CFL.ca
While standing in a celebratory Ticats locker room on Sunday afternoon, Eric Tillman leaned over and said, “This team has recaptured this city.” And he couldn’t be more right.
Hamilton is abuzz about their beloved Ticats. You could feel it inside a packed Tim Hortons Stadium for the entire 60 minutes in the Eastern Final victory and it spilled out onto the streets after the game went final.
The men wearing Black and Gold on the field, sidelines, press box, and front office are responsible for reconnecting the Ticats with Hamilton.
Winning helps create a strong bond for sure, but the organization is made up of a bunch of blue-collar individuals, similar to the people who call “The Hammer” home.
There are no divas or me-first players on the roster, Kent Austin wouldn’t have it any other way. He wants focused and motivated athletes that will do what ever it takes to go out and get a win each week and his teams continue to find success with him at the helm.
In three seasons as a head coach in the Canadian Football League, Austin has guided his troops to the Grey Cup each time. Hamilton makes their second straight trip to the championship game looking to makeup for a 45-23 loss to Saskatchewan in 2013.
Once again the Ticats head into the Grey Cup as definite underdogs. Various sports books have installed Calgary as an 8.5 point favourite. That doesn’t even include the league-wide perception that the Stampeders are far and away the best team in the CFL. That may or may not be true, but it will ultimately be decided on the field.
Calgary and Hamilton met two times in the regular season. Back in Week 4 the Ticats played a tight, low scoring affair at McMahon Stadium, but dropped a 10-7 decision. Then in Week 8 Hamilton was within three points in the fourth quarter, but Jeremiah Masoli threw an interception with under two and a half minutes to go and Calgary scored a touchdown off the turnover to close out a 30-20 win.
Hamilton kept those games within reach without their No. 1 quarterback.
Zach Collaros missed five games with a concussion and two were meetings with Calgary. So Hamilton just might have a small advantage in that regard. There is no film of Collaros directing the Ticats offence versus Calgary’s stout defence. Conversely Hamilton’s franchise pivot has not taken a live snap against that unit.
That’s an interesting storyline to keep a close eye on.
If you’re into superstitions you might have noticed not one member of the Ticats team laid a finger on the Eastern Division championship trophy last Sunday.
Travel back a year when Hamilton beat Toronto at Rogers Centre and the Tabbies did in fact touch it. Make of that change in decision-making what you will. For what it’s worth the Stampeders hoisted the Western Division hardware after beating Edmonton.
Then there is the Grey Cup history between the two teams.
Calgary and Hamilton last met in the CFL’s championship game back in 1999 and 15 years later BC Place will provide the backdrop once again. The Ticats jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead in that game and rode that to a 32-21 victory. That was the last time Hamilton experienced Grey Cup glory.
If the Tiger-Cats roared out to another three-score advantage after 30 minutes on Sunday and go on to win, many might be surprised. But as Austin likes to say, “There is an old saying in football that you still have to play the game.”
Expect a prepared and focused Ticats team to take the field on Sunday and put forth an effort the city of Hamilton will be proud of.
