An ode to the Ticats
- Shawn Smith
- 25 Nov 2019
If you were at any of the establishments around Hamilton playing the 106th Grey Cup last night, you got an intimate look at what disappointment looks and feels like.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it: the 15-3 Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the heavy favourite to win the CFL’s most prestigious trophy, put up their worst performance of the season in the biggest game of the year, getting decimated by a Winnipeg Blue Bombers team that simply appeared to want it more. With the loss went the team’s opportunity to establish themselves as the greatest incarnation of the Tiger-Cats in the team’s lengthy history.
Fans were left shell-shocked. After 20 years without a Grey Cup victory, it finally felt like we had the team to take our city back to the promised land.
They looked every bit the part during the CFL Eastern Final, just one week before, when they dominated a dangerous Edmonton team 36-16. They played with the swagger and confidence of a team that was ready to make history for a city that desperately wanted it.
And yet, when it came time to perform on the big stage, they fumbled (sometimes literally) the opportunity.
As we reflect on this season, it’s hard not to feel bitter disappointment. This should have been our year to bring the biggest prize in Canadian football back to Hamilton. But football, like life, isn’t about what should have been. At some point we must look at what was accomplished and be grateful for that.
We can be angry and disappointed, but we should also be proud. A 15-3 season, especially in the CFL’s East Division, is not an east feat. The last time Hamilton won the east, in 2014, they finished 9-9. And let’s not forget that the Ottawa Redblacks won the east in 2016 with a record of 8-9-1. Of course, Ottawa went on to win the Grey Cup and that’s what will be remembered. The East division of the CFL is often laughed for producing poor teams, and too often Hamilton has been amongst them.
But this year was different. Hamilton established itself as the best team in the league early in the season and even with losing quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, put together the best regular season in the team’s history.
First year coach Orland Steinauer won coach of the year by using each player’s skills to the best of their abilities, building off the foundation that June Jones left behind and leaning on the team’s best players to make big plays when they needed them.
If we’re looking for silver linings in a time of despair, here’s one: Steinauer will be back. Most of this team will return, hungrier than ever before to take what they believe is rightfully theirs. We have two of the finest quarterbacks in the league with Dane Evans and Jeremiah Masoli, and while it’s likely that one of them won’t wear the black and yellow next season, having to choose between them is a good problem to have.
This is a city that has felt heartbreak too many times on the football field, but there’s no reason to believe the team won’t be competitive again next season.
And besides, if we haven’t given up hope in the 150 years of football that have taken place in this city, what are the odds we’re going to start now?
Oskee Wee Wee.
Lead photo courtesy of Hamilton Tiger-Cats
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