The Revolving Door
by: Ernie “This is the” Pitts
The panic button at Maroons Road has been hit more times than the buzzers on the set of Jeopardy.
The result a whole bunch of last-second changes to the game-day program, which I never used to pick up. I knew who the players were. Stegall was 85. Armstrong: 83. Charlie was 1, and his uniform had a secret pocket where he kept his smokes. I’m number 66, and the back of my jersey says “Slayer.” All was right in the world.
That was then.
Now we’re looking at a game where we will almost literally hear PA announcer Bob McGregor flipping pages as he tries to find out who’s on the field.
“What’sHisName complete to Who’sThatGuy for three yards” – except it will probably be an incomplete pass, still in the area of three yards on second and nine.
I bet the marketing people are having a whole lot of fun with this team, and I’m sure Bramlet jerseys are flying out of the Bomber Store.
The CFL has always been a bit of a non-descript league where players appear and disappear, with few playing more than a few years in the loop sometimes referred to as the Chronic Football League by NFL rejects with substance-abuse problems. But this is unbelievable.
The Bombers have brought in a whole host of new players, most of them receivers and quarterbacks in a desperate attempt to resurrect a season that’s circling the lower part of the bowl at this point. Mike Kelly and co. get points for trying – but next year I’d like to see these guys brought in at training camp, not late September. At this point, it’s too late. This army of new quarterbacks will barely have time to learn the names of the Earl’s Girls they’re sleeping with before the season ends.
But maybe we’re in training camp. Maybe the last half of the season isn’t about winning – although the first half wasn’t about winning, either. Maybe this is a period of talent evaluation for next year. You know, the time when we throw some fresh fuel on the fire and see if it burns. That way we can hit the ground running in 2010.
Next year.
Alex Trebek: “Answer: We’ve been saying this for too long in Winnipeg.”
Hit panic button again.
Ernie Pitts: “What is ‘next year’?”
