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From the CBC archives: The original Winnipeg Jets White-Out

With the Winnipeg Jets potentially poised to make the NHL playoffs this week, a debate is brewing among some fans: White or blue? We look back at the original Winnipeg White-Out and ask if it should make a comeback.

Fans of Winnipeg's 1st NHL franchise donned white to show their support at home games

CBC News ·

From the CBC archives: What is the Winnipeg Jets White-Out? (1993)

10 years ago
Duration 1:55
Mark Lee of CBC Sports explores what the Winnipeg Jets 'White-Out' means to the team in this report from April 23, 1993.

With the Winnipeg Jets potentially poised to make the NHL playoffs this week, a debate is brewing among some fans: White or blue?

The former, of course, refers to the Winnipeg White-Out, in which fans of the original Jets franchise wore all white and waved white pompoms to home games at the old Winnipeg Arena to intimidate the visiting team.

Fans of Winnipeg's original NHL franchise wore all-white and waved white pom-poms at home games, like this one in April 1992, as part of the Winnipeg White-Out. (CBC)
"White-hot is what happens inside this arena at playoff time. A tradition since the mid-'80s, fans dress in white, wave white pompoms — a mass of white deafening hockey fans, the most dramatic example of home-ice advantage," Mark Lee said in this CBC report from April 23, 1993.

A year earlier, Jets player Randy Carlyle told reporters, "You're 36 years old and played over 1,000 games, and fans give you shivers up your back when they're cheering for you — and I know everybody in the room got those — so it makes a difference."

Click on the videos above to watch both archival reports.

A Winnipeg NHL team has not made a postseason appearance since the original Jets lost in the first round to the Detroit Red Wings in 1996.

A playoff showing this year would certainly bring some excitement to the city since the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in 2011 and became the new Jets.

The old Winnipeg Arena was packed with fans dressed in white during Jets games in the late 1980s and early 1990s. (CBC)
But should a new team bring about new traditions — namely, a Blue-Out (in reference to the team's other official colour) or something different altogether — or should the White-Out make a comeback?

The CBC's Marjorie Dowhos took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to ask fans if they want a #whiteout or #blueout should the Jets make the playoffs. Here are some of your responses:

So, what do you think? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments.

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