‘We could not be up against a better team': Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis on Oilers vs. Panthers rematch
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Kent Morrison: You had home ice advantage last year, you don't this year. Are you scared?
Mayor Dean Trantalis: We have two great teams, the Oilers and the Panthers. It's great to see both our teams doing their best and it brings out the crowds. Families, visitors and everybody has a good time with these games. But we're very hopeful. We are very optimistic. We have a very strong team, very energetic and committed to winning, once again, the Stanley Cup. We're looking forward to seeing what happens. Whether it's on home ice or whether it's in Edmonton. I know our team will do well in both locations, and we're very excited about the outcome.
Kent: Last year, there was a lot of hype. The Stanley Cup match went seven games and Oilers fans travelled down there. What was that like for your community?
Dean: It was a cliffhanger, right? I was at a watch party at the practice facility here that's separate from the arena, and there were hundreds and hundreds of people there watching on big screen TVs. It was mostly young kids who can't afford the 1,000 dollar tickets and it was exciting to see everyone on edge. It was the last game and the whole attempt was to prevent the Oilers from scoring before the end of the buzzer. It was an exciting moment. Everyone was very excited for their team, but we had a great challenger. The Oilers are a great team, they're great competition, and we could not be up against a better team.
Kent: What do you have to say for Oilers fans this year, now that they're going at it again?
Dean: I think that the Oilers really want to win this one and I understand that. The good thing is, we're able to keep partisan politics out of it. We're able to just enjoy the game for what it's meant to be. There's a great community behind each team, and we're really looking forward to seeing the outcome.
Kent: We had the Mayor of Sunrise issuing a wager with our mayor. Who's really in charge of the Florida Panthers?
Dean: The Panther arena is actually in the western part of the county. It's in Sunrise, and that's where the mayor of sunrise takes ownership of that. But the team itself, the administration, the Academy, the practice facility, all that takes place in my city. When we had the celebration last year for the parade, it took place on our beach here in Fort Lauderdale. There's so much to share, and we're very happy to share it with Sunrise and all the other cities in our community and throughout the United States. This isn't just us. This is about a whole community coming together and supporting our team.
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