Kilwinning Street may look like just another street in Penticton, but once you reach the house numbered 1165, things change.
For one, it’s renamed Canucks Street with a sign below stating “Reserved Parking for Canucks Fans Only.”
Armand Granger has been a Canucks fan for 30 years and he started showing off his support of the team as the first round of the NHL playoffs began. It started out with the white flag in the window but has since grown. There is now a Stanley Cup perched on Granger’s roof.
Granger didn’t have a light bulb moment to do it. It was just something they thought would look good on the house.
“We just kept pulling out our Canuck paraphernalia that we bought over the past years,” he said. “A lot of stuff that we got at games we’ve been at.”
“My daughter (Lindley) thought maybe I’m going off the deep end,” said Granger, sporting a Canucks Western Conference championship hat. “As they keep on winning, we just keep adding more stuff.”
Lindley claims what her father has done is pretty normal for him.
“At least he’s excited about it,” she said.
However, on a rainy day, Granger did have a light bulb moment and out of nowhere appeared the Stanley Cup. Granger, owner of Granger Construction, had two hours that they couldn’t do anything so they decided to make the Stanley Cup.
“Out came the popcorn bowl and some dollar store stuff and a garbage can and lots of tinfoil and tape,” he said.
Credit goes to Lindley, who initially felt her father was crazy for wanting to build a Stanley Cup, for having it sit on the roof.
“It looked goofy on the lawn,” said Lindley, who is also a Canucks fan but doesn’t take it to the extreme like her father.
“She calls me a little bit of a redneck but I think the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” he quipped.
He has also listened to ideas from people who have stopped by making suggestions.
“People actually come by and have a look and stop and take pictures,” he said.
An idea he is toying with is getting mannequins and dressing them like the Green Men to beat up a Bruin. Granger may not follow through as he doesn’t want to irk any Bruins fans, one, which is a nearby neighbour.
“I think the Green Men taking a round out of a Boston Bruin would look good,” he laughed.
Asked if he had any fear of jinxing the Canucks with the Cup on the roof surrounded by towels, he said “absolutely not.” As Granger put it, the Canucks have already been jinxed two times that they have been in it.
“I think No.3 is going to happen, I really do,” said Granger, who blows his foghorn every time the Canucks score. “I think that with the game last night (Wednesday), (Roberto) Luongo is on his game and I’m pretty sure that they are going to go all the way.”
Asked for a prediction and Granger said he was going on a trend. With the Canucks having eliminated the Blackhawks in seven, Nashville in six and San Jose in five, he went on a limb to pick a sweep.
“They have gotten stronger all the way through,” said Granger, who joked he should send the Canucks an invoice for the money he has spent on paraphernalia. “Luongo is now playing his game. Everybody seems to be meshing and clicking.”
And if they do win, how long does his house stay decorated?
“The Stanley Cup is coming down off the roof and we’re going to plant flowers in it for the season,” he said. “The flag stays and some of the stuff will come down.”