Frustrated fans falling out of love with Blue

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/08/2010 (5835 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When it comes to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, honeymoons for new regimes can reach Britney Spears proportions in terms of brevity.

It all starts out with furtive glances and negligée. Next thing you know, somebody’s got to drive the kids to hockey practice at 6 a.m., the bills are piling up and the mother-in-law is coming to visit. What? Again? Geezus, doesn’t that woman have her own house?

But we digress…

Let’s be clear: Before last Friday night’s unsettling 39-28 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — in front of the hometown faithful, no less — the Bombers, even at a tepid 2-4, were generally considered a growing concern.

A team with chronic quarterback issues appeared to have two serviceable employees under centre, a heart-warming development for any CFL team.

The team’s previous two losses were of the last-second variety, both on the road. There were no glaring deficiencies, outside of now-departed Alexis Serna’s inconsistency.

First-year head coach Paul LaPolice had installed a competitive offensive scheme that was producing upwards of 500 yards a game.

First-year general manager Joe Mack was presiding over what appeared to be a seamless rebuild, and all those questions about Mack’s several-year hiatus from the CFL had lost their echo.

Funny how one critical stink bomb can alter perspectives.

True story: No sooner had your humble agent returned home from watching the Bombers’ no-show against the Ticats when a commercial on TSN featuring LaPolice asked: "Do you think you can outcoach the coach?" It brought a chuckle, and I wondered how many Bombers fans were jumping out of their recliners and screaming, "Damn straight!"

Such is the fragility of a profession where moving companies send you Christmas cards. You know, just to keep in touch.

Too soon? Perhaps, but clearly the latest incarnation of the Bombers’ front office is facing its first full-blown crisis: A sobering 2-5 record, last in the division, with their next string of five games against three opponents (Montreal and Saskatchewan twice and Toronto) who all sport impressive 5-2 records. Three of those games are on the road, where the Bombers are winless (0-4) this season.

Let’s be blunt here: Apart from the strides the Bombers have made offensively and at quarterback, the most endearing quality of the current Bombers regime was that they were not their predecessors, specifically the much-maligned Mike Kelly, whose mouth got him into way more trouble than his 2009 team ever did on the field.

In short, you only get so much grace for not being the other guy, just as Kelly was initially considered a breath of fresh air from the enigmatic Doug Berry.

It’s just that Berry took the Bombers to the Grey Cup in 2007 and still secured a home playoff date in 2008 with a modest 8-10 record. And was fired.

Kelly’s 2009 crew was 7-11, narrowly missing a post-season berth. And he was fired, and quite spectacularly at that.

No doubt, the calm, reasonable approach would be to posit that Friday the 13th’s loss should be chalked up as an exception, not the rule. That the wise action would be to grant the LaPolice and Mack administration some patience, given that backup Steve Jyles, thrown into the fray due to the knee injury to starter Buck Pierce, remains a work in progress.

Frankly, that might not be the best course of action, given that the unprepared, unmotivated Bombers outfit that took to the field Friday night put forth an effort that screamed of complacency (or incompetence; take your pick).

Maybe that wistful honeymoon phase and all the talk of fresh slates and nightmarish recent pasts have lulled this current edition of Bombers into a false sense of security.

Or, worse, maybe it’s because Mack has lost his recruiting touch and hasn’t found enough good players. Maybe it’s because LaPolice is too docile to be a CFL head coach. Maybe it’s because the Bombers’ core players just aren’t good enough and are headed backwards with a bullet.

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To be fair, if one ugly loss can start raising such doubts, an upset victory could quell them just as quickly. Such is the burden of any new brain trust. Just ask the guys who’s offices Mack and LaPolice now occupy.

Regardless, the realities of a 2010 season already teetering on the precipice are taking hold. It’s every newlywed for themselves.

Yes, honeymoons are blissful, aren’t they?

But that frilly garter belt is tightening fast, and that knock on the door is the mother-in-law and, good heavens, her suitcases are packed.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

Randy Turner
Reporter

Randy Turner spent much of his journalistic career on the road. A lot of roads. Dirt roads, snow-packed roads, U.S. interstates and foreign highways. In other words, he got a lot of kilometres on the odometer, if you know what we mean.

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