Angry Bomber Fans

A Coward that Would Apall the Devil Is Bid Farewell.

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:38:00 -0600

By Mike Alexander

I had just finished putting memories of this years’ season down for a long winters’ nap when my inbox suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree yesterday around noon. I thought that Tee Martin and others might have been trying to pull a fast one on me for reasons that didn’t make very much sense. But a couple of clicks later and I almost swallowed my tongue. It was like reading the end of Macbeth for the first time. My copy of it even had a picture of Macbeth’s decapitated skull on a stake in it for good measure and intellectual enrichment. How bizarre indeed to discover that the Mike Kelly era of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was in the process of grinding to a full stop before my very eyes.

The details will emerge and they will be brutal. Moral compasses no longer work, civilizations have literally evaporated, parents are refusing to let their children out anymore and I have never heard the expression “community owned football team” uttered so many times in my life. Very soon now, jubilant mobs will fill barstools across the city as a savage, vindicating celebration takes over, placing every car on the road in serious jeopardy of being torched tonight. There is a corpse that needs to be ripped to pieces and everyone wants a slice of the action.

Last night, Bombers chairman Ken Hildahl look like a man blacked out drunk on the blood of a murder victim as he announced that Mike Kelly had been relieved of his duties. Anyone on Maroons road must have been cowering under desk tables as a grizzly massacre took place. Long time CEO and President Lyle Bauer was the first to go and before nails could even be hammered into his coffin, word got out that Mike Kelly had been arrested outside of Philly as a result of pounding on his ex girlfriend who was in the process of getting her things out of his place.

It’s an obvious breach of contract and the actions of a desperate failure of a man. A man who gutted a team, threw in an unqualified quarterback, who benched veterans, who was unable to find any answers offensively all season long and who fielded a team that somehow managed to fare worse than the utterly dismal 2008 season.

It was a terrible year with a terrible human being at the helm.

I gave him a chance to win my heart. For four games (maybe more), I listened to the skeptics who accused guys like me of drinking Mike Kelly’s Kool-Aid. The team almost showed promise today, I told myself. I kept looking for signs of life and if there were, it wasn’t long until the flat line could not be ignored any longer. Being that people in Philadelphia boo Santa and cheer when hockey players break their necks on the ice, I got a kick out of Kelly’s outbursts. I think local media and fans of sports in general all need to be told to eat a piece of shit from time to time. But the play on the field got worse and worse. Pre-game shows became things of dark embarrassment for your humble narrator as sportscasters took turns summing up another week of dismal failure as Winnipeg prepared to get torn to pieces and then stomped on the field. There were threats, bad feelings, and angry rogue bands of drunks with weapons in Bomber jerseys making life in this town terrible for everyone. Who could blame us? We were confused, clinically depressed and we saw no way out of this terrible leg hold trap that Mike Kelly had snapped on us. We drove around town drinking beer in the back of pickup trucks and the only answer that ever made sense to anyone was to fire Mike Kelly. It became a mantra. In their desperation, some people even had the nerve to mention Jeff Reinbold as a valid replacement to Kelly. There was no joy and no future in the hearts of Bomber faithful. We were horrible to be around because we looked so goddamned sad all the time.

People wanted him gone but I would always pipe up with the news that no one wanted to commit to their memory. Kelly had been given a three year contract and there was no way in hell he was going anywhere. We are still paying for Doug Berry’s hookers and drugs for crissakes, thanks to Lyle Bauer. Firing him just wasn’t an option.

Who could have possibly guessed that Kelly’s days here would end this way? That deep inside that useless skull, resides an angry and cowardly bully with no control? Apparently plenty of people. When they threatened to blow up Portage and Main if Kelly wasn’t fired, I thought they were over-doing it a bit. But there has been more than one voice asking aloud if Kelly was the wife beating type over the last few months. A football team does not get chewed to pieces and then thrown up on as bad as the Bombers did without a dangerous fat-headed idiot running the show.

We live in dark days. Saskatchewan has made it to the Grey Cup twice in the last three years and we don’t have a quarterback. Like Macbeth who did not have a natural propensity to murder, Mike Kelly had bold ambitions for the club. They were strange and wrong and for reasons unknown to me, his evil actions placed him in a downward spiral of evil that could only be resolved with him finding himself with his skull now removed from his body and placed on a stake, hopefully in place of the Christmas tree outside of city hall. But we can finally rest a bit now that the king is dead. Another board meeting has been scheduled for Saturday on Maroons Road and there are many more sharp turns on this lonely, savage road for Bomber brass in the days ahead. Still, for those long suffering few that are reading this, who are somehow still walking after bearing witness to this terrible year, raise a toast to Hildahl and 2010 and enjoy the moment.

