In the Pit

 Last Friday we attended our fourth, and final, CFL game of the season, heading up to Ottawa for a much too short stay. I had seen a game at Ottawa with my friend Sanford years ago, but my return visit had waited way too long. It was a notable trip because 1) Erik joined a small circle of my friends who have attended games at more than one CFL stadium, and 2) Kevin tied me for seeing a game at his 8th (of 9) CFL stadiums. The REDBLACKS are really bad this year, although they're fighting yard (just seriously undermanned), but a good time was had by all. One end of the stadium was missing, replaced by a huge pit. We thought that maybe they were expanding the stadium (it only held 25,000, which is not the smallest CFL stadium, but pretty close), but instead they removed 2500 seats (still not the smallest CFL stadium at 22,500, but getting closer), but instead they're carving off the space for a new arena for the women's hockey team. One of the things about seeing a game in Ottawa, which is cool, is that they are very mindful of the space in a beautiful downtown so they're not tearing anything down to build parking lots (how Sanford and I ever found a place to park last time is a mystery lost to time). Anyway, the space for the new women's hockey arena (and I'm glad they are getting one) had to come from somewhere. It left a huge pit just beyond one of the endzones, and kicks would fairly routinely clear the fence and enter the pit, the ball disappearing.

When a kick would sale over the wall the crowd could cheer, but if a kick would hit the wall and bounce back the crowd would boo. Like I said, the REDBLACKS are pretty bad, so the fans were looking for something to cheer.

If a ball would disappear, the scoreboard would lead a chant of "In . . . The . . . Pit," followed by a song called "in the pit."  Classic CFL.

The Legend

 One of the things I was most looking forward to on the Winnipeg trip was to visit the Bud Grant statue outside of the Blue Bombers stadium. As I've discussed way too often, my first introduction to the CFL was, year ago, decades ago, discovering that Bud Grant, then the coach of the Minnesota Vikings, had begun his career coaching in the CFL. Inexplicably, no one at the stadium seemed to understand where his statue was located - they kept directing me to statue for another head coach on the other side of the stadium - which left me a little grumpy, which was stupid on my part because they're doubtless all volunteers. Still, he's Bud Grant FFS! My only defense if that I'm old and my legs are a constant source of great pain, which, I guess, also speaks to my love of the CFL, as these trips are definitely a physical challenge for me. For future reference, he's at the back of the stadium, next to the Blue Bombers store. We didn't get to the statue until after the game, and then I couldn't get back into the store to buy merchandise, which was a very poor business decision  on their part because I would have naturally bought out the store.

Bud Grant is one of only three individuals - along with Warren Moon and Marv Levy - who are enshrined in both the CFL Hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame. In addition to his one NFL title, he won four Grey Cups with the Blue Bombers during his ten years coaching north of the border. And, by all accounts, he was a great guy. My friend Jack and I often lament that we never made it to one of his famous yard sales before he passed.

13th Man

 You have to lose this statue outside the Roughriders stadium, which celebrates the endless passion and devotion of Saskatchewan fans: the 13th man.

During relative slow points in CFL games, I'll often launch into a discussion of all the ways that the CFL is clearly and inarguably better than the NFL (which I'm sure I've discussed previously on this blog, so I won't repeat myself - at least this time). Now I can add a statue celebrating the 13th man, which is clearly better than any US discussion of the importance of the 12th man. 

Roughriders

 While these two guys have obviously seen better days, the Roughriders (Grey Cup Champions last year) are still percolating along quite nicely. Their stadium is quite nice. A couple days earlier, when we were talking to a Blue Bombers fan at the Winnipeg Zoo, and recounting our plans, he proposed that we'd really like Regina and the Roughriders game, although we'd discover that in every single area it would be slightly worse than the similar experience in Winnipeg. I don't know if I'd agree with him, but I appreciated the smack talk from two bitter rivals.

Yes, I bought a Roughriders straw hat, mainly because of the wilting heat and broiling sun. Also, we also clearly supported end endless tsunami of Saskatchewan merchandise being purchased.

