Winnipeg Jets History

[Jets4Life]

What amazes me is that someone actually thinks a reputable reporter would trump up a false version and actually put a name to it, for what exact purpose only you probably pretend to know.

The detail he put in to this apparent lie is absurd, came up with a fake name to it, had dates to it, put lots of effort in to a false story which reporters normally do lol.

Yes, you are absolutely correct. No member of the media has ever lied or embellished the truth. You conveniently omit people like Scott Taylor, a once respected sports reporter in Winnipeg..

I'm not saying Dean Kennedy is lying. I'm just stating that from the numerous "stories" about Jets players, and even Alan Eagleson that you have told over the years, one would be wise to take anything you say with a grain of salt. In fact, I am starting to question if you have fabricated every story you have ever told about hockey players, coaches, or Eagleson.

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

Just tweeted Geoff and he replied that he is 100% accurate as it was from the same people that created the whiteout, verified it was in 85 and called Good Guys Wear White. Just IM'd you the tweet.

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

Yes, you are absolutely correct. No member of the media has ever lied or embellished the truth. You conveniently omit people like Scott Taylor, a once respectedsports reporterin Winnipeg..

I'm not saying Dean Kennedy is lying. I'm just stating that from the numerous "stories" about Jets players, and even Alan Eagleson that you have told over the years, one would be wise to take anything you say with a grain of salt. In fact, I am starting to question if you have fabricated every story you have ever told about hockey players, coaches, or Eagleson.[/QUOTESure thing sport, please do tell the other Jet player stories I have shared on here?

And as for the Alan Eagleson stories, Dean Kennedy shared those stories, since he was a union rep during the Eagleson era. Or was that a lie??????

We had Dean on our team 3 years in a row at the same tournament, and he shared the exact same stories each and every time, verified by a full dressing room of coworkers.

But I doubt that will be enough to convince you. And to that point, I truly could not care less with what you choose to believe.

Feel free to add me to your ignore list

And fyi, Taylor plagiarized. He did not create false facts, put a name to those false facts then reported it as fact. What you are suggesting is pure nonsense that Kirby decided to create a completely false narrative, one that would serve his story zero purpose.

 

[Jets4Life]

Just tweeted Geoff and he replied that he is 100% accurate as it was from the same people that created the whiteout, verified it was in 85 and called Good Guys Wear White.

And yet numerous people in this thread have pointed out Kirbysons inaccuracies....

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

And yet numerous people in this thread have pointed out Kirbysons inaccuracies....

Yes, and they all talked and got quotes from THE ACTUAL PEOPLE THAT CREATED THE WHITEOUT!!!!!


You are so out to lunch on this its comical. The audacity to accuse someone else of misreping facts is beyond absurd.

He got actual quotes, and there you are denying the facts in lieu of posters on a forum saying it is not true.

What is their proof? Did you follow up with the people he interviewed? Did those that reported it in his story come out later and say he made it up? Nope Nope Nope

Best part, you wouldnt trust reddit poster, but you always trust an HFForum poster. Your are ridiculous on this subject

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

And yet numerous people in this thread have pointed out Kirbysons inaccuracies....

And what proof did they provide to support thier narrative?

That the white out was created in 87? No proof here, we all agree the official whiteout was created in 87. This was not called the white out, it was called good guys wear white.

That Wang Chung released the Everbody Wang Chung Tonight in 86? No proof here since the song had nothing to do with Good Guys Wear White promo.

So what proof do posters on here have that unequivocally proves that there was not a one night promo in 85, against the Flames, for fans to wear white?

 

[RetroWinnipeg]

And what proof did they provide to support thier narrative?

That the white out was created in 87? No proof here, we all agree the official whiteout was created in 87. This was not called the white out, it was called good guys wear white.

That Wang Chung released the Everbody Wang Chung Tonight in 86? No proof here since the song had nothing to do with Good Guys Wear White promo.

So what proof do posters on here have that unequivocally proves that there was not a one night promo in 85, against the Flames, for fans to wear white?