And Merry Christmas.

BREAKING NEWS: Mike Kelly Arrested

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:14:17 -0600

Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly was arrested this morning and charged with assault and harrassment following a domestic dispute.

Police in Bridgeport, Penn., responded to Kelly’s home in the Philadelphia area at 11:03 a.m.

The other person involved in the incident is Andrea Peterson, Kelly’s former girlfriend.

Police said she had a cut on her lip, redness on her neck and a small cut on her finger. Police said Kelly also had some bruising on his face.

Kelly was released on his own recognizance.

Kelly was reached by the Free Press on his cell phone but did not offer comment simply saying, “I can’t talk right now,” before hanging up.

Blue Bombers chairman Ken Hildahl learned of the incident minutes after he ended a press conference announcing the resignation of CEO Lyle Bauer.

“At this point, what we’ll be looking to do is get all the facts surrounding the incident in Philadelphia,” said Hildahl. “We’’ll deal with it at that point. We’ve heard a lot of rumours, a lot of innuendo over the last hour. These are issues that this football club and this board are obviously very concerned with. Any incidents that involve violence, and at this point they are allegations, it’s something we will and do take seriously.”

- with files from Aldo Santin and Jason Bell

via: Winnipeg Free Press

The Final PacNu Report of 2009 - Grey Cup

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:24:00 -0600

Like a lot of diehard CFL fans, PacNu thinks Montreal is a strong team, but that the Roughriders have more heart. Montreal might be the better team on paper, but PacNu and Ridernation are hoping they can pull off the big upset.

See you next season.

Go Riders.

(this is the only time you will read about any Angry Bomber Fans cheering for any time other than the Blue & Gold…unless we have a big Sport Select ticket on the go)

"It’s not about me. It’s about, ‘Are you a Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan?’..."

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:08:00 -0600

“

It’s not about me. It’s about, ‘Are you a Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan?’ Period.

… Whoever the head coach is, whoever the quarterback is, whoever the middle linebacker is, they’re Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

And if you’re a Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan, you’re out there and you’re supporting them. I don’t understand anything other than that.

”

- Coach Kelly’s response when he was asked what he would say to fans who are vowing to not come to games next year if he’s still in charge.

via: Winnipeg Sun

Coach Mike Kelly’s Greatest Hits

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600

Coach Mike Kelly’s Greatest Hits

Garbage Bag Day in Swaggerville Bomberville. “Five days...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:13:00 -0600

Garbage Bag Day in ~~Swaggerville~~ Bomberville.

“Five days from now, your Winnipeg Blue Bombers will either begin the process of hosting the first round of the Eastern division playoffs, or they will be handing out Glad garbage bags to one another as they clean out their lockers to signify the end of the 2009 season.”

Doug Brown - November 3/09

Final Crappy Honker Award of the Season

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:03:06 -0600

by H.F. Salisbury

In the great tradition of recognizing “Cactus” Jack Wells and the Happy Honker Award given out on C-Job radio here in Winnipeg, I present for you yet another instalment of the ~~Happy~~ Crappy Honker Award given to an individual(s) for a ~~fantastic~~ unforgivable performance directly related to the continued floundering of our once beloved Winnipeg Blue Bombers.. and believe me Bomber nation, while this is no surprise, it clearly hurts. Perhaps more than other losses.

Loyal readers, please continue to read on. While this may seem like a bit of déjà vu, and that you are in fact reading an old post, let me reassure you that this is the most current/latest post. These are statistics for the last (oh and I do mean last) Bomber game against Hamilton.

