THE CANADIAN PRESS
This will be the least popular column I write all year.
I could go into great lengths about how Tim Tebow would naturally be a star in the CFL and it will not be as received with as much vitriol as this one.
So let’s get right to it, I’m advocating that everyone should root for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Grey Cup. Let’s face it the majority of this nation is rooting for the Roughriders to win.
And why is that?Because of their loyal fan base that travels so well whose devotion and passion for their football team knows no limit. Blah, blah, blah. I am sick and tired of reading about how wonderful they are. (Don’t hate me!)
You can’t go more than a nanosecond before you hear some media type pontificating about the glory that is the Roughriders fan base. I dare you to spend more than 10 minutes immersed in Grey Cup coverage without at the very least some passing mention about how great it would be for the fans if the Roughriders won the Cup. And I get it, as sports fans go, they kick ass. I’m jealous of the level of fandom in Regina; I wish we had some more of it here in Toronto.
I know some people will take offence, and I understand that, but if so many outlets are going to spend so much time glorifying (and rightfully so) the army of Roughriders fans than there needs to be an examination as to why this team so often hits such dizzying heights of popularity.
All right now I’m done offending the city of Regina here are the rest of my reasons why you need to root for Hamilton.
1) We would be done with the most fascinating storyline in the league, the “will Darian Durant ever win the Grey Cup” discussion? Anyone who reads me knows how much I love watching him play and how much I’m rooting for him to win but that would be the end to such an interesting sub-plot that comes every CFL season. Success is a great thing but failure is a far more compelling puzzle.
2) Henry Burris is “Smiling Hank” … how can you root against a guy with that nickname?
3) Because of this quote I read from the ‘National Post’ from Marwan Hage after beating Toronto: “Man, 10 years of work, of frustration, just came out in the last kneeldown. I turned to [O’Neill] over here and said, ‘If I start crying, slap me.’ I just had goosebumps, everywhere. I didn’t cry. I was just so happy for my teammates.” Great quote from a player more than deserving to have his moment lifting the Grey Cup.
4) Because who doesn’t want to see the smartest person in Canada holding up the Grey Cup? I’m, of course, speaking about offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski who, back in 2012, won the title of “Canada’s Smartest Person”. I’m sure many people would vote for me to be at the bottom of that list after reading this column.
5) Yes Saskatchewan fans are still hurting from the “13th man” penalty but at least their team has won it in the past decade. The last time the Tiger-Cats won it all was with Danny McManus and company back in 1999
6) Last time I checked Guelph has yet win a Grey Cup. The Gryphons haven’t won the Vanier Cup since 1984, what I’m saying is this city is due for a football championship of any kind.
7) Where is the Canadian Football Hall of Fame located? That’s right in Hamilton.
…. and yes I’ll probably pick the Roughriders to win it all. That will be a hell of a party.
This will be the least popular column I write all year. I could go into great lengths about how Tim Tebow would naturally be a star in the CFL and it will not be as received with as much vitriol as this one. So let’s get right to it, I’m advocating that everyone should root for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Grey Cup. Let’s face it the majority of this nation is rooting for the Roughriders to win. And why is that? Because of their loyal fan base that travels so well whose devotion and passion for their football team knows no limit. Blah, blah, blah. I am sick and tired of reading about how wonderful they are. (Don’t hate me!)
You can’t go more than a nanosecond before you hear some media type pontificating about the glory that is the Roughriders fan base. I dare you to spend more than 10 minutes immersed in Grey Cup coverage without at the very least some passing mention about how great it would be for the fans if the Roughriders won the Cup. And I get it, as sports fans go, they kick ass. I’m jealous of the level of fandom in Regina; I wish we had some more of it here in Toronto. But I have to be honest I’m getting tired of it as well. Now I have one question that no one wants to talk about but I bet many of you have thought, would the good people of Regina have the same level of zeal for their local three down football club if they had more sporting options? Would they be as eager to attend every home game if their was an NHL team in town? Would they be able to spend as much money on jerseys, tickets or airfare to opposing team’s cities if there was another professional team within the city limits? Its easy to be the most popular team in town when you have a monopoly on professional sports. It’s like running the LCBO, anyone could make a profit when you have something that everyone wants and you are the only means of distribution.
Let me put it this way. During the 1980-81 TV season ‘Love Boat’ averaged 24.3 million viewers while in October of 2013 the award winning ‘Modern Family’ got 10.85 million viewers. With all due respect to Captain Stubing, but ‘Love Boat’ stunk yet still they got well over double the audience of ‘Modern Family’! And the reason is simple; in 1980 we didn’t have as many channels to choose from, I remember having about four, so we were stuck with Gopher, Issac and Julie McCoy. But in 2013 with a barrage of entertainment options the market is fragmented, so brilliant shows like ‘Modern Family’ or ‘Arrested Development’ are seen by a far smaller audience. It’s simple and it makes sense. The same goes for the relationship between the Roughriders team and their wonderful fan base. Again this is not a slight on the fans, they are the best in the league, but I think we sometimes need to put into perspective about why the levels of devotion can be so high. Also on a side note I am NOT saying the team at all resembles ‘Love Boat’, with the way they’re playing. Their run of success since Durant took over, I think, resembles the 3rd season of ‘M*A*S*H.’ in terms of enjoyability and star power.
All right enough with the outdated TV references.
I know some people will take offence, and I understand that, but if so many outlets are going to spend so much time glorifying (and rightfully so) the army of Roughriders fans than there needs to be an examination as to why this team so often hits such dizzying heights of popularity.
All right now I’m done offending Brent Butt and the city of Regina here are the rest of my reasons why you need to root for Hamilton.
(1) We would be done with the most fascinating storyline in the league, the “will Darian Durant ever win the Grey Cup” discussion? Anyone who reads me knows how much I love watching him play and how much I’m rooting for him to win but that would be the end to such an interesting sub-plot that comes every CFL season. Success is a great thing but failure is a far more compelling puzzle.
(2) Henry Burris is “Smiling Hank” … how can you root against a guy with that nickname?
(3) Sends a message to Chris Williams that you don’t want to be here, fine we don’t need you.
(4) Because of this quote I read from the ‘National Post’ from Marwan Hage after beating Toronto: “Man, 10 years of work, of frustration, just came out in the last kneeldown. I turned to [O’Neill] over here and said, ‘If I start crying, slap me.’ I just had goosebumps, everywhere. I didn’t cry. I was just so happy for my teammates.” Great quote from a player more than deserving to have his moment lifting the Grey Cup.
(5) Because who doesn’t want to see the smartest person in Canada holding up the Grey Cup? No I’m not talking about Mayor Ford I’m speaking about offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski who, back in 2012, won the title of “Canada’s Smartest Person”. I’m sure many people would vote for me to be at the bottom of that list after reading this column.
(6) Yes Saskatchewan fans are still hurting from the “13th man” penalty but at least their team has won it in the past decade. The last time the Tiger-Cats won it all was with Danny McManus and company back in 1999
(7) Speaking of suffering, lets not forget all the regular season suffering Tiger-Cats have had to endure. Over the past ten years the Roughriders have had multiple winnings seasons, have been to three Grey Cups and as mentioned above has won it all. Over that same time span Hamilton has averaged just 5.7 wins per season.
(8) Just because of that one awesome Tiger-Cats fan in Toronto holding up a sign that read “Our mayor is better than your mayor” while Ford was two seats over. That was one of the few happy moments for me watching the Eastern Final.
(9) Last time I checked Guelph has yet win a Grey Cup. The Gryphons haven’t won the Vanier Cup since 1984, what I’m saying is this city is due for a football championship of any kind.
(10) Where is the Canadian Football Hall of Fame located? That’s right in Hamilton.
…. and yes I’ll probably pick the Roughriders to win it all. That will be a hell of a party.
