Mark Masters
CFL.ca
The City of Hamilton was so excited by their team’s victory over the BC Lions on Friday night that they shut off the lights early at Ivor Wynne Stadium just to make sure nothing could ruin the evening for the recently snake-bitten franchise.
The only problem was that stadium workers were still trying to clean up.
National Post sportswriter Sean Fitz-Gerald captured all of the post-game drama via his Twitter feed (@SeanFitz_Gerald):
All of the stadium lights have just been turned off at Ivor Wynne, much to the chagrin of workers in the stands: ‘Turn the lights back on!’
Okay, the city did not turn off the lights in a desperate attempt to ensure both clubs did not return to the field and replay the game so as to produce a result more in tune with recent CFL history.
But the whole lights situation leads very well into the focus of my column this week, that being, what the heck is going on in the Canadian Football League this season?
Seriously, the league has been about as predictable as the Jon & Kate Plus 8 saga. (The show is still on the air? Ridiculous.)
Make no mistake, there are some great individual stories developing on the field this season, the emergence of Hamilton running back DeAndra’ Cobb and Saskatchewan receiver Chris Getzlaf to name a couple. But the real story so far through five weeks is the unpredictably of the league.
Let’s sit back for a moment and try and evaluate what transpired last week.
First, the undefeated Montreal Alouettes waltz into Edmonton and get their lunch handed to them by the Eskimos. So much for the perfect season.
Then the Hamilton Ticats, CFL doormats the last few seasons, complete the season sweep of the BC Lions, a team that will soon feature the winningest coach in CFL history.
Then, after just four days of practice, Michael Bishop returns to the Rogers Centre to spurn the team that cast him aside last season leading the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a win over the Toronto Argonauts.
Finally, the defending Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders have their two-game winning streak snapped at home by a Saskatchewan Roughriders club coming off a disastrous home loss to Edmonton in which they blew a 22-point lead.
If it sounds like I’m rattled that’s because I am. And I didn’t even mention the whole Arland Bruce brouhaha.
One of the great things about writing a CFL column that is published after the week’s games are over is that I can always look back on what happened and cobble together somewhat coherent arguments.
But this week it’s hard to know where to start.
This has got to be hell for die-hard fans. One week they think their team is on top of the world, the next moment they are suddenly oh-so-vulnerable. Every team has now had a big high and a tough low this season.
It used to be the unpredictability occurred on the sidelines in the business of the league. I mean, blackouts at Ivor Wynne usually mean the game isn’t being televised locally. Not this year.
And that’s actually something to be celebrated. So let’s just enjoy the utter zaniness that is the CFL so far this season.
Oh, and Hamilton, show a little love to the stadium staff and host broadcaster after the next home game.
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
The aforementioned impromptu blackout at Ivor Wynne Stadium was captured in real-time by Sean Fitz-Gerald’s Twitter feed. The National Post sportswriter sums up the plight of the stadium staff.
@SeanFitz_Gerald All of the stadium lights have just been turned off at Ivor Wynne, much to the chagrin of workers in the stands: “Turn the lights back on!”
With his ticket out of Toronto officially punched Arland Bruce, once again using the all-capital-letters approach, gives his farewell message to the Double Blue faithful. (Bruce’s Twitter messages made me want to call this section of my column “Tweetre of the Absurd”).
@mrmature1 MY FIVE SEASONS HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC WITH THE DOUBLE BLUE. I LEAVE AS A GREY CUP CHAMP, AND AS AN ALL-TIME ARGO. THANK YOU ARGOS.
Meanwhile, Scott McNaughton, Hamilton’s manager of media relations, reflects on the media storm to come on the morning his club formally announced its acquisition of Bruce.
@TicatsPR Thinking that this could be a busy day …
Thinking this could be a very busy year in Steeltown.
