmonton Oilers, who face off against the Calgary Flames Tuesday night for Game 4 of the second round of the playoffs.
The sign also calls to memory the late Joey Moss, the team's former locker room attendant and superfan.
Ritchie Valen's "La Bamba" was Moss' favourite song, and has since been adopted as the Oilers' victory anthem during playoffs.
The phrase "Play 'La Bamba,' baby" is equally special to Oilers fans thanks to five-year-old superfan and official Edmonton Oilers' "playoff ambassador" Ben Stelter.
Stelter has been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Throughout the season, Oilers fans have cheered him on as loudly as they have their favourite team.
After every win, Stelter's dad posts a video of him saying, 'Play 'La Bamba,' baby!"
Moss died in 2020 at age 57.
The Oilers' playoff run is the team's first without Moss in the dressing room.
"Joey would just be over the moon right now," his nephew Adam Walker told CTV News Edmonton over the weekend. "He'd be just as nervous as I think we all will be. But, he also knows the Oilers will win."
There are also calls to rename the ICE District Plaza the "Moss Pit."
Giant Oilers numbers have popped up around Alberta's capital city throughout playoffs: first Leon Draisaitl's 29 in Landsdowne, then Connor McDavid's 97 at Whitemud Drive and 145 Street, then Mike Smith's 41 in Belgravia.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.