By: George Clifford
Since my family moved to Hamilton from Northern Ireland in 1972, I always heard about the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. I quickly became a fan.
When I was a pre-teen, I would listen to the radio in my back yard, just blocks away from Ivor Wynne Stadium. When I grew up, I rarely missed an opportunity to put on the Black and Gold and proudly walk to the games (even when I was sometimes the only one walking to the games). I have seen great moments on and off of the field.
My Favourite TigerTown Memory up until two years ago was meeting Grover Covington right after the game when he became the all-time sack leader in the CFL. I got to shake his hand, and he signed my Tiger-Cats hat.
For any loyal fan of the Black and Gold this would be it, the best moment for the rest of their lives, you would never ever think that anything could surpass this moment. Then two years ago, after a six-year absence from Hamilton, I returned to visit my parents in our house close to Ivor Wynne Stadium. My wife and kids have always heard me tell stories about the Tiger-Cats, the stadium, the Labour Day classics, and so I decided to walk them over to the stadium to take a look.
To my surprise, the stadium was wide-open. I walked inside with my family and we made our way onto the Tiger-Cats logo in the end zone. I took many, many pictures thinking that this was the moment to beat all moments. My kids decided that they wanted to go up into the stands, so we walked up under the Wall of Fame, and took some more pictures. When we were done, we went down the stairs and ended up near the weight room. The door was open, and we walked over. Roger Dunbrack was doing some pull-ups. We looked in the door, he noticed us and came right over. Roger shook my daughters hand, rubbed my sons head, and talked with us.
When all was said and done, we walked back over to the open entrance. My wife was still there waiting for us and she said to me that she would never forget the look of intense joy on my face as we left the stadium. Not only did my kids get to see the stadium, they got to experience the atmosphere, and meet a player. That day my kids became Tiger-Cats fans. Sorry Grover, that is my greatest Tiger-Cat moment. Oskee Wee Wee!
