Myke Thomas, the man pictured above, is an idiot.And I don't say that easily, because Myke is a friend of mine, for probably close to 30 years.Both of us worked for decades at the Calgary Sun, myself on the city desk while Myke was a real estate reporter, probably the best in the country putting out huge sections every week.But, apparently over the last few years as the real estate expert at the Western Standard, he has turned into an idiot.An idiot of the village kind..I write these unflattering words after Myke revealed his true colours last week.He is a traitorous cur, a Calgary turncoat.His idiocy was put on full display after he penned a column saying he was going to cheer for the Edmonton Oilers as they take on the Florida Panthers in the NHL Stanley Cup final starting Wednesday.Here we had a Calgary man — who has lived here since he was an infant — supporting the hated team to the North."I also have a deep and loving devotion to both the Calgary Stampeders and the Calgary Flames," Myke opined..He even admitted he has hated the Oilers for years, all the way back to the Gretzky, Messier, Coffey days.He was even a Day One season ticket holder for the Flames, for crying out loud.I feel the same way. It truly boggles the mind that Myke can turn traitor and cheer for the hated Oilers from the City of Chumps, where the big tourist attraction remains a dumpy mall.I was born in England where cheering for a team in a neighbouring city can get you kicked out of the family. My dad cheered for Sheffield United, so I cheer for Sheffield United. I would never dream of cheering for the cross-city Sheffield Wednesday, the weirdest name in sports.My son cheers for Liverpool, which is like a festering sore for the family.This is what makes Myke's traitorous move even more difficult to understand.It's the equivalent of him coming out hoping Jyoti Gondek gets a second term in office as Calgary mayor..But being a responsible journalist I wanted to dig deeper and see if other Calgarians are on Team Myke or Team Dave — so I went to the pub."Are you kidding me, I would never cheer for the Oilers," said Tyler, the erstwhile barkeep."You can't call yourself a Calgarian and cheer for those clowns."Rick, big in the solar industry in Southern Alberta, echoed Tyler's sentiment."F--- that. No way would I cheer for the Oilers. You just can't," he said..Now, to be fair, Anya, the delightful server, did say she was cheering for the Oilers.But she has an excuse, she's a Leaf's fan, not the Flames. So she gets a pass.Mike, another bartender, was more succinct."No way, man," he replied on whether he was cheering for the Oilers.This spring, whenever the Oilers have played in the playoffs, the bar has been packed with Oilers fans cheering on their heroes. But would anyone of them cheer for the Flames? Not bloody likely..Now there's still time for Myke to come to his senses, but I'm not confident.Let me know if there are any villages in need of a new idiot.Meanwhile, go Panthers, go.
