I love football. I'm not talking about that wussy 4-down, 100-yd field stuff they play south of the border (though I have learned to tolerate the game). Real football, Canadian style.
I love the Bombers. For as long as I can remember, I have been a die-hard fan. When I was young, we would sit in my grandparents' living room, cheering the Blue on. My family all cheers for the Bombers. My sister used to record the games she had to miss because of work - off the radio. My aunts have season tickets. My kids cheer for the Bombers. Well, except that one. But that's another story for another day.
Every year on Labour Day weekend, Winnipeg travels to Regina to play the Riders in the Labour Day Classic. One week later, they come here for the Banjo Bowl (lovingly named for a comment made by our former kicker stating that people from Saskatchewan were banjo-picking inbreds, and the name stuck). The rivalry between these two teams goes about as deep as any can. For most people it's just a lot of fun. For some, it's WAY too serious, as will be seen.
As much as I love my Bombers, I know that the Riders are favoured on Labour Day weekend. Doesn't matter that our record was 7-1 and theirs was exactly the opposite. Doesn't matter that we have "Swaggerville" - the toughest defence in the league. We haven't won there since 2004. They're playing on home territory. Their fans are loud. Very loud. And to top it off, their favourite coach just returned home.
However, enough of the background. Yesterday, my Bombers lost to the Riders. As you may have guessed, I wasn't surprised. I was barely disappointed. We had to lose again at some point, and I'd rather it was now than in the playoffs in a couple of months. There are a few topics that have come up regarding the game, though, and I'll share my view here.
1) The Bombers fell apart.
They did. The offence didn't execute. Swaggerville was not there in full force. Our special teams were anything but special. Honestly, I didn't think Saskatchewan was anything extra-special yesterday, either. Yes, they had a few beautiful plays (hats off to Getzlaf for two beautiful TDs, and Dressler for a fantastic catch for another 6 points), but really, they simply played good consistent football, something we failed to do. Instead, our players let emotions get the best of them, and instead of playing in a disciplined manner, they slaughtered themselves.
2) The reffing was one-sided.
I didn't have the best view of the game (without cable, the best I could get was iffy online streaming through BlogTV - tsn.ca only covers Friday games), but from what I saw, this appeared to be somewhat true. There were definitely calls that should have been made against the Riders that were not. But once again, there was a lack of discipline on our side that will always lead to one-sided penalties. And it's not like we lost by a couple of points (the only way poor reffing can actually be considered a true factor). We lost 27-7.
3) Our discipline sucked.
Really, this is what it all came down to. As they said on CJOB after the game, you have to play the same way whether you are winning or losing. I'm sure that the Riders were throwing plenty of jabs at our players, both physically and verbally. I don't doubt that there were cheap shots and cheap talk that went unnoticed. But we all know how it works - the one who retaliates is the one who gets caught. For most of the season, the Bombers have either been winning or in a close match, and have kept penalties down to a minimum. But apparently if you combine an intense rivalry with a losing score, some of our players can't keep their heads on their shoulders. I know it's an emotional game. I know what competition can do to you. But if you cannot keep your cool, you have already beat yourselves.
Not only did our players beat themselves out there yesterday, but they set a terrible example to those who are up-and-coming. You don't like the interception? Body slam the guy who caught it. A guy gives you a cheap shot? Start throwing punches. Thankfully LaPolice doesn't take that kind of crap. I sure hope he can get the message to keep it calm through those thick skulls, because if we play the same way next week, we may as well start picking banjos.
No comments:
Post a Comment