The Ticats pre-season run-through at Alumni Stadium was a successful one on the scoreboard – Hamilton recorded a 52-0 shutout win over Winnipeg – but it was also an important experience for the members of the Black and Gold to prepare for a regular season full of games at their 2013 home in Guelph.
Alumni Stadium certainly looked fit for CFL football, providing a picturesque setting for the team from Steel Town. Players were able to familiarize themselves with many aspects surrounding gameday in the Royal City. Including the drive up to the stadium, settling into a new locker room, playing a game and getting used to all of the logistics in between.
“Coach Austin wanted us to take the opportunity for the guys who are usually going to drive up for games and the guys that are going to take the bus to rehearse going through that ritual,” Tiger-Cats quarterback, Henry Burris explained.
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“Get used to the trip and make it your daily ritual, as far as for game day, and make sure that you’re not rushing yourself for time. We tried to use this one dress rehearsal to truly get ourselves ready.”
After completing the commute to Guelph, which Burris said is close to as far for him as his trips to Ivor Wynne were in 2012, the pivot and his teammates quite liked the aura of the stadium on gameday.
“All of us were getting excited to see how the place was setup and decorated,” Hank said.
“When you pull up on campus and you get that university feel, it’s like college gameday, something we have all felt before, the excitement of gameday and playing on a university campus.”
“Everybody responded well to it and there was no type of travel lag or anything like that haunting us. Guys are just so focused on gameday that it doesn’t matter.”
From the time it was announced that the Ticats would play in Guelph, head coach Kent Austin has preached to his team about embracing Alumni Stadium as their home. It seems as though the players have followed Austin’s message.
“I haven’t heard anybody on our team talk about having to travel or anything like that, there hasn’t been anything negative said about it,” linebacker Jamall Johnson said. “It’s just like a regular game for us, you still had to travel to Ivor Wynne, it’s just a little longer trek.”
“As long as the team is excited nothing but good things can happen as far as making this place home. We’re still able to stay at home and get up in the morning and get ready for a game that’s truly at home.” 
Credit the fans for welcoming the team and giving Alumni Stadium an instant ‘homey’ feel for the players and entire Ticats organization. 12,732 filed into the intimate setting on the University of Guelph campus, a near sellout for a pre-season game – seating capacity is 13,000.
“The energy was high. We fed off it all game. We made some plays and the crowd was into it the whole time and we fed off that energy from the beginning of the game to the end,” Johnson said.
“The crowd was rambunctious, they were loud, excited, there was a lot of great energy being passed on from the crowd to us. When the guys were making plays definitely the crowd let us know,” Burris added. “It is a great atmosphere. To see all the Black and Gold walking around, we were excited about getting things going in Guelph.”
Austin was happy with his first Guelph gameday experience as well.
“I loved it. [Alumni Stadium] is our home field, that’s our attitude.”
It appears Austin’s mentality about making Guelph home has all but taken full affect on his players.
“It’s our home field. The only time we really think about it is when we get questions from the media,” receiver Andy Fantuz said.
“Oh yeah, this is already home,” Burris said. “We’re so happy to be in Guelph. To be able to play in the atmosphere here, we’re excited about it. The fact that we’re here now, the guys have already made this home and we know this is home.”
Johnson said simply, “it’s home.”
Clearly the Ticats have already made themselves comfortable in their lair for 2013.
