TrueBlue4ever

“Let’s just get this into court. I’m dying to get this into court. I look forward to a long trial. I so look forward to it” Says the guy who then settled all 3 suits for $25 million in payouts, so he could not have to claim liability - after a trial in court I wish during the name game part the lawyer just dropped on a name like “Eric” and let Trump say “same answer” and then finish with “Trump - wait, you don’t know your own son’s name because it was too long ago?”

So now my 3 best, and I’ll flip the script with the similar 3 types of wins: 1. The “how did we win this” moment. Opposite of the dominant team that laid an egg, this is the underdog that found a way, and although we’ve seen comeback wins out of nowhere in random games (none more memorable than Milt’s Miracle in Edmonton after we fumbled the game away 15 seconds earlier, which falls at #2 for this category), this type of win is more fitting for one amazing end to an otherwise mediocre season. The 1988 Grey Cup is my happiest win of all the Bomber Cups. Too young to feel emotional about anything from the 1960’s and earlier. ‘84 and ‘90 we were expected to win and did so dominantly. 2019 was such a cathartic release of all the weight of 29 years of futility that I was more relieved than elated when they finally won it (much more outwardly happy watching it now than I was on game day). But ‘88 was such an up and down year, many fans had quit on the team (witness the record low turnout for the semi playoff vs Hamilton, yep, I was there in the stands! Immortalize those names on a Grey Cup base) and the whole game against BC and Dunigan and just praying they could hold on against that juggernaut offence, and Murphy carrying the offence, and Kennard clutch with all the field goals, and that incredible defence, and Cameron kicking the snot out of the ball into the wind, and that once in a lifetime INT at the end? Pure joy to watch unfold at my Grey Cup party with friends. 2. The “anti-humiliation” win: So rather than the bad team at it’s lowest depth of despair, I did not want to think of the dominant team that laid waste to a weaker opponent as the flip side. Those are great spectacle but not for me the stuff of “best moment ever”. And I have seen plenty of the good side of blowouts - 58-2 over the NFL Alouettes, a whole lot of wins in 1984, especially Reaves’ 4 TDS and 220 yards over Ottawa in a 65-25 mauling and the 20-3 defensive domination of BC, Matt’s 713 game, Milt’s 4 for 4 game on 75th anniversary day vs BC, and the 68-14 dismantling of Hamilton after a team mutiny (followed by the Jets beating the Leafs 4-2 in a Winnipeg sports double header I got to witness in person with my dad for both - best birthday ever). All great, but for me I remember the fleeting joy of a wretched team that for one brief moment lifted away the storm clouds (kind of like that moment in “The Prefect Storm“ where they hit the eye and see sun, and for a few seconds they think they’ve survived, only to be crushed by a 100 foot wave one minute later). 1998. 0-10. Yes, 0-10, on the heels of a stunningly bad 1997 team that won only 4 games. Worse in ‘98. We were losing games by an average of 2 touchdowns Trailing Saskatchewan 28-10 going into the 4th quarter of the Winnipeg half of the September back-to-back (6 years before it got it’s Banjo Bowl moniker). It got so bad that the Riders line up for the kickoff after a TD and drill the ball into Wade Miller’s face on a line drive kick 10 yards away and recover the onside kick. Miller is crying his eyes out on the sidelines, such is the abject despair on this putrid team, I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! The President of this team was reduced to tears in the middle of a game. And then Troy Kopp strolls on to the field and we rally like I have never seen before, and we win 36-35 in the final seconds and CanadInns explodes with joy, relief, pure giddiness, and a pent up rage and frustration. And the fans en masse spontaneously decide to rush the field in celebration, me amongst that throng. To find happiness amidst such usual despair Is one of my all-time greatest memories. 3. The “heights of victory” win, my counterpoint to the “depths of despair” loss. But again, not the dominant team that won as expected - even though the 1984 West Final might fit this category This is the win that just pushed you to renew all faith in how great things could and would be, the moment that re-energized your fandom. Stuff like the Clements trade, the emergence of Khari-Milt in 2001, perhaps the Don Jonas era for older fans. And although the whole 2019 playoff run stands out, and vanquishing Calgary on the road and the Grey Cup itself are huge happy moments, I pick the West Final for 3 reasons. Most importantly, I was there, and seeing it live always adds to the drama of a game, especially a playoff game in hostile territory against our biggest rival. Secondly, the last 4 minutes of that contest were unbelievable, and everyone on both fan bases had their hearts in their throats, so to come out on top is so sweet (I can only imagine Rider fans feel like I did after the loss to Baltimore in 1994). And the players running to the stands to high five every single Bomber fan who hung around to cheer was just icing on the cake. I re-played the entire CJOB broadcast, including pre- and post-game, on the drive home. Most wonderful 6 hour car ride of my life. Shudder to think how that drive would have been if they had lost. My favourite in-person game of all time.

