Not all fairy tales have happy endings – Bombers repeat as Grey Cup Champs

The Cats had a chance for redemption at home as underdogs, and they could not do it. Winnipeg walked off the field in overtime as champs after they intercepted a Jeremiah Masoli pass in Hamilton’s half of the first overtime period.

Now the frightening thing is if Winnipeg goes for the three-peat, it would happen on the turf of Mosaic Stadium. And if that happens, we should tear the stadium down, sow salt on the land so nothing can ever grow there again, and go play at Leibel Field.

However, there is a lot that will happen between now and then.

First the decision by the Toronto Argonauts to relieve director of player personnel John Murphy of his duties following video of a fight between him and Hamilton fans after the eastern semi-final has thrown a new curve ball in the post season musical chairs.

The Edmonton Chronic Wasters, uh, Elk, are said to be going hard for Bomber coach Mike O’Shea as GM/Head coach. It’s a steal from the Riders swiping Chris Jones and making him GM, Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator from the former Eskimo franchise.

The addition of the GM chair is interesting because I would imagine O’Shea has in his contract the ability to move on to a better position should the opportunity present itself. Add to that the football administration cap which forces teams to double up on responsibilities to fit under the cap, and the move is a natural for Edmonton.

The question is does O’Shea have the inclination to even take up the GM duties in addition to being a head coach. People may forget, but three years ago, it was just a matter of time before O’Shea was fired from Winnipeg.

What saved him was the establishment of a locker room culture of accountability, but even more so, getting Zach Collaros out of Toronto and behind an offensive line that could protect him.

Collaros may be the regular season most outstanding player and MVP of the Grey Cup game, but he was fortunate to have the defense he does to pull his behind out of the fire in the Western Final and Grey Cup.

Will O’Shea go to Edmonton? Apparently Edmonton also has Chris Jones as a potential GM/Head Coach combination, which will be interesting considering how Jones left Edmonton after winning the Grey Cup in 2015.

The sight of empty seats in Commonwealth Stadium combined with not winning one game at home has old time Edmonton fans wanting a return to the glory days and if they have to swallow to take Jones back, they will, but Jones will stay until the next best thing comes along.

The next best thing for Jones may be as the director of player personnel in Toronto, replacing Murphy, who Jones brought to Saskatchewan with him. Jones is 54 and likes to coach, but director of player personnel gets to travel to scout players, make contacts with other teams and his flight connections back home to Tennessee are much better out of Toronto that they would be in Edmonton or were in Regina.

The amount of player signings in the last couple of days since the Grey Cup, since there is a moratorium on non-Grey Cup news during Grey Cup week, indicates teams are using their surplus money not spent under the cap to get players under contract for next year.

The CFL and CFL Players Association will be sitting down to hammer out a new collective agreement and a world where almost all players are free agents may be good for the players, but the CFL has a problem in building continuity and community when players on each team shuffle in and out each year.

The salary cap will likely be smaller next year, as most teams will report suffering massive losses this year. The CFL announced it was bringing in revenue sharing which from what I understand consists of home teams keeping 90 per cent of game revenues while visitors get 10 per cent.

So how do you feel subsidizing Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, who owns the Leafs, Raptors and whatever else and so far has not appeared to put dime one into marketing the Leafs in Toronto.

During the Eastern Final week MLSE had the bright idea of having McLeod-Bethel Thompson so an appearance at a Raptors game to promote the game. This is nothing new with cross marketing of sports figures, but MLSE apparently did not hear about the CFL Covid protocols and there was a real possibility Thompson would have missed the game.

So for an organization that prints money with the Leafs without having to do anything, it was a lapse in judgement that demanded answers to whether or not they are serious about the CFL or even care. I’m just curious as to whether or not they are smart enough to market anything.

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie talked about looking at whether or not the CFL should move to four downs. Uh, the quality of the Grey Cup suggests maybe not looking at that.

Where the CFL is suffering is lack of player identification and player development. Canadian players play fewer games in college than their American counterparts and therefore are less advanced in their football skills. Canadian offensive lineman usually take about three to four years to get to a level of being a consistent starter and with no pad practice, the players development will be pushed back further.

The Riders had to start a bunch of new players on the offensive line in 2021 and therefore have given them a crash course in playing. As bad as the Riders offensive line was last year, it should be better next year and that was the result of young players getting an opportunity to play.

So if the CFL had an Arena Football outlet, smaller rosters, maybe teams in cities with no CFL franchises but interested, the teams could give their young Canadians and perhaps some choice American free agents an opportunity to play, get used to players playing at professional speed, and figure out how their offense and defense would work.

So you could have teams in Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Brandon, London, Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kitchener, Kingston, Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton and Halifax.

I know that is a bit, but with smaller teams, less equipment to move, it should provide fans with enough variety and following players as they develop and try to get to the main camp. It expands the scope of the CFL and with gambling, it becomes perhaps an opportunity to not just audition players, but coaches as well.

The CFL needs to reach out to people who may not be thought of as fans. There is no reason why the CFL could not have games broadcast or telecast in First Nations’ languages, or in the languages of new Canadians.

Businesses or service groups or even bands might want to buy tickets for First Nations youth or new Canadians, to get them into the stands and get excited about the game.

The CFL can do practices and work outs for youth in various locales to get them exposed and interested in the game. Let’s be honest, this is a long term approach, but one that should pay off because one of the big attractions in going to CFL games is the feeling of belonging, and if you feel you don’t belong, sharing in the emotions of a football game may be just what the doctor ordered.

It might not work, but then again, it sounds a hell of better than CFL.2.0.

by Greg Urbanoski

Not all fairy tales have happy endings – Bombers repeat as Grey Cup Champs

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