True Fans

 By definition, true fans are fans that travel, that is, they attend both home and road games. As we were waiting for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers game to start we were impressed by the number of Toronto Argonauts fans there were in the stadium, and that takes some effort because the Bombers routinely sell out (essentially, you need to start your planning early - months ago I was looking for tickets on a pre-sale on the first day that tickets were available, and the picking were already sparse). We were sitting there when I turned to Kevin and said, "Dude, we sat behind that guy in Toronto!" It says something about how often you go to games and how much you pay attention when you recognize not only players, but also fans. Anyway, the Argos fans showed out.

While all of this is true, what can you say about folks who have gone to over thirty CFL games, all of them, by definition, road games? 

The Moment

 This was the moment in the third quarter of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders game when the fun finally began to disappear behind the stadium. It was a brutally hot game - in the upper 90s when the game began - and it was at this moment when we realized that we might actually survive. It's almost like the inverse of last June's Calgary game, where it was so cold that we just about froze - in both instances, we came out of the game vowing to go back, because the weather was so daunting that it didn't give us a clear picture of what it's like to see a game there. The fans were enthusiastic, but I think everyone was in survival mode.

Some idiot, it could be anyone, obviously, although in this case it's me, didn't bother to think about which side of the stadium was in the sun - which didn't seem like an issue when I bought the tickets several months ago.

Being Green

 There are certain facts or statistics that all sports fans can recite, almost unbidden, about their favorite teams. For example, all Vikings fans can tell you that although they've never won a Super Bowl (going 0-4), they have actually won a championship. The first four Super Bowls were essentially exhibition games, sort of like a college football bowl game that doesn't have national championship implications. So, the Vikings lost Super Bowl IV, but had already clinched the NFL championship by beating the Cleveland Browns (hence, they were the last NFL champions before the official merger). Similarly, every true Buffalo Bills fan can tell you that the only NFL team to lose to a CFL team is, not surprisingly, the Buffalo Bills (it's complicated, like all relationships, because it was an exhibition game, at least for the Bills, but it fell right in the middle of the CFL season - I wish I knew more about this, because the rules are pretty different, including number of players on a side, so I have no idea how the rules worked for that game). And after that too lengthy preamble, the actual point of the post: every Saskatchewan Roughriders fan can tell you that the majority of all CFL merchandise purchased is Roughriders merchandise; essentially, that there are more Saskatchewan t-shirts and hats and jerseys and onesies, etc. sold than the rest of the CFL combined. I thought that this was just mythology, but it's actually true. If you understand the fanaticism of Buffalo Bills fans, you'll understand Roughriders fans.

Here we are in the Saskatchewan Roughriders store, hours before the game. Check out the long line of green-clad football fanatics buying more green merchandise. It's a beautiful thing. And, yes, I did my part and bought some Roughriders merchandise.

Joining the Club

 There's the Circle of Excellence - that is, people I've dragged to CFL games, and that is 20 right-thinking individuals - and then there is the Inner Circle of Excellence - that is, people that I've dragged to multiple Canadian cities for CFL games, and that, until this summer, included only three people: Kevin (after this month, eight of nine possible sites), Sanford (two, almost three), and Andy (three). Now, however, the Inner Circle is expanding. Cyndi travelled with us on the first leg of the Manitoba/Saskatchewan Doubleheader of Excellence, and now she can claim two CFL cities (Montreal and Winnipeg). She'll be joined at the end of the month by Erik with two (Montreal and Ottawa).

Cyndi, of course, added her own energy to the trip, expanding Kevin and my usual routine of exploring every diner in the new city. Here she is dragging us to the Winnipeg Zoo, a brilliant idea on a 95 degree day, right before the Blue Bombers game (obviously, not concerned with her aged friend's failing legs). Sadly, she escaped from the dinosaur.

