Finally, some peace & quiet

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/09/2009 (5847 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some days the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are scared to come to work for fear that another crazy sideshow awaits.

From Derick Armstrong quitting in the middle of a game and the subsequent media firestorm, to the ridiculous Pacman Jones saga, to the sad end of Barrin Simpson’s time with the Blue Bombers, it’s been one thing after another with this club. And we haven’t even mentioned coach Mike Kelly’s ongoing battle with foot-in-mouth disease.

So Monday’s arrival in Bomberland for the 50 or so professional football players seemed tranquil and, according to the head coach, a touch mundane. The club is coming off a win and has a short week of practice prior to Friday night’s home game with the Edmonton Eskimos. For once, it appears the story around the team’s facility might just be about football and nothing else.

"This winning stuff is a little boring," said Kelly, referring to his team’s win over the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday night, as he faced a group of only two reporters following practice. "Look, there’s no one here. I could get used to this."

We trawled the locker-room for the players’ take on life in the slow lane. Here’s what they had to say:

Doug Brown, DT: "It seems like it’s back to the semblance of the natural order in this locker-room. It’s a short week, so there aren’t that many days this week for carnage to unfold in front of us."

Lenny Walls, DB: "I don’t pay attention to all that crazy stuff you’re talking about. For me it’s always about just coming to work and being ready for practice. You’ll have to talk to someone else about the rest of that stuff."

Shawn Gallant, LB: "It’s kind of weird for us, because even when there are distractions going on, it’s not as big for us. But we know what it’s like in the city when those things are going on. They take on a life of their own. Other teams had stuff happen to them last week and no one heard about it, but with us it all gets blown up. So it’s nice to having nothing going on. When you win, it helps everything."

Neil McKinlay, LB: "I don’t read the papers. It’s nice to come here without any distractions, but usually in the room we don’t worry about any of that stuff. But having it quiet, it’s not a bad feeling, that’s for sure."

Chris Cvetkovich, LS: "You can’t read the papers. For me, Sunday was a day off and I had a good time taking my kids to the Backyardigans and having fun. You’ve been in here after losses and we still handle it well. We’ve got a good locker-room. But it’s a lot more fun to come in here when you’re winning and that’s all the focus is on."

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Fred Reid, RB: "We need to get back to this. We’ve had a lot going on these last couple of weeks trying to get a win and there’s been a lot of extra, unnecessary stuff. So this is good. It helps keep us in focus."

Ian Logan, S: "This is a lot more pleasant. I mean our record is still 4-8 but the atmosphere in the locker-room is a lot better. You hear a lot more guys joking around and feeling better about themselves. If we can keep this up, stay positive and create some momentum, it could help change our season."

Gavin Walls, DE: "You shut a lot of naysayers up when you win a ball game. You win the ball game and it makes things a lot better. It’s part of sports — you win and you tend to have good things happen. It’s the ultimate reward, the W. And it makes everything better."

Brendon LaBatte, OG: "It’s great to get back and not have any controversy surrounding us, or any headlines, and not have any extra attention surrounding us. It’s nice. We can focus on the work we need to focus on and that should help us win games."

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca