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There might be solace in a great season, even if that season comes up short.
Certainly in the case of the 2015 Ottawa REDBLACKS, it will come. Just don’t ask them to feel that way in the immediate moments following their 26-20 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos in the 103rd Grey Cup presented by Shaw.
“I wouldn’t say right now, no,” answered receiver Greg Ellingson. “Couple of weeks, a month, maybe. Right now it just sucks.”
Which is perfectly understandable. After all, Ellingson had just showered and gotten dressed. And the Eskimos were still doing paper angels in the piles of green and gold ticker tape that were spread on the field at Investors Group Field.
The Ottawa room was filled with an air of disappointment but for the most part, lacked the seething anger that had hung thick as moss in the Hamilton room last year, when the Ticats felt they’d been robbed of an upset win over the Calgary Stampeders.
Perhaps there was a subconscious sense that what the second year REDBLACKS had accomplished this year would be a powerful point of pride for this team in the long months that will fill the off-season.
“These are the kinds of days you become a man,” said an agitated but philosophical Antoine Pruneau, the second-year linebacker who was having a hard time swallowing the loss. “Maybe in a couple of weeks I’ll find a positive end to this,” he said, solemnly before adding; “I think we’ve grown today.”
From 2 and 16 to Eastern Champions and oh so close against the mighty Eskimos. It’s been a hell of a ride for the REDBLACKS since football came back to Ottawa two seasons ago. There will be great optimism for the future of the franchise. Great expectations too, although quarterback Henry Burris doesn’t believe that will be too tough an obstacle to overcome.
“Pressure’s only something you feel when you don’t prepare,” the AGF Most Outstanding Player for 2015 said as he pondered how a team can deal with going from sneak attackers to a force everyone can see coming.
Well, they’ve already done that, Burris declared. “Once we started winning (this season), we knew the bar was set high. We couldn’t hide under the radar anymore.”
In the aftermath of the loss, Burris could find at least a little room for feeling proud, even if his ultimate goal – the entire team’s ultimate goal – was not realized. He knows the story the REDBLACKS might only be just beginning to tell. There is a “but,” however.
“Regardless of what you accomplish, it’s just disappointing that we came this close and weren’t able to get it done,” he said. “If there’s any fan base in this league that deserves it more than anybody else, it’s definitely the fans in Ottawa.”
Pruneau, still a little ticked that he’d been flagged for a 33-yard pass interference infraction during the first quarter (he didn’t leave out the possibility that he may have deserved it but wanted to see the film first) was trying to feel a sense of accomplishment over the 2015 season. He was having a hard time shaking the sour feeling of a close loss, especially when the defence he plays on really rose to the occasion, slamming the door on the Edmonton offence until another pass interference penalty, late in the fourth, turned the tide.
“I hope people out there have seen that we play with a lot of pride and we have a lot of heart,” he said of the REDBLACKS defence, which had been overshadowed by the team’s high-powered offence until its tour de force showing on Grey Cup Sunday.
“I’m proud of everyone in this locker room,” Pruneau said. “I’m proud of everybody. What’s bothering me is the result.”
“There was something really special in this locker room and it would have been fun to cheer right now and be successful today.”
As for Ellingson, whose late-game catch and run propelled the REDBLACKS to a win in the Eastern Final the week before, there was the knowledge that separating himself from the immediacy of the loss over the next few days might provide a brighter outlook on the season that has just wrapped. “Maybe a little bit after the adrenaline’s gone and I can reflect but at this moment I’m disappointed,” he said.
From him you could certainly expect and excuse any lingering negativity. This was his third straight trip to the Grey Cup, each one resulting in a loss.
“Some guys don’t even make the Grey Cup, right? So, I guess, in hindsight it’s nice to be here three times in a row but it doesn’t really mean anything, you’re just another team that lost, right?”
His disappointment, though, seemed to be focused more on his teammates than himself.
“All these guys, they’re great dudes and they’re great football players,” he said.
From Burris came a vow that 2016 would see another step forward.
“The bottom line, for us, is we’re gonna continue to learn from these types of occasions and this is gonna make us a better tram for next season,” he said.
