Something to prove

Yes, Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ quarterback Kevin Glenn is returning to Winnipeg to face the Blue Bombers, the team that helped him to develop and then promptly discarded him a year after he led them to the 2007 Grey Cup, in Sunday’s East Division Final.

How many times is this old story about Glenn’s feelings toward his former club going to be revisited? How often is this so-called revenge factor going to be rehashed? The fact of the matter is that he’s been back to the ‘Peg numerous times since joining Hamilton in 2009 and the story has been told and retold – and now has been given more legs.

Surely by now he’s put this behind him and doesn’t need to be reminded of it or asked whether he is using it as motivation for Sunday.

He more or less laughed it off on Wednesday when asked about it – and rightfully so.

The reality is Glenn probably feels bitterness toward the Ticats for the treatment he has received this year. The Ticats, in particular head coach Marcel Bellefeuille, haven’t given Glenn a whole lot of respect, and that’s probably all the motivation he needs to want to do well on Sunday.

This season he’s been pulled from games, relegated to backup and platooned at various points, causing a quarterback controversy, if not an erosion of Glenn’s confidence. He got the hook in the fourth quarter of the opening game of the season, a loss at home to Winnipeg in which he was booed mercilessly after throwing the third of three interceptions.

"Getting pulled in the first game of the season, it just felt like a smack in the face," he said afterward.

That was about as strong a criticism as a starting quarterback has had for his coach in quite some time. Most people will remember that game as the one in which Bombers’ quarterback Buck Pierce took a wicked hit but managed to overcome. But you can be sure Glenn remembered the game for a completely different reason.

Glenn had an equally frustrating game the following week in a loss at home and the fans were already calling for his head.

A victory at home in the third game of the season, beating Saskatchewan, which would become the worst team in the league this season, gave Glenn some temporary shelter. Back-to-back wins in B.C. and at home against Montreal – games in which Glenn had strong performances – had everyone in Hamilton dreaming of first place in the East. The Cat Scratch Fever was strong with a 5-4 record in the first nine games.

But the Ticats and Glenn hit a significant snag in the second half of the season. Good games were followed by stinkers.

Bellefeuille rationalized he had to give Glenn and backup Quinton Porter playing time nearing the end of the season to have them both ready for the playoffs. The rotation of the quarterbacks seemed illogical.

Porter bombed when starting against Saskatchewan in the second-last game of the season, and Glenn fared poorly in relief. The Cats lost 19-3 and the quarterbacking issue became a topic afterward. One unnamed player was quoted in a Hamilton Spectator story that Bellefeuille was "killing the confidence" of both quarterbacks.

"I find that odd," Bellefeuille replied. "The whole time since day one when we started, I said Kevin was our starter. But we’re going to get significant playing time for Quinton so he will be ready for the playoffs if need be."

Glenn was asked about the situation and he replied: "Me or any other player on this team, regardless of their view or their opinion, we can’t change it. The coaches make decisions and that is what they’re paid to do. So you let them make decisions. All you can do as a player is try to go out and execute the game plan and do everything you can do on the field."

The Ticats finished with two consecutive losses, the last against lowly Toronto, and that prompted more debate about the quarterbacking.

Bellefeuille started Glenn last Sunday against Montreal and he was rewarded when the veteran played with poise in the stunning upset victory over the Als. Glenn said going into the game that what happened in the regular season had no bearing going into the post-season. He was right.

Yet were it not for a win, would Glenn even be part of Hamilton’s plan going forward? There were whispers that not only would Bellefeuille be on the chopping block had Hamilton lost to Montreal, but Glenn’s time in Ticatland would also be over.

A source told Sportsnet.ca that Glenn had been more frustrated with the Ticats than angered in recent weeks because of what transpired with the platooning, but the win over Montreal put all that aside.

The smile on his face now is genuine. It wasn’t such a happy visage at times during the season.

The same fans who booed Glenn multiple times this year are now on his side. The jeers have been replaced by cheers. If you could play back some of the criticism Ticat supporters expressed toward Glenn on some of the team’s post-game shows this season it would tell a completely different story than what is being told now.

Who knows what was being said behind closed doors about Glenn in the Ticats’ football operations? Maybe the decision to platoon Glenn and Porter wasn’t Bellefeuille’s alone?

If Glenn doesn’t have a big game against the Bombers, his future will be anything but certain. For the past two seasons, Glenn really hasn’t been treated like a bonafide starter in Hamilton. Had Porter dominated in the situations given to him he would be the starter. He failed when given various chances, but he’s young and you just get the feeling the Ticats want him to be their starter at some point, perhaps as early as next year.

The reality is Glenn should be more motivated to play well against the Bombers to prove something to the Cats than to the Winnipeg organization. He’s been long gone from Winnipeg, but is he on borrowed time in Hamilton?

He gets a chance to make another statement to his current team against his old team on Sunday.

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.