Taco In A Bag

 Yesterday we made it back from the Manitoba/Saskatchewan CFL Doubleheader of Excellence. So, expect to see several posts detailing this DOE. I'll start with a quick post: the long-awaited Taco in a Bag. We came across this delicacy last year at the Calgary Stampeders game, but that was the day when, although it was June, the game was so cold - pouring rain, forty mph wind, temperature of 40F - that all the exterior food shops were closed almost immediately because of the cold. So, between seeing the Taco in a Bag on the way in - and halftime, when we stumbled up to the concourse to regain feeling in our hands - the TIAB shop closed down (and I don't blame them, because it was bitter and the folks didn't need to sit there freezing to death). In the meantime, however, the Taco in a Bag had reached mythic proportions in our popular imagination, so much so that when we researched new stadiums the first thing we would do is try to locate stands that sold the TIAB. Thankfully, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers delivered on this delicacy.

It's sort of like a Frito Pie, if you're fortunate enough to get that reference. 

 

Yet More CFL Excellence

 Unlike spending fifty-five painful years rooting for the Minnesota Vikings, watching the CFL and attending CFL games only brings happiness. I guess the closest that the Vikings-induced pain would be being a Hamilton Tiger-Cats fan, as they currently are nursing the longest streak since their last Grey Cup win (it was last century/millennium). Maybe this is why all of my friends who I introduce to the CFL automatically become Tiger-Cats fans - I mean, how can you not love them? They have a cool (and non-sensical) team song and a band and a sing along in the fourth quarter and cool uniforms, FFS! This was the third time that I've attended a game at Hamilton, and if it weren't a ten hour drive I probably would have just gotten season tickets by now. Although, using that logic, why I haven't purchased Alouettes season tickets is even more of a mystery since I dragged nineteen people to Montreal games to the twenty-plus games I've attended there. One time I pitched the idea to my friends, with the notion that we'd buy two season tickets, I'd go to everyone and they'd cycle in and out. Shamefully, they didn't understand the brilliance of the scheme.

While I usually cringe a selfies, here's a nice one that my cousin Nick took at the game. I was so happy to meet him for the game (he's now the 20th person I've dragged to a CFL game). Unfortunately, the Tiger-Cats suffered a last second heart-wrenching loss to the Montreal Alouettes (which seems to be a Hamilton thing, sadly). 

Loyal Fans

 Usually, when I'm crashing in my friend Kevin's spare room on Thursday night in the summer, we always follow a dinner at one of various and sundry restaurants and a trip to Al's for ice cream, we head back to watch the Phillies (KA's favorite team). However, this last Thursday the Phillies were off, so what were our options? Well, as true CFL fans, the obvious thing was to watch a recap of the 2025 Grey Cup (which, of course, we watched live in the very same room in November). 

With the CFL season starting, and the expansion of our CFL fantasy league, the preparation is intense. It also now looks like we're adding a game in Ottawa to our already full slate of games in Hamilton, Winnipeg, and Regina.

A CFL Life

 You know that you live a very rich and fun - or unimaginably silly - life when it's still April and you open your Ticketmaster app and you already have tickets for Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Saskatchewan Roughriders games. Come on, that's some serious CFL love.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

0

 And now it is over. It's funny, if you've spent the last semester and a half counting down the days with CFL players it shouldn't hit you with the number switched from 1 to 0, but it did. There was a lovely going away soiree here in Wick yesterday, which deserves its own post so I'll revisit it soon. However, I'm feeling a terrible sense of finality and loss, which I'll talk about when I've had the change to think about it. It's definitely a bittersweet moment.

Thanks to Rolan Mulligan for loaning me his number 0 for the final Countdown installment. I'm going to have to find other ways to do fun research on the CFL (beyond going to the four CFL games in four cities this summer - which will almost certainly turn into five CFL games in five cites, how can we go to games in Ottawa, Regina, Hamilton, and Ottawa and somehow skip our hometown Alouettes?). Rolan was born in Lake Wales, Florida, and played his college ball at Reedley, UAB, and Toledo). Like many later CFL stalwarts, Mulligan kicked around the NFL for a bit, with stops along the way with the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, and Indianapolis Colt. Since 2021 Mulligan has played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and has achieved a lot of success. He was on the Grey Cup winning squad from last year, and has been a two time CFL All-Star as well as winning the Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 2024. I've had the opportunity to see him play in person, but in July we'll see him play a home game in Saskatchewan.