So I was at the Bomber store on Friday and got some more intel on the Fan Base that I don’t think was put out before. Not sure if it will change my opinion about putting my name on it, but food for thought. First of all, the money that goes to putting one’s name on the base goes directly back to the individual club team, not the league. 75% of the money goes to the team’s finances, and 25 % to the players directly. So Bomber fans buying a name props up the Bombers directly. Secondly, the club will also issue a certificate (as we have seen) to the name holder, and the club is also planning to have a plaque placed somewhere at IG Field (they haven’t decided where yet) recognizing those who have put their name on the base. The base will travel with the Cup wherever it goes (Purolator food drive days, at the Hall of Fame, etc.) so it be be seen whenever the Cup is seen. It essentially is now part of the Cup the way I see it. Third, only individual names go on the base, and you pay per name. No “the Smith family”, no corporate entities, and no slogans like “Bomber nation”, “Riders suck”, or “too many men” and things of that ilk. But you can buy a spot in memory of someone else, not sure if you can note their name as “in memory of” or if it is just their name. Finally, the concern I raised about fans “deserving” to buy their way on to the Cup base when players have to win to get their name on the Cup itself. When I discussed this (was talking to Carol Barrott, who I would always trust with any Bomber info) and specifically asked if the players would be bothered by this, she claimed that the players she has talked to love the idea. She said they recognize what the fans have done to prop up the league and keep it going throughout the years, so it is cool that those names “can now hold up the Cup, just like they have held up the CFL”. Now she did acknowledge that she is in sales so she knows she is doing a sales job, and the players are getting a cut of the profits, but hearing that did put my mind at ease a fair bit, and I can see the rationalization when it is explained that way. Anyway, people will make their own choice, and I can respect those who opt either way. Just thought some context might help given the original debate.

So after Woodward’s last book, Trump knew he couldn’t denigrate a respected journalist of his character, so instead he claimed that the sources were all lies and Woodward never got the real story from the Donald himself because Woodward did not interview him directly. So Woodward goes to Trump this time saying he wants the real story and can he tape Donald so everything is accurate, so Trump bites because his ego can’t be controlled, and Woodward gets all the dirt from Donny himself. No way Trump can claim mis-quote or fake news here. I almost think Woodward was playing the long con and the first book was just a set up to get Trump on record this time to sink him. Don got played like a fiddle.

Nothing will take him down in the eyes of his supporters, not unless he himself abandons them. They will pass this off as sound Presidential wisdom not to incite panic and conveniently ignore him calling it a hoax the whole way through. His whole term has been revisionist history, denying what he has clearly already said, and re-framing his arguments to shift the story and ignore the inconsistency. The only time he didn’t try to deny what he said or shift the story to a different point was the whole Access Hollywood “grab ‘em by the kitty” comment, and he shrugged it off as locker room talk which his base bought hook line and sinker. I said earlier if he is clearly on the way out after the election he will kick up a fuss and let his supporters lead a civil war, but he will slip out the back door while everyone is distracted and go to another country where they don’t have extradition, knowing that he faces criminal prosecution in New York and possibly Federally as well. He has made his bed with Russia and Saudi Arabia so he has a couple of safe havens, and like Lionel Langley in the Simpsons monorail episode, he will disappear with the cash and not look back, like every con artist does. Only then will his rubes see that they were duped. Otherwise they will accept every false persecution claim he throws up because he has convinced them that the media is corrupt - sadly his most lasting achievement as President. And in 5-10 years we will get a book along the lines of Mulroney’s “On the Take” expose which lays bare the full extent of the corruption after the fact and nothing will be done about it other than a public flogging in the court of public opinion.

