THE CANADIAN PRESS
Ticats owner Bob Young was showing appreciation on Labour Day Monday. Hamilton’s caretaker had on a sharp blue suit, crisp yellow dress shirt and Ticats hat.
“My mother says in order to pay respect to people that you’re trying to thank you make the effort of getting dressed up,” Young said. “I was dressed up for the 18,000 fans, all the construction workers and Ticat guys who went without sleep for three days [to get the stadium ready].”
If you looked down at Young’s feet you wouldn’t have seen shiny dress shoes, instead a pair of scuffed up work boots.
“It is in fact a tip of the hat to the construction workers,” Young said about his footwear.
Less than 24 hours before kickoff city officials issued the occupancy permit needed for the Ticats to be able to host the Labour Day Classic at their brand new stadium. Over 18,000 fans packed the stands for the inaugural game at Hamilton’s home field.
| Young Appreciative |
|---|
|
“I was dressed up for the 18,000 fans, all the construction workers and Ticat guys who went without sleep for three days [to get the stadium ready].” – Ticats owner Bob Young |
“Ivor Wynne was a great building in its day, but it had wooden benches. It was designed for a 1950s audience and it had just outlived its shelf life,” Young said. “Instead of an old pigeon-infested Ivor Wynne you now have a state-of-the-art entertainment building.”
Ticats honour fans
After Hamilton edged out its rivals from down the QEW 13-12 to open Tim Hortons Field with a win, head coach Kent Austin had a message for Ticats fans.
“An appropriate thing to do for our fans that have put up with travelling out to Guelph, travelling to Mac and just being consistently faithful to our football team and supporting our players – so one of our games balls is going to our fans,” Austin said as he held an official CFL football in his hands.
As you walked in the stadium gates, past Ticats fans it was clear how happy they were to finally watch their team at home. No road trip to Guelph or Moncton needed to see their beloved Tabbies. And the same goes for the team.
“We have a job to do no matter where we play, we get that, but let’s be honest getting into our home field and our stadium, it’s been a long wait and it’s been worth the wait,” Austin said. “It’s an outstanding venue. The guys are going to make this their home and our fans will make it their home and we’ve got a great future in front of us.”
New bucket for Collaros
Zach Collaros started for the Ticats for the first time since July 4 on Labour Day. Back in Week 2 he took a nasty hit from Eskimos defensive end Odell Willis that knocked him out with a concussion, causing him to miss five games. It was the first time Hamilton’s 26-year-old quarterback suffered a head injury in his football career. So the team wanted to take extra precaution towards protecting their franchise pivot.
Collaros switched helmets – he had worn the same model ever since he started playing football. At first Collaros was opposed, he didn’t like the look of the new helmet when he put it on. But the team’s training staff and equipment manager insisted he make the change.
“It’s not really what I like, but I really didn’t have an option,” Collaros explained. “I kind of wanted to stay in my old helmet, but everybody was like ‘Hey put this thing on it will be safer and who cares how it looks’. So I put it on and it’s fine – looks stupid – but it’s fine,”
At least the new helmet is comfortable, Collaros admitted. And if it helps to keep him from getting his bell rung then it’s a smart decision to switch. Meanwhile, speaking of being comfortable No. 4 looked to be settled in on the field in his return to action, a welcomed site for his head coach.
“I thought after missing a bunch of time – you can’t really get better as a quarterback unless you’re playing real games. You have to see things a lot and be put in different situations,” Austin said. “Zach managed the game very well.”
On Labour Day Monday Collaros completed 27 of 38 passes for 317 yards and one touchdown, connecting with Bakari Grant for the first ever TD in the history of Tim Hortons Field. It was the third career 300-plus-yard passing effort for Collaros. It’s the type of productive outing Hamilton will consistently need from its pivot if the Ticats hope to get to the top of the East Division.
