Oilers look to 'Play La Bamba, baby' with win in Game 3 of Western Final

The Edmonton Oilers are looking to rally with their "La Bamba" mojo against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place on Saturday.

The 1987 version by Los Lobos of the 1958 Ritchie Valens hit has been adopted by the Oilers as their victory song this season, but it hasn't played yet during this best-of-7 series, which the Avalanche lead 2-0 following their 4-0 win in Game 2 on Thursday.
"La Bamba" has actually been playing after win in the Edmonton dressing room for a few seasons as a tribute to Joey Moss, the Oilers longtime locker room attendant. It was his favorite tune, and when Moss, who was born with Down syndrome, died at age 57 on October 26, 2020, Edmonton decided to keep the music playing, expanding it and making the song part of the Rogers Place experience after each victory.
"I think it's pretty fitting with Joe and his legacy here in Edmonton," Oilers captain Connor McDavid said Oct. 14, "and obviously it's a song that's pretty close to our hearts and it's something that means a lot to us.
"Every time we win ... no one liked a win better than Joey Moss, so it's a good little tribute to him."
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Barrie Stafford, the Oilers' equipment manager for 28 seasons (1982-2010) and their director of special projects for 10 more, said the connections between Moss, the song and the Oilers run back many years.
"We were good friends, going back a lot of years," Stafford said. "I had been hanging out with Joey for a long time, long before he was the most famous person in Edmonton and didn't even know it. All of us who worked for the Oilers were friends of the Moss family. Joey always had a love for music and 'La Bamba' was just part of his repertoire.
"Getting it into the dressing room … I believe it's only been regularly in the dressing room the last few years. After Joey passed, they kept it rolling. But it was always a big part of his life and he was a real music buff."
Stafford said the entire Moss family had an extensive musical background, often touring around northern Alberta on a bus when Joey was a boy. Each of his brothers and sisters sang and danced, so Joey's musical background is a credit to his family.
"He had a love for music as long as I knew him," Stafford said. "Anything to do with James Bond, he loved. He listened to those themes all the time. Another of his favorites was 'Donna,' (another Valens song). A lot of Neil Diamond songs, too. But his favorite song of all time to sing and dance to, especially in a crowd, was 'La Bamba.' He loved to perform.
"So this is something that just evolved over time, and the current team incorporated that song whenever they won, when Joey was still alive."

The "La Bamba" theme has quickly become popular among Edmonton fans, including Ben Stelter, a 6-year-old undergoing treatment for glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer.
Several times during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Mike Stelter, Ben's dad, has uploaded new video of Ben bellowing, 'Play La Bamba, baby," to his Twitter feed after an Oilers win.

Stelter's cry for "La Bamba" has caught on among Edmonton fans.
"Out in public or when we're at the games, people will run up and say, 'Hey Ben, play La Bamba, baby,'" Mike Stelter said. "They often try to get him to say that but he usually only says it after the Oilers win. But he laughs every time, wherever we go and someone asks him to say it."
Mike says he and Ben will be attending Game 3, hoping to hear that music play, and that his son is very much into this new Edmonton tradition.
"He knows it's the Oilers win song and he knows it was Joey Moss' favorite song and that's why they do it," Mike said. "And he knows that after every win they play that at Rogers Place and they play it in the dressing room, too.
"He loves all of that."