Mac Tonight (McDonald's mascot) went national/international in 1987. Before that, it was a regional campaign.

 

[Jets4Life]

Mac Tonight (McDonald's mascot) went national/international in 1987. Before that, it was a regional campaign.

Interesting tidbit. Mac Tonight was based off of a popular song by late singer Bobby Darin, called "Mack the Knife." Mac Tonight campaign came to an unceremonious ending after Darin's estate sued McDonald's in 1989 for royalties. The character was in the video "Everybody Wear White Tonight" which was a spoof off a Wang Chung hit in late 86. It was the original song for the launch of the Winnipeg Whiteout in the 87 playoffs.

 

[Jets4Life]

Right alongside this pandemic, has been this social experiment and it has (if nothing) highlighted the extreme depths to the ignorance and irrationality people will try (ironically) to rationalize. I suppose no one should be surprised when some dig in their heels when presented with overwhelming data and evidence that shows them wrong. The Whiteouts origins is one of many examples of this phenomenon.

 

[jetsmooseice]

My latest article on NHL History with Ty Di Lello features an interview with Keith Tkachuk talking about his Winnipeg days:

Keith Tkachuk: In His Own Words

Just an observation in passing, but it is amazing to me how little nostalgia or fondness there is for Keith Tkachuk among Jets fans. He was legitimately a great player, a leading scorer who had the last 50 goal season in Jets 1.0 history, and pretty exciting to watch. But you never, ever see anyone wearing a Jets jersey with his name on the back.

Even when he played here I don't think he was ever really considered a fan favourite. If you had a fundraising dinner with him as the keynote speaker you'd be lucky if 20 people bought tickets for it.

For what it's worth, I'm not making the case for him. Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way too, LOL. But it's just interesting to see how Teemu is a Jets super legend while Tkachuk is barely a notch above Brent Ashton in terms of fan admiration.

 

[cheswick]

Just an observation in passing, but it is amazing to me how little nostalgia or fondness there is for Keith Tkachuk among Jets fans. He was legitimately a great player, a leading scorer who had the last 50 goal season in Jets 1.0 history, and pretty exciting to watch. But you never, ever see anyone wearing a Jets jersey with his name on the back.

Even when he played here I don't think he was ever really considered a fan favourite. If you had a fundraising dinner with him as the keynote speaker you'd be lucky if 20 people bought tickets for it.

For what it's worth, I'm not making the case for him. Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way too, LOL. But it's just interesting to see how Teemu is a Jets super legend while Tkachuk is barely a notch above Brent Ashton in terms of fan admiration.

Probably something to do with him signing a front loaded offer sheet from the blackhawks the off-season before the team relocated, which many blamed on escalating salaries.

 

[Jets4Life]

Just an observation in passing, but it is amazing to me how little nostalgia or fondness there is for Keith Tkachuk among Jets fans. He was legitimately a great player, a leading scorer who had the last 50 goal season in Jets 1.0 history, and pretty exciting to watch. But you never, ever see anyone wearing a Jets jersey with his name on the back.

Even when he played here I don't think he was ever really considered a fan favourite. If you had a fundraising dinner with him as the keynote speaker you'd be lucky if 20 people bought tickets for it.

For what it's worth, I'm not making the case for him. Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way too, LOL. But it's just interesting to see how Teemu is a Jets super legend while Tkachuk is barely a notch above Brent Ashton in terms of fan admiration.

I can't speak for everyone, but I always liked Tkachuk as a player, and I can remember when he signed with the team and began to play immediately following the 92 Olympics. I've always thought the issue with Tkachuk not being that popular with Jets fans, is he was often negatively compared to Selanne. I obviously don't have first hand experience meeting either player but the general consensus was that Selanne was very popular and community oriented off the ice, while most stories I had heard about Tkachuk tended to be bad.

Nonetheless, Tkachuk was a valuable asset to the team, and married a Winnipeg women and returns to Manitoba often.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Probably something to do with him signing a front loaded offer sheet from the blackhawks the off-season before the team relocated, which many blamed on escalating salaries.

