By: Justin Boone
jboone@ticats.ca
On Wednesday, the Tiger-Cats will be announcing a contest, that’s going to ask fans to put pen to paper, or perhaps more appropriately, fingers to their keyboard, and write down their fondest memories of the Black and Gold.
Centered around the TigerTown theme, the contest will call upon fans to peruse their memory banks for the moment when they were most proud to be a member of the Ticats faithful. A Grey Cup championship, a heart-warming community appearance, a touchdown drive, a conversation with their favourite player, or a single play that changed everything; any and every instance over the storied 143-year history of the club is available for discussion.
On Monday night, caretaker Bob Young shared a couple of his fondest memories with the crowd at the State of the Franchise event. In honour of the forthcoming written contest, I decided to share my favourite TigerTown moment and believe it or not it came last season.
My TigerTown Moment
Amidst a sub-par campaign, the Tabbies took to the field for their third home game of the season. It was Black Out Night at Ivor Wynne Stadium and the stands were filled with fans donning jet-black in hopes that they could help the Ticats get a win.
The team responded with what turned out to be their best effort of the season, eclipsing the Blue Bombers 43-22. Jesse Lumsden had a career game on his 25th birthday, rushing for 211 yards and two touchdowns and was rewarded with a chorus of “Jesse! Jesse!” that rained down from the stands.
The Ticats defensive had a snowball effect, and in the second half completely took over the game. On two consecutive plays in the third quarter, the hometown defence closed a gap on Bombers running back Charles Roberts, with eight Tabbies players coming up to shut him down. The very next down saw Roberts burst through a hole, only to be hit hard, fumbling the ball into the hands of safety Sandy Beveridge.
It was as if the Ticats faithful had been sitting in front of a slot machine, watching their paycheck disappear, only to come up empty handed. But all it took was one spin to hit the jackpot and get the payoff that had been weeks in the making. The win over Winnipeg was the jackpot in the 2007 season.
My favourite TigerTown moment wasn’t the overdue thrill of victory. It wasn’t the redemption of beating the Blue Bombers a week after they beat Hamilton. It wasn’t even Robbie the Tiger, who was paraded through the locker room and on the field before the game (Although I’m sure all those things helped).
It was the 20,000 strong, who stood in their seats, long after the final whistle chanting for their team. Rallying behind a group that by all accounts had let them down in the wins column, but on that night it didn’t matter. Everyone in that stadium was thrilled to be there, happy to be involved in something that meant more than just the games on the field, proud to be a part of TigerTown.
Be sure to read up on the My TigerTown Moment contest and send in your stories in the coming weeks.
