Just wear the jersey, Mr. Harper

So Stephen Harper scores a major photo op by attending Saturday's Stanley Cup finals game but won't don an Oilers jersey because "that picture would be used against me in Calgary."

CBC blogger Tyler Dellow says this about Harper's decision::

First of all, full marks to Stephen Harper for not wearing an Oilers jersey to the game. Given his notorious support of the Flames and Maple Leafs, it would have looked terribly opportunistic to show up at the game wearing an Oilers jersey. I remember Paul Martin appearing in Calgary wearing a Flames jersey in 2004 - by not giving in to the temptation to show up in an Oilers jersey, Harper has probably avoided accusations that the Tories are stealing Liberal policy on bandwagon jumping. Just a smart move on his part.

This is funny, but wrong. First, Paul Martin is not a fair comparison. Martin was an Eastern Liberal PM with a minority government in meltdown. Sure, wearing a Flames jersey was opportunistic--but Martin needed every opportunity he could get.

Harper's different. It's not bandwagon jumping to wear the jersey of a team from your home province (where your party swept the last election). At Saturday's game Harper was among people who are just about as Tory blue as they are Oilers' blue. So why not wear the jersey and cheer--really cheer--for Canada's best chance at a Stanley Cup since 1993?

Here's what I think: despite several months of prime-ministerial posing, Stephen Harper's still just a prick from Calgary.

And like some other PFCs (see Jim Dinning), he can't rise above an often petty intra-provincial sports rivalry. (And hell, even Calgarians are letting go and putting on Oilers' gear.)

I'll bet that if the if Oilers win tonight, Harper will be seen in a jersey within two weeks. And that's the kind of crass toadying we used to hate about Paul Martin .