clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Edmonton Aints?

It's about time Oilers fans whip out an old New Orleans trick.

Adam Gretz Tweeted that .gif earlier tonight during the Oilers game against the Coyotes:

The paper bag fan originated in New Orleans in 1980 during a 14-game losing streak:

He hatched the bag idea in 1980, borrowing from the Unknown Comic, who wore a brown paper bag onstage during "The Gong Show." Diliberto and a bartender buddy designed their version, decorated it with holiday lights, cut holes for the eyes and scribbled ’Aints across the front.

Since the Saints’ inception, Diliberto had covered the team in one fashion or another. He wrote columns for a local newspaper. He served as public-address announcer. Mostly, he analyzed the Saints on radio and television.

He entered the 1980 season with high expectations, spurred by an 8-8 campaign the year before. But as the losses mounted — 1, 2, then 14 straight, the idea festered, and finally, while doing a local broadcast before a Monday night game, Diliberto reached under his chair, grabbed the bag and placed it over his head

It's amazing, really, that it took this long for Oilers fans to don the paper bag.