As I sit here awaiting the Labour Day classic between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, I thought I would share a few opinions and thoughts from recent happenings in our great game. The Labour Day weekend football is the most anticipated weekend of the CFL regular season, and he’s a few thoughts on what’s unfolded thus far.
Proud of my Lions, proud of the fans
Two weeks ago, fans left BC Place stunned and deflated at what they had seen. The Lions were thoroughly beaten by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and it appeared like the teams spirit was shattered by that loss. Friday night at BC Place the undisputed best team in the CFL came to town and failed to score a touchdown on the Lions, who turned in a gutsy performance and restored some hope amongst the fans and no doubt confidence in themselves. I’m always proud to be a Lions fan, but Friday night showed me this team has pride and that was great to see. Kudos also go to the 27,199 fans that made it very loud in the fourth quarter getting behind that Lions defense.
The touchdown that wasn’t?
The Lions may have been fortunate that a league error on the Als final drive nullified a Montreal touchdown that would have tied the game. However a couple things need to be clarified. The first is, what was the flag on the play for? Lowell Ullrich, in his video recap following the game stated the call was offside against the Lions, while Rick Ball of the TEAM 1040 stated the call was procedure against Montreal. That would explain why Wally Buono was so upset after having the call explained to him, and almost every Lion on the field was pointing towards the Als after the touchdown and seeing the flag. If the call was against the Als, they would have been facing a 3rd and a 11 and the touchdown wouldn’t have counted anyway.
Secondly, there has been a lot of finger pointing at the “homer” timekeeper in BC Place, an accusation that is getting a little stale from disgruntled opposing fans. I sat at Commonwealth stadium this year and the clock had to be reset 4 times. It happens folks and the officials and the league are responsible for making sure it is accurate before each snap. The league has admitted their error, and while unfortunate for the Als, those are the breaks, and the Lions sure needed one.
Finally, congratulation to Wally Buono, who pulled even with Don Matthews as the most successful coach in CFL history with the win. The Lions next won will see Buono become the CFL’s all-time leader in coaching wins. Go get em Wally!
Go Joystick go!
As a Lions fan, I watched Stefan Logan closely over the last couple of weeks, selfishly hoping that “Joystick” would wear a Lions uniform again. Of course we all know his 80 yard punt return for a touchdown Thursday erased any glimmer of hope that would happen. Congratulations to Stefan Logan, who chased his dream, and went down to Pittsburgh, with no contract, no signing bonus and no promises. He gave the Steelers no choice but to have him on the team. He’s an outstanding player, with a tremendous belief in himself and his abilities, and I’m sure I join all Lions fans in wishing Logan an outstanding season with the Steelers, and I’ll certainly be watching anytime the Steelers are on TV.
Tailgating goodness!
We’re halfway through the season, and I have to say our new tailgate home has been a big success. New people are showing up and finding us to enjoy the cheap parking and everyone has been great about policing ourselves and keeping the lot clean each and every game. It’s so nice to head to the game knowing we won’t be facing a surprise when we arrive. Another huge thanks goes out to the folks at Easy Park, in particular Greg Watrych, and city councillor Andrea Reimer who made a lot of Lions fans very happy. I encourage everyone to park at Easy Park lots whenever they head downtown to an event, and if Greg and Andrea are up for it, I would love to treat them to a tailgate dinner!
Enjoy the games everyone!
Time to settle down and get ready for some great Labour Day games. Winnipeg and the Riders get it on today, and Monday features a day of double header football. Enjoy the games everyone, and good luck to all our teams in the second half of the season!
ROAR YOU LIONS ROAR!
