When Vancouver Canucks fans raised funds to fly a “#FireBenning” banner over Vancouver, it was met with a certain amount of controversy.
Some fans were upset because they think Jim Benning has done a good job as general manager of the Canucks despite making the playoffs just twice in seven years. After all, the Canucks have had three straight Calder finalists — and one winner — in Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes under his watch, as well as other young players added to the core like Nils Höglander and Thatcher Demko.
Other fans suggested that the airplane banner was a waste of money. Even though the excess funds from the GoFundMe were donated to Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, some suggested that all of the money should have gone to charity instead of wasting it on a banner.
While this argument wasn’t necessarily made in good faith — the same could be said of all sorts of frivolous spending on entertainment such as tickets to Canucks games — the latest appearance of the “#FireBenning” airplane banner should assuage those concerns. Instead of the $1465 it cost to fly the banner over Vancouver, this banner was more of a DIY project with minimal cash outlay.
On Monday, the banner “flew” over Ottawa before the Canucks’ game against the Ottawa Senators thanks to one Ottawa-based Canucks fan.
Thanks to some paper, pencil crayons, string, and a toothpick, this banner was significantly cheaper as it flew over Parliament Hill, downtown Ottawa, and the Canadian Tire Centre.
According to the Canucks fan, who goes by Jyrki21 on Twitter, plans to fly the banner over the Rideau Canal had to be cancelled due to rain, which threatened the integrity of the paper plane and banner. Plans to borrow a toy airplane from his son — which would have been made of more water-resistant materials — were scuttled when he realized that his son did not actually own a toy airplane.
The video caused a stir on Twitter, partly because it’s hilarious, but also because of the price of gas at the Esso station in the shot of the Canadian Tire Centre. While the arena is located in Kanata, where gas prices are a little bit cheaper than in Ottawa proper, the 116.9 price was still a shock to Vancouver residents used to paying upwards of 149.9 for their gas.
This innovation in special effects means the banner could potentially fly anywhere. As an added bonus, the banner was much easier to read than when it flew over Vancouver.
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