This was the most important game of the year. Win and you’re in. Out and well… Crappy Honker is awarded. This was essentially a playoff game. The fact that we were beaten by a group of “Bombers past” doesn’t mean anything to me. Our old QB Kevin Glenn seeing karma in action by beating his old team that gave him a way doesn’t even interest me. I’ll tell you what really ticks me off – we now have a 19 year Grey Cup drought. Yes, it was 1990 and the 78^th Grey Cup that we last won. I don’t blame our Crappy Honker Award winner for all those years but this current year…

Mr. Bishop, please step forward to collect you award. Yes here is where that déjà vu may come in. Our QB’s stats for the most important game of the year are as follows:

Passes completed / Passes Attempted: 8/26 (30%)
Touchdowns / Interceptions: 1 / 2
Points Hamilton scored off of QB turnovers: 14

Yuck. That was the worst performance I’ve seen from Bishop this year. Seriously, the Tiger Cat defense was not that good. He was that bad. I think we only had one first down in the entire second half. Yes there were poor offensive coordinator calls made (second and 10 from our own 9 yard line and we run it when the run clearly was not working) but at the end of the day, poor passes and interceptions killed us.

To sum it all up, I’d like to use a quote from Doug Brown – “You don’t lose by 22 points at home to a team that’s already made the playoffs. We got a sold-out crowd, and the Blueout’s happening, and we have a province that really didn’t have a lot of reasons to get behind us tonight, and they did. We let everybody down.”

Well Doug, some players let us down more than others.

Good Riddance

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:39:00 -0600

By Ernie “This Is The” Pitts

I almost didn’t want to hear what Mike Kelly had to say about the loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Would he tell Bob Irving to go fuck himself? Maybe he’d challenge Bob Cameron to a cage match. Or kick Kenny Ploen in the crotch with steel-toed boots. Maybe set Buzz and Boomer on fire and slap a few cheerleaders. Take a dump on the logo at midfield and wipe his ass with a game-worn Milt Stegall jersey?

I just didn’t want to hear Kelly do any more damage to this team and its legacy. I didn’t want to hear any asinine comments, and I didn’t want to hear about “great efforts,” “rebuilding” and “next year.” I’m sick of that trash. It’s redundant sports cliches clumsily smeared across a portrait of ineptitude in a ham-fisted attempt to explain a season defined by failure and incompetence. The only thing Mike Kelly owes me is an apology for wasting 10 days of my life spent watching mediocre players paddle a rudderless ship captained by an arrogant asshole.

For the record: Apology not accepted. Go back to Philadelphia. Google Map the fastest route, Professor.

But I couldn’t resist watching a post-game interview. Call me a fool or a glutton for punishment.

And so I watch the interview on the Free Press website, probably shot by Ed Tait with a point-and-shoot camera when he should be learning how to write better or maybe delivering issues of On7 in some ridiculous cost-cutting measure by Winnipeg’s so-called “major daily.” I watch, and what do I hear? I hear Kelly say he wants Michael Bishop at training camp next year.

What?

No, really— what the fuck are you talking about?

Aside from Kelly himself, Bishop the predominant reason for the wasted season. He’s a terrible quarterback. He makes bad decisions. He can’t scramble for shit. His accuracy sucks. His pocket presence is non-existent. He can’t read defences. And did I mention his accuracy makes drunken fucks playing Big Buckhunter at a Canad Inns bar look like spec-ops sharpshooters?

I can only assume Kelly is playing the media game the only way he knows how, treating the interaction like Edward Scissorhands might treat a violin. Maybe Kelly isn’t ready to throw Bishop under the bus yet and he’s reluctant to punt the dude moments after the game. Maybe.

But what if he’s serious? What if he really believes Bishop deserves to take another snap in a Winnipeg uniform? What if he’s going to piss away another season and another 150 hours of my life? What if he really thinks Bishop can be a part of our future rather than another one-year bit player in a two-decade comedy of errors?

If that’s the case—if Michael Bishop is truly welcome back into Canad Inns Stadium ever again—then this team is truly lost.

You Are The Reason Why We Can Never Have Anything Nice.

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:54:00 -0600

by Mike A.

I had nodded off on the couch when something caused to wake up suddenly. TSN’s Chris Cuthbert had possibly just said something about Michael Bishop throwing a pick that had just been returned by the Hamilton Ti-Cats for a touchdown late the 4th quarter. I turned around and saw the score and realized that the 2009 Winnipeg Blue Bomber season had just been fucking ended by a team full of former Bomber personnel including Kevin Glenn, Kahari Jones and Greg Marshall. I probably should have not bothered waking up.

The game story was punishing and familiar. It’s a sale tale, one that is painful to hear told time and time again. After a strong start out of the gate that looked promising at first, Michel Bishop and the entire offensive line fell apart leaving the defense to pick up the pieces. One the inevitable collapse occurred on the field, it did not take Hamilton very long to finish the Bombers off and to put an end to a season that looked suitable for rush delivery to the local gas chamber.

