Mark Stephen
CFL.ca
The venue is still the same – majestically peering over downtown Calgary.
The pre-game tailgating is still the same great experience – best the in Canadian Football League.
While the supporting pillars may in fact be the exact same as they have ever been, the results seems to have changed for the Calgary Stampeders at their home in McMahon Stadium
Entering Saturday night’s contest with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Stamps have yet to taste victory on their home field, dropping the first two games at home for the first time since 2004.
To put in perspective, prior to the 2011 season, Calgary was 20-6-1 under John Hufnagel in while on their home turf.
You can see that home losses are few and far between for the Calgary Stampeders.
One Stampeder who knows all about playing at McMahon Stadium is linebacker/special teams star Marc Calixte. As the longest serving Stampeder he knows what Calgary fans want
“We have an obligation for our fans. They come here and want to see us win,” noted the 2003 first-round pick.
“We have to put the petal to the metal and show up as best we can. We owe it to our fans that show up in the snow and the rain. Hopefully it is going to be a nice game on game day.”
Calgary’s two home losses have both been decided by narrow margins. They lost 23-21 to Toronto and 24-19 to Edmonton. Calixte thinks he has an explanation for the close losses.
“There’s parity in the league. Everyone is improving and progressing and that’s what makes this league so exciting,” he said.
“We have to get ourselves ready. We can’t always focus on what the other teams do. “
McMahon Stadium may be causing some early season stumbles for the Stampeders, but the stadium also been a sore spot for Hamilton. The Tiger-Cats last won in Calgary in 2004 and dating back to 1988, the Ticats have won just three times at McMahon.
Regardless of the historic trends, the game is likely to be a close one between the pair of 3-2 teams. Calgary has been the king of narrow victories and losses in 2011, as the total margin of difference in their five games has been by just fourteen points.
“I’m not disappointed that the games have been decided that way. I’m disappointed that we didn’t get the two done,” said John Hufnagel.
“Any time that you have to play 60 minutes of football it just strengthens your football club. Once you get later in the season and the playoffs when the games get even more important, the more experience you have making plays in close games when the pressure is on, the better football team you should be.”
Hufnagel will have some lineup changes as he prepares his team for the Ticats.
Drew Tate returns as backup quarterback. He suffered a shoulder injury in the final pre-season game in Edmonton. His return led to the release of Michael Bishop.
The club is also expected to activate receiver/returner Landon Talley in place of the injured Ken Yon Rambo. Talley had a strong game in a previous outing against the Lions, recording four catches, a touchdown and 150 yards on kick returns.
One area where the Stampeders can help themselves is jumping off to quicker starts, as the team has scored just 11 first-quarter points.
However, that is balanced by the fact they have allowed opponent just 11 points in the opening frame.
