City of Edmonton sign with the City of Champions removed from it, in Edmonton Alberta December 14, 2014. Jason Franson for The Globe and Mail.
It's farewell, then, to "City of Champions."
Edmonton's municipal government is moving on from the city's long-standing motto; it's merely a coincidence that the last-place Oilers, who along with the CFL's Eskimos provided much of the evidence to support the slogan, moved on from their latest coach, Dallas Eakins, on Monday.
There are no immediate plans for a replacement catchphrase. How could there be? "Canada's hockey laughingstock" doesn't quite have the same ring.
In any case, good on the Alberta capital for standing up to the tyranny of mediocre sloganeering.
Not for them the cringe-inducing puns, bland descriptions or nebulous mission statements that proliferate around the country (Fredericton's website features a dandy: "Smart. Sustainable." There are dozens of others to choose from).
At least the Alberta capital's soon-to-be-jettisoned motto has the advantage of having been true at some point.
It might also be defended as a refreshingly boastful expression of civic pride, distinct from the treacly slogans so prevalent today. Most read as if they were crafted by the same people who name subdivisions or by copywriters deemed too sentimental to pen greeting cards.
True, cities benefit from forging strong identities and defining their brand. But it doesn't mean Edmonton should dwell on its past or succumb to the lure of second-rate jingles.
The British designer Peter Saville, hired as Manchester's "creative director" a decade ago, put it succinctly in a 2012 interview with The Atlantic's Citylab: "Slogans are a sign of insecurity. If your place needs a slogan, it has a problem."
So go forth, Edmonton, and just be yourself.