So I will get the bad stuff out of the way first. My worst memories come in 3 types: 1. The “how could we lose this” mode, where great teams fell apart at the worst possible time. The candidates include the 1994 Bomber team, specifically watching Dunigan drop with a torn Achilles after having lost the previous season with an injury, and then the gut-wrenching loss to Baltimore in the East Final where every little thing that could go wrong did (botched fake field goal, sure TD pass off the cross bar, blown calls on turnovers) and we barely lost, but still such a great game to see that I was more numb than sad. The runner-up is the 1987 team flat out not showing up in the East Final against the Argos and losing 19-3 after a dominant regular season - nothing at all clicked that day. But the winner is the 2001 team where the cracks showed after a 12 game winning streak led to complacency and arrogance, yet I still believed at some point in the Grey Cup game that they were going to come back and win, and the final sack was a dagger to the heart. Biggest blown opportunity ever. 2. The “depths of despair” mode, where you felt helpless and hopeless watching the futility. The inaugural IG Field season of 3-15 and especially the blowout loss to BC sticks out, and the Reinbold era had two awful memories. The runner-up was watching Doug Flutie carve us up for 66 points at home, and toying with us by throwing TD after TD to an O-lineman on a tackle eligible play we couldn’t seem to cover. They were playing chess, we were playing checkers. Painful. But the absolute low was a game against BC where Kerwin Bell had done nothing all game, and our defence despite trying to keep us in it gave up critical plays at the worst time to kill any chance of victory. And yet, two late fluky scores had us somehow down only 24-22. And then the defence for once made a stop instead of folding like they had all year, and the offence kept a drive going unlike all year. And we watched as they moved into field goal range with a minute left, and then they pulled off a big play and were suddenly on the BC 5 yard line. And I swear the entire stadium thought “so how are we going to blow this one?” instead of “oh my God we are actually going to win!” Such was the level of futility of this team. So thinking that they should try to get a TD and be up by 5 rather than burn the clock and be up by only 1, since either way BC would still have time to march to centre field and kill us with a last second field goal, Bell audibles at the line and is gesturing to his right when the centre inexplicably snaps the ball early and it caroms off of Bell’s foot while he is completely oblivious. He tries to drop on the ball and it squirts through his legs again, and the Lions recover and we all just knew they would find a way to lose and torture us more. Downright cruel way to lose. Dark times. 3. The “humiliation” losses. The Banjo Bowl blowout by the ‘Riders where Dressler threw a TD toss stings, but two rise above all others. The 68-7 debacle in the West semi in Edmonton was brutal to watch, and I take little solace in knowing that the score was that lopsided because the Esks cheated with illegal footwear and piled on after the half. The Bombers just did not respond and it was a terrible way for Cal Murphy to go out. That is barely the second worst memory ever, but is eclipsed by the 52-0 embarrassment in the Labour Day game right after Joe Mack scapegoated Paul LaPolice. The Mack doubled down with his “milk and cookies” press conference the next day. That was a team that just flat out quit, and the ‘Riders even took it easy on us in the second half. Lowest moment of my Bomber life.

With the passing of Labour Day and the re-living of past memories, it's time to discuss those that are burned into our brains forever above all others. And since Labour Day had has historically brought its share of pain, I though it would be cathartic to let out some of that anguish. At the same time, we are still the defending Grey Cup champions, so let us revel as well in our greatest celebrations. What are the top 3 worst memories you have as a Bomber fan? And then the 3 best? Be specific, not just "every loss to the 'Riders is tied for worst" and "every Grey Cup is tied for the best". Weave a story, remember, your on line teacher will be grading. Is it a specific game? A trade? A chance meeting with your football hero? And to keep it from getting too dark, let us all concede that the tragic death of Richard Harris will surpass any game-related "worst memory" and need not be added to the list here.

Trump got on Twitter at around 7:00 am today. And has tweeted or re-tweeted 68 times in the last 6 hours (including 2 re-tweets of his own past tweets). That’s one tweet on average every 5 minutes and 17 seconds so far for those trying to do the math. And how have those of you who aren’t the President of the United States spent your day?

Missed from the weekend. St. Louis Cardinal and Hall of Fame base stealer Lou Brock dies at the age of 81.

Florida, Toronto, Colorado

How Crapigna ever played another game in the CFL after that performance, I will never know.

