The Hamilton Tiger-Cats concluded their 2008 home schedule on Friday night and it was nothing to write home about.
The team lost 28-17 to the Calgary Stampeders, who clinched first place in the competitive West Division. An announced crowd of 20,614 showed their loyal support to the Ticats, who finished with a 2-7 home record.
Another losing season in Steeltown. It’s 3-14 with one game to go in the 2008 edition and likely another season in which the team posts the worst record in the Canadian Football League.
Throughout Friday’s game, Ticat players personally thanked the Hamilton fans for their support with pre-taped messages displayed on the giant video scoreboard. Owner Bob Young and president Scott Mitchell should have also said something.
Remember how the Toronto Raptors started the tradition of thanking their fans after a losing season? The team’s general manager at the time, Glen Grunwald, stood at centre court with microphone in hand after the final home game and thanked the fans for their support and promised to put a better team on the floor the following season. Many fans booed, but Grunwald showed some class by taking the abuse.
It’s something Young and Mitchell should do, too, especially when the team doesn’t reach expectations. So confident were Young and Mitchell that the team would make the playoffs this season that they offered a 25 per cent discount on season-ticket packages next year if the Ticats did not qualify for the post-season. What will next year’s promotion be –50 per cent off in 2010 if the team doesn’t make the playoffs in 2009?
The Ticats raised ticket prices this year and had the audacity to tell fans if they didn’t want to pay for premium seats they could sit somewhere else for less. What a way to reward the loyal fans!
The Ticats keep testing the public trust. The team imposed a TV blackout for the annual Hall of Fame game this year for anybody living in the Golden Horseshoe. It was marketed as the Blackout Game. The players would were all-black uniforms and fans were encouraged to dress in black and black out the stadium.
Every year the inductees into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, which is located smack dab in the middle of Hamilton, are paraded at halftime of the Hall of Fame game and busts of their heads unveiled. The busts are later placed permanently in the Hall. The Ticats believed seeing the inductees in person would be reason to attend the game, so they imposed the blackout.
By blacking out the game, which teams are entitled to do at least two times per season, and using the all-black uniforms as a marketing pitch, the Ticats made a colossal business mistake.
Fans and media criticized the decision. One prominent broadcaster called it “silly.” From what we understand the CFL brass talked internally about making sure such a move is never repeated.
Moreover, the game attracted a crowd of only 15,000, well short of the 28,000 maximum.
There is reason to be optimistic about the Ticats moving forward. Quarterback Quinton Porter has firmly established himself as the starter for next season, notwithstanding a knee injury he suffered in the Calgary loss. Underachieving pivot Casey Printers will almost certainly be gone in some way along with his $500,000 contract. Running back Jesse Lumsden, who played well when healthy, will undergo off-season surgery on his wonky left shoulder. If he’s not back next season — and he’s rejected offers to re-sign with the team — it’s $100,000 or so off the books.
Ticat general manager Bob O’Billovich is good enough to use that cash wisely, either signing quality talent in the free-agent market or making trades.
It will be interesting to see if Young, the self-admitted caretaker of the team, and his president learn from some of their mistakes, too. It’s never a good thing to peeve the people who pay for tickets, especially when the team doesn’t deliver on the field.
And that’s been the case the last four years in Hamilton. Ivor Wynne Stadium is a great place to watch football and Young and Mitchell should be thanking every single person who comes to the games.