Bert Faibish
Ticats.ca
To say that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have some unresolved hard feelings towards the Hamilton Tiger-Cats would quite the understatement.
In a game that ended the Bombers season last year, the Ticats defence added insult to injury by jumping into a fishing boat that was set up in the end zone to celebrate two defensive touchdowns.
This Friday, Justin Hickman and the rest of the team will return to the scene of the crime.
“I’m sure there’s going to be some animosity, we ended their season last year and this is the first game since,” he said.
Winnipeg players have been itching for the chance to pay back what they saw as disrespect from some teams in the league last year.
“When teams start to make it personal, when they’re up there in your face saying that they ripped your heart out and that sort of stuff… the last thing they’re going to do is break you. But when they say that, well, them’s fighting word,” left guard Brendan LaBattle told the Winnipeg Free Press.
For the Ticats, last season is in the past.
“I’m not concerned about last season, that was last year,” said veteran receiver Dave Stala. “It’s a whole new season and the thing we want to do is win football games, our biggest goal this week is to beat the Bombers and get off to a good start,” he added.
The team knows that with all the turnover in Winnipeg this off-season, it will be a whole different ball game.
“We’ve got to go out and prepare like it’s a brand new offence, this isn’t the same Winnipeg team from last year,” said Ticats defensive back Jykine Bradley.
Preparing for their first real opponent has given the players a much-needed change of pace, breaking up the monotony of the pre-season.
“It’s a bit of a relief,” said Hickman.
“Going through camp everybody is tired, we’re hungry, and we’re really sick of going against our teammates,” he said.
The defence knows that one of the keys to stopping the Winnipeg offence will be to keep Buck Pierce in the pocket.
“Buck is a great quarterback, we want to keep him in the pocket and limit his mobility as much as we can,” said Bradley.
The CFL season is an 18-game marathon, not a sprint.
While a week 1 win would be a positive step for the team, it’s only one of many on the long journey to Edmonton.