Meanwhile, wonder if the NHL would plan anything. One thought I had rather than a boycott: Teams square off at centre ice. Off the opening faceoff, the teams skate away from the puck drop and all go to their respective blue lines and all take a knee. Let the clock run for 8:46 (the length of time the police were kneeling on George Floyd’s neck) with the players on the ice kneeling. Then one player retrieved the puck and is allowed to skate in alone on the opposing netminder and take 7 shots, symbolic of the 7 shots to Jacob Blake. Simple shots intended not to score, just be a symbol. Even more powerful if the netminder turned around and the shooter put the puck softly but squarely into his back 7 times. With each shot the players on the bench bang their sticks once against the boards in unison, that is an attention grabbing noise. After the 7th shot, the shooter takes the puck back to centre ice and flips it over the glass so the next faceoff is at centre ice so no advantage for either team. Can symbolize the equality we are all striving for in a fair and just world. Can finish off with stick tapping on the ice for all as a sign of solidarity if they want. Thoughts? Any other ideas?

Curious to see what the long term impact of the boycott will be. I posted that I did not think it would make much difference after 5 minutes of media splash, but maybe my knee jerk reaction will be wrong. Maybe advertisers who bow at the altar of the almighty dollar will panic if the medium through which they hawk their products disappears. Maybe the networks will panic with nothing to cover. Maybe. We shall see.

For about 5 minutes. Then everyone with a zero attention span (which Sean Hannity recently said is “everyone”) would move on, and the players would have no platform to continue. And Trump and his ilk would be happy because out of sight, out of mind. Kaepernick did it right. That’s why his protest is still talked about.

I was going to say shoving stuff under his bed and calling it clean gives him too much credit. It would mean he did something, even if that something was unproductive. Trump is the kid who closes the door to his room and says it is clean thinking that no one can/will open the door to check.

And while police are “appreciating” these armed civilians acting like a wannabe militia, you can hear other police in the background warning protesters “you are civilians in a closed area, you must leave. Yes, you! This is your last warning. Disperse now!” Apparently the curfew rules did not apply if you were armed with an AR-15 - and were white. Reminds me of the line in Animal Farm - “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”

Doc Rivers' comments after the game last night surrounding the Jason Blake shooting. Hopefully everyone will LISTEN. Not listen just to respond to it, but listen to understand. Too much of the former in the world, not enough of the latter.

Of course it is a cash grab. Not that there is anything wrong with that per se. If a league finds new ways to generate income and there is fan interest, more power to them. And the league certainly needs a cash infusion. The Bombers for example generated $11.5 million on ticket sales alone last year, 32% of their income. Their game day, concessions, and merch sales were another 24%. All those totals will essentially dry up this year. So they need the cash badly to keep the operation going (paying staff who were not laid off is just one example). But here is where I have a problem with it. The Bombers are community owned, so their books are public. They made a $3.5 million profit last year, which is in line with their 5 years average. Saskatchewan and Edmonton (the other 2 community owned teams) each lost money - the Riders $200,000 (essentially the cost of their Grey Cup bid and prep) and the "let's not call them THAT anymore" 's lost $1.1 million. We have no idea about the other 6 teams, but each club ponied up $680,000 to keep the Als running when they had no owner, so they were $5.45 million in the glue while they were rudderless. The big issue for me is those 5 or 6 privately owned teams (honestly have no idea where Montreal is at these days). All the private owners (David Braley in BC, Bob Young in Hamilton, MLSE in Toronto, Calgary Flames through Murray Edwards in Calgary, and Roger Greenberg in Ottawa) are all in the $1 billion + net worth range at least (MLSE alone is worth $4 billion). They won't open their books, but they were unable or unwilling to pony up their own money to keep the league operating this season, and now the CFL wants $400 from each fan to generate revenue. If the owners are making money off their teams (and the Bombers have shown in the last 5 years that you can generate profits off of your team) then it really sucks that they capsized the year and the league now want the fans to pay to keep it afloat after the Government handout failed. If they are not making money by and large, then it is time to scrap the current version of the league and figure out a financially viable way to run it, or bury it forever. In either circumstance, don't run to the fans first for a cash grab. Get your own house in order, then you can soak us with ticket prices, but at least we get a little entertainment for our spent money, and not just a meaningless engraving on a plaque.

The Cup is won by the players and coaches, they have worked to earn their right to have their name engraved on it. Even if it is just a "fan base", I see no reason why I should get to immortalize myself on a part of the Cup as a fan. Already have my name in the concrete paving stone in front of IGF, so they have honoured my fandom in that fashion. JMO.

Tried to pass a semi on the gravel shoulder, lost control and drove into the oncoming lane where he hit another semi head on, then spun back into his lane and was hit by the semi he just passed.

You've got yourself a keeper there for sure, anyone who can find the joy in even the most low moments will feed your soul for life.

