bluto

A final note: Argos ticket office said that less than 100 tickets were sold to Saskatchewan postal codes. Yes, there are Rider fans everywhere and certainly we've a fair few here... but the "Riders filled BMO" meme is bullshit.

Funny thing, I remember the lead up to the 100th... Everyone was talking about the underdog Argos but I just couldn't see it. We were on an almighty roll and I knew that the matchups favoured us whichever way you looked at it... and we killed them. This season... I'm not seeing an Argo win as likely. But by God we've got a team that's come together and the offence and defence are clicking... we've an excellent coach who will do his best to put his team in a position to win... and we've 60 minutes of football to play.

We're deserved underdogs. Calgary has been the class of the league and they beat us twice and were full value for the wins. We've come together well and are playing solid football in all 3 phases but we're still prone to mistakes and lacks of discipline. It should be a cut and dried Stampeder win. But we were underdogs in 2004. And we were underdogs in 2012. And we've won in each of our prior 6 trips to the big dance. And nobody has more Cups than us. And nobody is even close in GC winning percentage. I say this not as a brag but as a plain fact: The Toronto Argonaut Football Club wins Grey Cups. Maybe this is the year where the Law of Averages looks our way and the superior team stomps us. Frankly, it ought to happen. But don't be at all surprised either if there's an Argo Bounce and we shock the league again and Ricky wins in a dramatic swan song... Argos Pull Together.

No. In 2004 we were powered by the Pinball Cult of Personality and got hot when it mattered... and in 2012 we were Milo's Montreal Offence 2.0 with Jones' D and got hot when it mattered.

Not saying it to be cruel. Just stating a fact. They're Southern Ontario Boys (SOB's).

Says you. Welcome to the CFL where you can go from the outhouse to the penthouse in 1 season... especially if you already have a good core of players with good attitudes (you do). My team is a perfect exemplar of doing exactly that (Viz: 2004, 2012). ...and maybe 2017 too!

Moon's Eskies were a brick wall that you knew you were going to run into on the way to the GC. Five. Straight. Cups. Nine GC appearances in Ten years. It's mind blowing. In 1982, the Argos lost the GC at home in the driving freezing rain off of lake Ontario (the game that made our Premier decide that we needed a Dome...) against Moon and sent a 9 year old Bluto home with his tears frozen to his face. It was the following year that Moon was bounced in the first round thanks to your Bombers (Moon went south the following year). The Bombers didn't have anything left for the West final and meekly succumbed to BC. In the Grey Cup, it looked again that Toronto would fail to end its record breaking Grey Cup drought (since '52!) but at the half, Obie pulled Condredge Holloway for Joe Barnes and the comeback win happened. The CFL itself was in very good shape back then. It was on both CBC and CTV and had a huge multi million dollar deal with Carling O'Keefe. The Argos would regularly draw 40k.

It's a good sign if the players who know they're returning are campaigning for the option players to stay.

Not trying to be a smartass here, Dave (for a change)... but is feeling like 1981 a good thing or a bad thing? Apples to apples, that'd put you 3 years from a GC and on the verge of a long string of 2nd place finishes, no?

It's finally an organization that gives off a feel of being capable and competent to take an accurate measure of itself and seek to redress its own shortcomings. Your football ops dept and HC should be given reign to do as needed. It will be a pleasure to see them back in Toronto when Popp and Trestman move on.

We'll see about that.

Interesting. The best D he ever played in was usually referred to as BBDB...

As a Leaf fan, I can only pray you're correct.

If hiring a coach who has won a Grey Cup in Winnipeg is some people's sole criterion... good luck getting Mike Riley out of Nebraska

You lot have endured so many shite teams, shite managers, shite coaches and false dawns that could break the most diehard supporters' hearts into pieces. I'm glad for you to see that your team and organization has made such strides... but obviously the best that I can hope for you as long as the Boatmen are still alive is a trip to Ottawa. Here's hoping for a Winnipeg v Toronto Grey Cup. we're 6 and 0 against you guys in the GC

Nothing wrong with that.

You have a head coach whos' mentality is that every season that doesn't end in a Grey Cup win is a failure. When that mindset infects the rest of the coaches and players it can produce amazing results.

-Surely I'm not the only one who wonders in astonishment every time Bob Young offers an opinion about something about how someone who seems so dim became so wealthy...? -On one hand, I'd prefer to face the REDBLACKS since they'd only have about 400-600 supporters invade BMO as opposed to the drug-adled several thousand Riders' fans that would show up and I should support the Eastern team by default... but on the other hand I have so many next-level putdowns of the Riders and their lame province that it'd be a shame not to have occasion for them. -Could be my Double-Blue glasses, but the team coming together after a rebuild late in the season to finish 9-9 with the GC being in Ottawa... dare I say it... feels like 2004

Don't be pedantic. Ray has many tools with which to keep the ball moving. Edwards, SJ Green, Edwards and even Whittaker who would've been in for JWJ and would have got something. Removing Dressler from Nichols this past weekend basically halts your offence absent a few drive extending flags. End of.

Through next season for sure. Barker was always good about letting guys go south early... Doubt Trestman does that here.

Yeah ... but we'd still have Ray to throw for some of the yards we lose from JWJ's absence. I get your point, but it isn't the same.

That's a split of games that I feel like we should've had two wins from. We killed ourselves with penalties and turnovers in both games. Our D has played well (other than killing us by extending drives with flags), but I don't think that they're so good that it explains away the Bombers' poor numbers on offence. They were out-gained 572 to 303 yards. Given that both punters performed about the same, that's a bit of a curb-stomp. If Dressler hadn't been there it'd have been ugly. Thought that the Bomber O-Line was solid and had a good day. Laing and Co. were pretty silent against them although they did the job vs the run. 3 Passes batted down at the line (one intercepted for a long runback). That's well scouted by your D. Rico Murray could've gone to ground with Dressler any number of ways and he picks German Suplex... As far as I'm concerned, 1 game suspension son. Have a word with yourself. Before the game if you'd told me that Medlock would be on our 40 with no time left and a chance to kick for the win I may have stayed home. Weird game. Our two missed converts would've turned the FG attempt into a tie (if made)... You missed 2, we missed one and If Medlock had just hammered it for a single it would've been OT. Bloody hell... only in the CFL do you see that last play. Missed you J5V. Another time. Hope you didn't elect to visit because of the security issues in my section. At this point I'd rather the Esks cross over to face the REDBLACKS (presuming we can hold 1st)... Don't care to see the melonheads in my section again. James Wilder Jr is beastly. I wonder what could have been if we hadn't gone with Whittaker for as long as we did. Good luck the rest of the way. Hopefully see you in Ottawa.

Clean shaven these days. Had to get my hair cut up to my shoulders too. Colleagues said I was looking too biker-y. But yeah, I'll likely have a double blue scarf.

I'm hoping not to give away a solid effort via turnovers and penalties this time.