CFL.ca
Calgary’s McMahon Stadium may be among the older facilities in the Canadian Football League. The facility may be also in need of some renovations. But no matter what its issues are, it is serving the football team just fine.
The Calgary Stampeders enter their date with Hamilton on a nine-game home winning streak. In other words, a full season equivalent of an undefeated year on home turf.
The Stampeders last lost at home on August 18, 2012 when they dropped 22-14 to Ricky Ray and the Toronto Argonauts.
Strong play at home has become a hallmark for this team in recent years.
Since John Hufnagel arrived, the Stampeders have rolled to an impressive 36-12-1 record (since 2008).
This week they will have a chance to add to that record against a team that has had a tough time in Calgary through the years, Hamilton. In fact, the Stampeders have proven victorious over the Tiger-Cats have in 21 of their last 23 meetings.
It should be noted that this Hamilton team is far superior to many of those teams of prior years. Starting with former Stampeder quarterback Henry Burris who is having an MOP-caliber season, the Tiger-Cats appear to be gaining momentum at the right time.
As Calgary prepares for the ‘Cats, they will be re-configuring their offensive line.
University of Calgary product Dan Federkeil will miss the game with a groin pull. J’Micheal Deane will slide out to the right tackle position, while Edwin Harrison will patrol the right guard spot for the second consecutive week.
There will be an opportunity for Harrison or someone to secure that position for the balance of the season. Perennial all-star guard Dmitri Tsoumpas has been placed on the nine-game injured list and is lost for the remainder of the regular season.
The state of McMahon
The state of McMahon Stadium was an issue that repeatedly confronted Canadian Football League Commissioner Mark Cohon during a recent Calgary visit. Currently there are no plans to replace McMahon Stadium. The team owners, the Calgary Flames, have done some upgrades to the seating, improved the Red and White Club and installed a ribbon board. However as tenants, there is only so much they are prepared to do to the stadium.
Calgary fans can only watch with envy as new stadiums or extensive renovations spring up everywhere in the Canadian Football League. The actual seating bowl at McMahon Stadium remains a great spot to watch a game. Also the facility operators, the McMahon Stadium Society, are diligent in keeping the stadium functioning well.
Looking back at the Stamps at home
The Stampeders may currently be enjoying success at McMahon Stadium but this edition of the team is well short of the most successful Calgary record at home.
In the early 1990s – 1992-1995 to be exact – the Stampeders rattled off a CFL-record 27 consecutive victories. The teams of that era racked up consecutive unbeaten seasons at home in 1993 and 1994.
The streak was broken by a Matt Dunigan-led Birmingham team in 1995. Remember them? Dunigan would return a decade later to coach and manage the Stampeders for a season.