A key to any good essay - a strong opening sentence. Great memory. I too remember "The Human Torch", and although I always rooted for a Bomber blowout win, I actually wanted one 'Rider score just so Monteith would light that Sterno can on his head. Pyrotechnics, baby. (I like to think when the Bombers won that game 56-0 he actually lit it once out of frustration and got a big cheer from the Bomber faithful for his efforts).

So here is mine. I was vaguely aware of the Bombers as we entered the 1980's (in fact, Ray Jauch once came to my house for some unknown reason and I only sort of who him as the Bomber head coach but knew enough to be in awe of a big time sports figure as a young impressionable lad of 9, even if I had no clue about the team). My school was even asked to participate in the team's 50th anniversary celebration by running out on the field to make a giant number "50" in formation. I declined to join in, possibly the first, last and only time I would snub the Big Blue. I did later make up for it, as I will relay in this memory. So on to 1981, where the memories take shape. First, I remember being at my cottage with no electricity, no TV, propane heating, and only a battery powered AM/.FM radio. We were at a friend's cabion and all the younger kids were playing a game of charades, while my dad was glued to the radio listening to Bob Irving, Ken Ploen and Cactus Jack Wells call the Bomber game. I was curious about what the supposed big deal was and he said the Bombers were beating the Alouettes, who had just stocked up on a bunch of big time NFL talent and were looking to take over the league. The biggest name of all was Vince Farragamo, fresh off his Super Bowl appearance. As the night wore on, I saw my dad getting more and more excited and pleased, and kept getting score updates (32-2 at the half, over 40 now, over 50 now). I could tell this was something monumental, so he explained what it meant to take down the big dog and for this community owned team to rout the "let's buy a championship" Nelson Skalbania run Als. The next day, the Free Press ran a picture of Vince on the turf after another sack looking up at the refs, and his face was the epitome of "the agony of defeat" in a way that the ski jumper wipeout will never quite capture,. I have looked high and low to find that pic and cannot find it on the internet, but it is burned in my brain. I also remember my dad seeing that photo and saying "Boy, if that picture doesn't say it all. THAT is what a beaten man looks like. You can literally see him wondering what he got himself into coming up here". So that radio memory is my first inkling, and was followed by my first TV memory of Dieter Brock completing 41 of 47 passes in Ottawa, and then listening to the season finale against Calgary where Eugene Goodlow caught a then-record 15 passes to become the first receiver ever to hit 100 receptions in a year. My school then decided to participate once again in the pre-game ceremony for the West semi-final, this time singing the anthem. Knowing now a good thing when I saw it, I happily jumped on board. (Side note, I got a second anthem singing gig a few years later, but in much warmer weather). And my dad thought it would be fun to not just go to sing, but watch the game, so my first Bomber live attended game ever was the 1981 West Semi-Final vs. BC. Bombers heavily favoured. These were the days before wind chill was invented, and my recall may be skewed, but in my school uniform with dress shoes and not wearing the proper snowsuit/snow boots combo the rest of the game, I am forever convinced that it was minus 18 without wind chill and probably minus 30 or worse with. And the Bombers just sucked that day. Brock could not finish a drive, Trevor Kennard missed 3 of 4 field goals or something like that, including a couple of chip shots from inside 25 yards, and they lost 15-11. I was cold, I was miserable, I was frustrated...….I was hooked. And next year my dad bought us season tickets, and we had them every year until he died in 2017, and I took them over and have them to this day, where I now take my family every chance I get. And lots of joy, heartache, but zero regret and a lifetime of great memories since then.

With the extension of an already extra long off season upon us, there appears to be a groundswell of support (OK, a Speedflex mention) for topics for the board to weigh in on to pass the time. Stuff like the MBB all-time team and Bluto's brilliant "your hate goes here" thread seemed to get things going, and I have pondered various top 10 lists for people to debate (although some involving player positions might be a repeat of the all-time team nominations, so I will resist that for the time being). But today, let's start things off appropriately at the beginning. What are people's first Blue Bomber memory, either on the radio, TV or in person (or all of the above, we have plenty of time to unpack the origins of our collective Bomber fandom)? What brought you to Bomber Nation? Please be as descriptive as possible, although this is not a test, I will be grading the essays in my mind and judging you all silently, as I am sure you will be with me.

Can't hear you. Paul LaPolice's 2 Grey Cup rings are plugging my ears.