Seems like all Tabbies, all the time

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/08/2010 (5536 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HAMILTON — Same opponent, same travel route, same steamy and cramped locker-room.

Same sense of urgency, same keys to the game, same critical matchups.

Same hotel, same restaurants, same hangers-on seeking more of the same autographs on more of the same memorabilia.

Yes, it’s the Blue Bombers versus Tiger-Cats for the fourth time since a pre-season contest, and there’s a return engagement in Winnipeg scheduled next Friday.

Having fun yet, Doug Brown?

"It’s like Groundhog Day, coming out here," said the Bomber defensive tackle while surveying his home away from home, Ivor Wynne Stadium.

"Every time my alarm goes off and I go to the airport, I’m going to Hamilton via Toronto… And then we’ve got to play them again next week, so…

"You know, we might as well win the game since we’re coming out here, seeing as there’s precious little else you’re going to end up doing."

There goes that post-career gig with the Hamilton tourism board, Mr. Brown.

Yes, it may only be Week 6 of the CFL season, but there’s an underlying crankiness providing the backdrop to tonight’s contest between the 2-3 Bombers and 1-4 Tiger-Cats.

What’s the old saying about familiarity breeding contempt?

The Bombers, for their part, arrived here Friday with a lineup missing a whole pile of battered regulars, including starting quarterback Buck Pierce.

Although this bunch is still searching for some sort of identity, they also feel they’ve given away two of their three defeats this season after surrendering a fourth-quarter lead in a home loss to Toronto and missing a glorious opportunity to escape Calgary with a win last weekend in a 23-20 setback.

"We’re a team that still feels good about the things we’ve got going on here. But we’re a team that realizes it’s time to come up with some consistency, too," said wide receiver Brock Ralph.

"We all know what we’re capable of and we feel good about going to battle every time with the schemes and guys we’ve got. But it’s about doing it week in and week out, and that’s the one thing we haven’t done.

"The bottom line is we’re 2-3 right now, and that’s not a good record. I’ve been on winning teams, I’ve been on losing teams, and there’s always a fine line about how down you get, how positive you stay or how much pressure you put on yourselves.

"We’ve found a good balance of feeling the urgency but not pressing. But we do need some wins."

And they need them ASAP, especially given that after the home date against the Ticats next Friday in Winnipeg, the Bombers are on the road for two straight — separated by a bye week — in Montreal and Saskatchewan.

That said, if there’s urgency in Bomberland, just imagine how tight collars are in Steeltown. This Ticat squad, after all, was not only supposed to be vastly improved this year, but was said to be ready to push the Montreal Alouettes for first in the East Division.

But a 1-4 start?

"We’re a better team than what our record states," Hamilton pivot Kevin Glenn said. "But we can’t keep going back to watch film and say, ‘We’re a better team than this.’ I wouldn’t say there’s a greater sense of urgency. How do you measure it when this is what you do?

"We’re in the business of winning games, so every game is urgent."

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True enough. And just to hammer that home further, the final word goes to Ticat GM Bob O’Billovich, who offered this while kibitzing with some Winnipeg media types:

"Must win? They’re all ‘must wins.’ Otherwise, why the hell would we be playing them?"

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

ed tait’s bomber game day d4