91?

 The campaign to get me to start has obviously intensified, as the #1 that was gracing my door after class on Monday has been covered up by a #91. I think it's a losing battle, but I'm truly touched by the effort to get me to hang around a while longer.

Thanks to Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund for unofficially loaning me his number 91 for the Unofficial Countdown (brought to you by Erik Esckilsen). He was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, before playing college ball for Champlain College (no, not that Champlain College, but Champlain College Lennoxville) and then Southeastern Louisiana  University). Adeyemi-Berglund was drafted in the first round of the CFL draft by the Calgary Stampeders, although he (and the league) sat out the 2020 season because of COVID (Canada, like a mature country, took COVID seriously). Since 2024 he has played for our hometown Montreal Alouettes, twice being a CFL East All-Star and twice winning the Lew Hayman Trophy for outstanding Canadian player in the East Division.

1

 Yes, 1, not 54. The last week has begun. As I was saying earlier, I was very touched by the sign with the player wearing 54 yesterday. Erik, the culprit, promised as a last week gift to not complain about Champlain or students, although we both know that I grouse about both far more than he ever does. My students were great on Monday, which may relate to a wonderful job by their professor, but I suspect only reflects either their being able to see the end of the semester - or some grudging happiness for their professor.

Thanks to Warren Moon for loaning me his #1 for the penultimate Countdown post. What can one say about Moon that hasn't already been said? He's the only player who appears in both the CFL and NFL Hall of Fame (the only other double occupants are coaches: Bud Grant and Marv Levy). He was born in Los Angeles, California, and played college ball first at West Los Angeles Community College and then more famously at Washington. Despite a stellar career at Washington, Moon went undrafted (I suspect he was a victim of the then long-lingering suspicion of Black quarterbacks, which seems insane now, but what fairly common until not that long ago). He signed with the Edmonton Eskimos, playing for six seasons, along the way winning five Grey Ciups, and winning the Most Outstanding Player Award in 1983. In 1982 he became the first quarterback in either league to throw for 5000 yards in a season. He then made his long-awaited arrival in the NFL, playing for the Houston Oilers for a decade, before brief stops with the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs. I will be sporting his jersey on Thursday, the last active class day of my teaching career.

54?

 Apparently there is a movement (conspiracy?) to convince me to put off my retirement and stick around at Champlain for another year. I found this photo on my door this morning, covering up the picture of Davis Sanchez's #2. The logic is that with my diva twice a week schedule I only have classes 27 days a semester, so 54 would be my year. No one has admitted to this chicanery so far, but, truthfully, I was sincerely touched by it. Maybe they will remember me past June.

Thanks to Justin Lawrence for unofficially loaning me his #54 as for the Unofficial Countdown as part of the scheme to convince me to hang around for another year. Lawrence was born in Edmonton, Alberta, (and thus he is a National player) and played college ball at the University of Alberta before being a 5th round pick in the 2018 draft. Over the years he's played for the Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts, and currently for our hometown Montreal Alouettes. He's a three time Grey Cup champion, once each for the three clubs - which would inspire me to sign him, because he's both a good player and also clearly good luck.

2

 Well, here we go. One week left in my long career. My friend Kevin scolded me, quite rightly, for presenting a flawed countdown. That is, I'm only counting my teaching days, and I didn't include the days I have to be on campus for giving my Final Exams. This is, of course, a Point of Excellence, and I am guilty as charged. My only defense is that my spring schedule changed very late, and thus last December i didn't now if I was going to have final exams on two or three days during the Final Exam week, and thus it seemed safer to tie the Countdown to actual teaching days. Plus, there is no active teaching during Final Exams (although I've had students say things like, "wait, are you introducing new material during the Final Exam period? - to which I usually answer something like, "well, duh," and "expect an email from me this summer with new things to consider"). Finally, I suppose I could have tied the Countdown to my actual days left on the payroll of Champlain College, but that would have made this whole thing seem like it was a job, which I completely reject. Essentially, as with most things, I am unrepentent.

