It’s the Stadium of the Second Happiness

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/08/2008 (6438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT was just one small moment — a tiny blip in the marathon that is a Canadian Football League campaign — but it could ultimately be remembered as monumental if the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are to salvage their 2008 season.

And it was captured perfectly by Free Press photographer Mike Deal after the Bombers’ 37-24 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Friday night.

Just to repaint the picture, Bomber defensive end Tom Canada and head coach Doug Berry are seen leaving the field after the win, both with huge grins on their mugs and Berry with one hand on the player’s shoulder and the other gripping a football — the same one Canada picked off and returned for a touchdown in the game’s final score. That gesture — Canada giving his coach the TD ball — may just hint that this team isn’t as fractured as it’s been portrayed and there may be hope for this bunch after all.

“Of all of us, of all the people who have been struggling and suffering through all this crap, Coach Berry’s probably at the epicentre of it,” Canada said Friday as the team gathered one last time before heading off on their bye week. “If it meant anything to anybody, it probably meant the most to him. Hopefully, he’ll remember it as a bright moment in a dark time.

“I hope this can be a boost for us and a boost for our head coach. If anyone’s heard it, heard the bad stuff during all this, it’s him. I was in the right place at the right time so… that touchdown is for coach.”

And if you think Berry will have the ball mounted and displayed prominently in his office or home, think again. He’s already got plans for the thing.

“Actually, I’m giving it to the team,” he said. “It’s not for me; it’s not about individuals. To me, it’s a reflection on how the team came together and supported each other in all aspects of the game.”

Of course, all this doesn’t gloss over a 2-6 record, nor the problems or warts that continue to exist with the Bombers. The win over Hamilton bought the club some time, to be sure, but it was also about remembering just how sweet a victory can taste. And with 10 games still remaining on the schedule, it’s also about staying in the turtle derby that the race for playoff spots in the East Division has become.

“This is the happiest I’ve ever been to be 2-6 in my entire life,” defensive tackle Doug Brown said. “I guess when you’re facing a wall of crushing desperation around you and you win in the final moments before our big break, it’s extremely uplifting for everybody.

“It just shows we still have a chance, we still have an opportunity and we’re not out of things yet. Obviously, we have a huge task ahead of us still, but at least we still have that opportunity.”

Just before the game, veteran slotback Milt Stegall delivered a simple but effective speech that hammered home one simple point to a team that had been collectively balled up into one tight knot: Start having fun.

“Before the game, I was telling the guys that we’re doing something that six- and seven-year-olds get to do and have fun, so why can’t we have fun?,” Stegall said. “I mean, this is the end of the road for me. Is this the end? If not, it’s real close. So I’ve got to go out there and try and enjoy it.

“We’re entertainers, that’s all we are. I consider myself an artist, and every time I go out there I try and paint a great picture. It doesn’t always work out that way and it can be sloppy and scribbles sometimes, but at least I’m having fun.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca