By Sean Millington,
CFL.ca
Anyone who wants to get an appreciation for what sport is all about need only to be around the locker rooms of teams after a championship game.
I had the good fortune of working the West Championship and upon its completion I went to chat with some friends of mine from both teams. This was a perfect study in the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
As to be expected, members of the victorious Lions were jubilant and energetic despite the rigors of just having played a football game. On the flip side of the coin were the Riders, most of whom were in shock, still attempting to digest what had just happened.
Interestingly enough, not all of them displayed outward signs of despondency. Quite a few to my eye appeared to be taking it in stride, like just another day at the office, and therein lays the true beauty of team sports. Teams are a group of diverse individuals who need to blend their different approaches and styles to achieve a common goal. Those that succeed win games and championships; those who fail wear the mantle of the also ran.
In a lot of ways, observing the process of a group handling a loss is more interesting than watching the winning side. The victor’s reactions tend to be predictable variations of joy, however, the losing side seems to experience far more shades of black. Everyone is unhappy but how that manifests itself covers a wider gamut.
Each player has his own way of handling the disappointment, especially as the loss will have greater consequences for some than for others. Players like O-lineman Fred Childress could be looking at the end of their careers. While some will be moving on to new teams or experiencing demotions.
As I talked with others of the Saskatchewan players the attitude varied from complete despair — especially for those players that were unlikely to be back next year — to a kind of fiery optimism; a desire to get right back at it in order to correct the mistakes that created this situation in the first place. Others had a more laid back approach, more or less recognizing that yes they lost but in the final analysis, it is only a game and there will be others.
Having played with the Toronto team last year and given that I know a lot of those guys personally, my heart went out to them in their loss as well. I know how hard many of them will be taking the loss as I was there when they lost in the East Championship last year.
Similar to 2005, questions swirl about the future of quarterback Damon Allen but unlike last year, there is a greater sense that this may represent the end. Damon is a competitor and as such this loss will be eating at him, especially as he didn’t play a strong game. At 43 the questions will rise with every misstep but a game like Sunday’s outing will cause him to question himself.
Knowing Damon, the passion to play will probably never die in him, but realistically at some point the ability of his body to keep going will significantly fade. Has he arrived at the day that all athletes dread? The time to step away from the game you love?
Winning and losing; ying and yang. Winning only feels so good because you know you managed to avoid losing which hurts even worse. For one week Montreal and B.C. get to savour the fruits of victory before the time will come to declare another winner and a final loser.
May the better team win and to the victor go the spoils!
Sean Millington played 13 years in the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts and has been a panellist on the CFL on CBC since 2003.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