Thanks to Davis Sanchez for loaning me his #2 for the Countdown. Sanchez was bon in Delta, British Columbia, and played his college ball south of the border at Oregon. Unlike a lot of CFL players, who ended up spending their time in the NFL on the practice squad, Sanchez was on the active roster of the San Diego Chargers for a couple season. However, his greatest success was in the far superior CFL (as all right-thinking individuals know), and over the years he played for the Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos, BC Lions, and three different stints with the Montreal Alouettes. Along the way he was on three different Grey Cup winning teams. Since his retirement he's played a very active role in the broadcast booth for CFL games.

3

 And we've entered the penultimate week, as we close down my four plus decade teaching career. Classes were good yesterday. In my COR 303 classes I taught the students a bit of paleography, to let them know in addition to understanding how historians approach their decisions-making process, they should also understand what we do on a day to day basis. It's one of my odder assignments, but one which has always proved popular with the students. And last night we watched Terrestrial Verses, and then I'd declared it Champlain College If Day - in honor of Winnipeg If Day - and asked the students how they would express the danger of creeping authoritarianism (like Winnipeg's 1942 If Day, I told the students to imagine that they took over the campus and show people what it would actually mean if we fully passed into an authoritarianism regime). They didn't do an extraordinary job, but they came up with some interesting ideas. I have come up with so many odd assignments over the years, most of which worked better than the ones that I had devoted more time to planning. I will miss that creative process after I shut it down.

Thanks to Vernon Adams, Jr. for loaning me his number 3 for the Countdown. I've actually seen Adams play a couple times, which, considering that I've attended over twenty CFL games I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising. Adams was born in Pasadena, California and played college ball at Eastern Washington and Oregon. He went undrafted by the NFL and attended rookie mini-camps with the Seattle Seahawks and Washington (at the time) Redskins, but never received an offer. He headed north, and began a peripatetic career with stops at the Montreal Alouettes, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes (again), BC Lions, and Calgary Stampeders. I've seen him have some great games. He was the starting QB in last June's freeze bowl game in Calgary that Kevin and I barely survived. Adams did not have a great day that day, but nobody did, including us.

4

 Another week gone, and only two more weeks of the regular semester to go. I've officially lost the battle of the No Going Away Parties campaign, as two parties are now on the agenda. It's strange to think that by the end of this month I will be done with teaching - and my book will be finished (being published, obviously, will remain an ongoing mission, but having the great mass of it complete is going to feel wonderful/strange) - and then the summer and a very different life opens up. My main two goals, once May rolls around, are to devote hours a day to Italian - and to get back to the gym and the pool and long walks - as I begin to refashion myself into a new entity.

Thanks to Keon Hatcher for loaning me his #4 for the Countdown. In many ways his story is also a classic CFL story. Hatcher was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and played at Arkansas, but went undrafted by any NFL team. As an undrafted free agent, he spent a few years bouncing back and forth between the Oakland Raiders (twice), Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers (twice), and New York Jets. His career NFL statistics: 1 catch for 8 yards. In 2021 he headed north, and has been with the BC Lions ever since, including being a CFL All-Star in 2023 and 2025. Now, he's playing all the time, catching passes from the CFL's best QB (Nathan Roarke), and enjoying a lot of success. You have to love his story.

Oh, and I love the metaphor of this picture - 4 days left, but zero closing in fast.

Movies in 2026 107

 

My Winnipeg, (Guy Maddin, 2007)

By way of preparation for July's CFL Trip of Excellence to Winnipeg/Saskatchewan, it's not surprising that I felt moved to watch Guy Maddin's beautiful/disturbing/funny/sad film, My Winnipeg. I'd heard about Guy Maddin for years, but for some reason I had never managed to watch any of his work. I'm definitely going to make up for that cultural/cinematic shortcoming. I saw My Winnipeg described as a "docu-fantasia," which, even though I've never seen the term before, seems to fit beautifully. It's a very personal reflection on growing up/getting away from/going back to Winnipeg. It's almost indescribable, but in a wonderful way. It also features Ann Savage (who we all remember from the definitive film noir Detour) as Maddin's mother. Essential viewing, and not simply for those attending a Blue Bombers game in July.