A Kelowna, B.C., man has earned the status of superfan after mowing the logo for the Edmonton Oilers into his front lawn.
The team is facing off against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup finals starting Saturday night, marking their first chance at the NHL championship in nearly two decades.
Jeff Krause is originally from Edmonton and moved to the Okanagan in 2005 — just before the Oilers had a Cinderella run that saw them qualifying in eighth place and making it all the way to a seven-game finals series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
That’s when he was first inspired to turn his lush front lawn into a canvas showcasing his love for his hometown team, cutting the grass into a pattern that he admits was “a little rough around the edges.”
It’s an unusual sight in Canucks country, but Edmonton Oilers fan Jeff Krause says he wanted to show his love for the team and support them — by mowing the team’s logo into his front lawn.
But he’s had plenty of practice since, mowing the logo into place every time the team makes it out of the first round of the playoffs — which has happened in the last three seasons.
And with the Oilers reaching the finals, Krause’s tribute to the team is reaching wider audiences than ever before, with photos of his lawn circulating online and across sports media, attracting plenty of positive comments from fellow fans.
With his lush green yard slanting slightly toward the street, it’s also been drawing crowds of people eager to have their picture taken in front of it, or honking their horns in support as they drive by.
“We’ve been surprised by the amount of Oilers support there is in Kelowna,” says his wife, Andrea Krause. “Lots of photo requests and people stopping by and taking pictures.”
Krause’s precision has been praised but he says there’s nothing special to his method — he simply uses his trusty Honda mower, and “I just look at the logo and envision it on the grass and start to cut.”
As for the attention, he’s been enjoying connecting with fans in town and around the world.
“It’s been a little crazy, lately,” he said. And he expects the attention to get even “bigger” as the playoff series advances.
“We’re having fun with it,” he said. “Go Oilers! Let’s make it happen.”
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