MONTREAL -- It has been brought to my attention recently -- and many, many times over the years, to be honest -- that there are a lot of readers out there who are convinced yours truly is an idiot.
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How do we know this? The e-mails that begin with, "Dear Mr. Brain Dead" or the very popular "Hey &^%$!" are a hint. And there have been more than a few threads on the Winnipeg Blue Bomber chat rooms dedicated to this ongoing subject/debate.
Now, we're not sure, but we think another reader is now convinced the Free Press football writer: a) travelled to Montreal in the airplane baggage compartment and subsequently suffered a serious head wound; b) upon arriving in Canada's Sin City immediately settled into the first lounge he could find to begin planning today's coverage; c) has stopped taking his medication; and/or d); all of the above.
And that reader just so happens to be Julian Rachey, the sports editor.
As evidence, we give you a snippet from Thursday morning's chat, where reporters check in with the boss to detail their story ideas for the day:
MR. RACHEY: What have you got for tomorrow on the Bombers?
MOI: Thinking of doing a story on how this game against the Alouettes is already a must-win.
MR. RACHEY (Long pause... usually not a good sign): Really?! Isn't it a little early to be writing about must-wins?
(Translation: Where did I leave all those reporter resumes that were on my desk again?)
Before we go any further, the meat behind our idea is simple. Should the Bombers lose to Montreal tonight they would not only fall to 0-2, but would be 0-2 against the East Division with a home-and-home against the B.C. Lions, followed by games against the Calgary Stampeders and Toronto Argonauts on the horizon. Hello.
And, yes, while we are completely aware that the calendars have just been turned over to July, we should also point out that -- given the pre-season hype surrounding this squad as Grey Cup contenders -- an 0-2 start could potentially open up a nasty scenario where the finger pointing begins and the self-doubt sets in en masse.
Seeking out more opinion on our theory, we polled some Bombers upon their arrival in Montreal Thursday afternoon...
Barrin Simpson... am I an idiot?
"No sir, you are not," said the veteran linebacker. "It IS a big game. This is a very important game because you don't want to go 0-2 and then have to dig yourself out of a hole. This a very crucial game, no doubt about it. To me, it's a must-win situation. Thing is, we want to keep our morale up. You don't want to get that point where it becomes, 'Oh no, what do we do now?' Losing, just like winning, can become a habit."
Chalk one up for pure genius, we say...
"You can't go 0-2 to start a season, but last week was just one of 18 games," said quarterback Kevin Glenn. "We've corrected our mistakes and we'll play good football. There's no need to push the panic button. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anyone has gone undefeated in the regular season in the CFL (actually, the 1948 Calgary Stampeders were undefeated at 12-0).
"We've got veteran guys on this team, guys who have experienced success. So, there's no need to write off the season. I know for a fact that no one in our locker-room or in our organization has. I just wanted to express that and tell the Winnipeg fans to have faith in us."
And that would be one vote for "just relax, idiot"...
"In the grand scheme of things, we did lose seven games last year," added Doug Brown. "But it's all about timing. It's when you lose, it's about perception and selling tickets. And losing your first game doesn't help that. It's an urgent critical game for us, but all regular-season games are critical because it's all about jostling for position for playoff contention. But by no means if we aren't successful (tonight) are we no longer a talented team. It won't be easy with B.C. coming up."
Split vote...
Finally, to break the tie we put our theory to Tom Canada, the defensive deep thinker who rolls with the punches on and off the field as well as anyone on this squad.
"Every game is a big game, even in the early part of the year," he said. "This is when you want to develop a personality for your team. You don't want people to think, 'Ah, Winnipeg gives up one here and there.' We want them to think we're going to be tough every week. That's the identity we want to create.
"And when you lose, the 'pucker effect' starts to come into play. There wasn't much of that at practice this week. But if we lose a couple more, it gets a little tighter, you know what I mean?
"Besides, 0-1 sounds bad enough. But 0-2... that would suck."
ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
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