Yeah, like $6 million which was nuts by the standards of the day. Even over 25 years later it's still a decent chunk of change by NHL standards.

I guess he was kind of the poster boy for everything that Winnipeggers hated about the NHL in the 90s. Cocky, brash, arguably overpaid American player

 

[Guardian17]

On September, 28, 1988, the Jets beat the Kings 5-4.

Both teams wore their dark jerseys.

 

[Guardian17]

 

[Guardian17]

 

[DharmaBum]

How come no mention of Selanne's first NHL goal? He scored his first NHL goal against Jeff Hackett and the San Jose Sharks on October 8 1992. It was his 2nd game in the NHL. I tried looking for it but couldn't find any video of it. Someone tell Pascucci to get on it ASAP. First game was vs Detroit where he didn't score but had 2 assists.

 

[Guardian17]

10 years ago, on October 9, 2011, the NHL returned to Winnipeg.

Jets take flight in Winnipeg

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

Found this on Reddit:



Found this in the Winnipeg Free Press:
Apr 2015: Whiteout born over lunch at Rae & Jerry's

This Free Press story from 2015 has been cited before & holds no weight against the video evidence that exists and the actual newspaper stories from the era where no mention of wearing white to games ever occurred. Six years ago Kirby took a lot of heat for the very article you are quoting.

If you have a library card its easy to log in to the newspaper archives and search for key words or take the time to read the sports coverage for a few weeks.

I have. There's nothing there.

I was in grade 10 in 1985 & as a big a fan of our Jets as anyone. If any push was made to wear white I'd have been covered from head to foot in white garb. Family pictures of friends over for games or shots of us as we went out to sit in our cheap 7-11 seats a stones throw from the Queen's face have us wearing Jets garb of no particular colour.

Fast forward to 1987 & its a sea of white.

I do however remember the "Good Guys Wear White" tag line. When I get home & have some time I'll throw that into the Newspaper Archives search engine and see what comes up. There will certainly be a reference to it where it'll be simple to ascertain what year that slogan originated.

 

[jetsforever]

10 years ago, on October 9, 2011, the NHL returned to Winnipeg.

Jets take flight in Winnipeg

Man, I remember that well but we've come a long way from that team

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

As expected, the first reference to the "Good Guys Wear White" occurred in April of 1987.

To get specific April 27th, 1987.

I did not think that story up, that was a direct story from Dean Kennedy, told to an entire dressing room during the Mike Keane Charity hockey tournament.

Not sure why Dean would lie about that to an entire dressing room??

And I did google the Jets Flames 1985 playoffs, and cannot find any footage of our 2 home games, if you find them please point them out.

I know why the whiteout was created, and that it was officially called the whiteout in 87.

Like I said, it was a one game thing and I am not 100% sure. I remember Kyte, the rubber chicken, and Kyte did not play in the 1987 playoffs. I am ok with being wrong here.

Kirbyson was, is & continues to be dead wrong on this subject. As a Free Press writer with immediate access to their archives there's simply no excuse for his re-writing of history.

Anyways get a library card & log in & check it out for yourself. Your online access number will be the card number & your password will likely be the last 4 digits of your phone number.

Winnipeg Public Library Resource Sign In

 

[MrBoJangelz71]

As expected, the first reference to the "Good Guys Wear White" occurred in April of 1987.

To get specific April 27th, 1987.

View attachment 469214



As for Dean Kennedy & his recollection of events, he didn't play for the Jets in the 80's. Kennedy didn't become a Jet until the 91-92 season & his first full NHL season was 1985. He's hardly an expert on the subject & was simply recanting this story incorrectly because people like Geoff Kirbyson continue to spout drivel.

Kirbyson was, is & continues to be dead wrong on this subject. As a Free Press writer with immediate access to their archives there's simply no excuse for his re-writing of history.

Anyways get a library card & log in & check it out for yourself. Your online access number will be the card number & your password will likely be the last 4 digits of your phone number.

Winnipeg Public Library Resource Sign In

What are you talking about? I think you need to go back and re-read things before you start posting.

Where did I state Dean Kennedy played for the Jets in the 80s?

Where did I say Kennedy had anything to state about the white out?

And as for your debunking the fact that there was a one-day promotion for everyone to wear white in 85, Once again I will take the word of people that actually worked for the organization during that period of time over your library research.

Do you understand he got quotes from people that actually worked for the organization in 1985?

Or are you saying that he made those quotes up?

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

What are you talking about? I think you need to go back and re-read things before you start posting.

Where did I state Dean Kennedy played for the Jets in the 80s?

Where did I say Kennedy had anything to state about the white out?

And as for your debunking the fact that there was a one-day promotion for everyone to wear white in 85, Once again I will take the word of people that actually worked for the organization during that period of time over your library research.

Do you understand he got quotes from people that actually worked for the organization in 1985?

Or are you saying that he made those quotes up?

The definition of a promotion is its promoted. If people were encouraged to wear white in 1985 there'd be a record of it. The worlds newspapers are archived. The Sun, The Press Press, even the Tribune is available...in their entirety going back to the very birth of Winnipeg as a city.

If as much as a passing referring existed at all it would come up. That includes advertisements. OCR software is rather advanced.

There actually is a reference to "Good Guys Wearing White" in the Free Press 1985. A company was selling cowboys hats with that slogan.

I also know Geoff. He's kicked my ass on the tennis court from childhood to today. I'll trust him as an authority on the careers of 80's tennis players like Ivan Lendl, Vitas Gerulaitis, Martina Navratilova, Gabriela Sabatini & Carling Bassett long before I trust his memory on Jets history over mine. I've been attending Jets games since the WHA days of 1975. I'm not a hockey fan. I'm a Jets fan.

Further, people can be wrong. I've certainly been wrong on matters as recently as a few days ago when @Whileee corrected me on SOIR. Unlike some people when I'm wrong I admit as much, learn from my mistake & then don't continue repeating falsehoods.

On the topic of being wrong, sorry for assuming your post about Kennedy had anything to do with the Jets history we're speaking about. You & @Jets4Life have several arguments going on & I failed to realize you were speaking of two entirely different topics. I deleted that portion of the post for you.

See how easy it is to say "I'm wrong?"

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

It was done in 85, called something different, but it was a wear white to the game promo. There are plenty of people wearing white in the video, it was not a big promo and it was a one time deal.

In the 80's teams wore white at home. As a result the most common jersey fans purchased was the white home jersey so they could match the team they were cheering for.

Just because you see a smattering of people wearing white in 84-85, should not be construed as evidence. Just as many wore their white jerseys to games in 80,81,82,82,83 & 84.

 

[Arthur Fonzarelli]

From a weeks back on September 21st, 2021

Actually, the more thought I have put in to this, I am positive the whiteout occurred prior to 1987.

1 reason, I was at the second playoff game against the Flames that year, remember wearing my white Club Monico sweater for the whiteout which I had gotten in grade 8 (1985)

But the biggest reason I believe it was 85, was I remember distinctly during the warm up, a fan threw a rubber chicken at Tim Hunter, who turned down a fight with Jim Kyte in the previous game. The crowd went nuts, we all stood up and didn't sit for the remainder to the game.

Jim Kite did not play in the playoffs in 1987. He did play 8 playoff games in 85.

I do not think it was officially called the whiteout in 85, just a promo to try to get everyone wearing white.

Anyone recall that game, with Kyte, Hunter and the rubber chicken?

Your memory seems shaky at best since you recollected this event differently a few years back. Here's your post from April 30th, 2015.

To the best of my ability, I recall not wearing white, and it was in 85 against Calgary.

I remember during the pregame skate, someone chucked a rubber chicken at Tim Hunter, because he refused to drop the gloves in the previous game, with Tim Kyte. Once the chicken hit the ice, we all went nuts for the rest of the game.