After the first interception that Bishop threw in the fourth quarter to Markeith Knowlton, Michael Bishop decided to cap things off by adding a personal signature, throwing another interception to Jykine Bradley that lead in a Hamilton touchdown late in the game. As Bradley ran 49 yards for the score, Chris Cuthbert was screaming about how Winnipeg’s football season was over. It was actually very bizarre. That’s two picks for two major scores in one quarter of football. Michael Bishop was 1 for 11 in the second half.

So it’s over. Many questions remain and to me there is one more important than any other. Who is to be the starting QB in 2010? The Michael Bishop experiment has failed as he was unable to deliver results when he was most needed. BC will release Pierce, Jackson or Printers at the end of the season. In Montreal, McPherson is a free agent after this season. For some reason Kerry Joseph’s name has come up as well.

But all of this really doesn’t matter right now. The sting of watching Winnipeg auto corpse themselves into a very long winters’ dirt nap has passed. Like any relationship poisoned by mistrust and a lack of respect, I need time away from this reality. I am quite relieved that this season is over. This team did not deserve to be in the playoffs.

The lights can finally be mercifully turned off on one of the most wretched seasons of football I have ever had the displeasure of watching. It’s back to the drawing board for the brain surgeons over on Maroons Road. As for me, it’s time to pretend like none of this ever happened. See you in 2010.

Maybe I’m Just Cranky

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600

by H.F. Salisbury

I must be cranky because this really got under my skin. I think Coach Kelly got this one right!!! Football is a team sport. Period.

I do not care if Fred Reid is correct or not in his assessment regarding the Offensive Line needing to do a better job of creating holes for “Thunder” to run through. You don’t publicly call out your offensive line ESPECIALLY before the last regular season and most important game of the year. Talk to them in practice or in a private meeting.

So Fred, how is that guaranteed rushing title (i.e. personal rather than team award) going for you? Guess it is as hard to be a team player as it is to run for big yardage with your jaw waggin’.

My advice to you is stop guaranteeing things. Stop using the media to get a message to your teammates. Start focusing and working hard on winning on Sunday. Be a team player.

And I actually thought this team had bonded. Nobody in “Swaggerville” is acting like a champion therefore; they will never be a champion.

Geeze… I’m thinking I’m doomed to be an Angry Bomber Fan forever?!!?!?!?

Ian Logan - Twitter King of the CFL

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:22:00 -0600

by: Tony “Tee” Martin

The Blue & Gold may have got their ass kicked in Montreal, but there is some good news from ~~Swaggerville~~ Bomberville this week.

Ian Logan was the first CFL player to reach a 1000 followers on Twitter. Hot 103’s Ace Burpee will make a $500 donation to Winnipeg’s United Way on behalf of the Bomber safety.

via: @ianlogan31:

“Its been an eventful night. Mission accomplished. Thanks to everyone who helped. $500 is going to @unitedwaywpg!!”

Way to go Ian.

Now if Burpee could only convince Doug Brown to setup an account…

Go Blue!!!

Crappy Honker Award

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:06:00 -0600

by H.F. Salisbury

However, as with the previous edition, this was a tough one to award again. You see, when you loose as bad as the Bombers did against Montreal. There are a lot of nominations.

My initial thought was give it to Bishop. He was brutal in the game going 8 for 21. Then I thought of the dropped passes but thought hey, they were probably shocked that Bishop hit their number and not row 27 of the stands. What about that run game… it was putrid. Note to Reid – if you are going to guarantee winning the rushing title, you will need to average a bit more than 3.36 yards on 11 carries. Guess it’s hard to run with your jaw wagging.

Could I award it to the entire offence???? What did we have two first downs going into the half?!?!?!? What about the dynamic defensive duo arguing on the sidelines on national television? Sure this team has bonded, Swaggerville… what a joke. Awarding to a large group like that would be a copout. What was an Angry Bomber Fan to do? Then Mike Kelly opens his mouth.

Guess what, I’m not even shocked he said BS live on the air. In a way I kind of agreed with his point but that lack of professionalism caused listeners to focus on the words not the message.

What Coach Kelly really gets this award for is his half assed apology. You don’t lay down rules to those you are apologizing to. You are supposed to be humble. We get it… defending your players is good. We are not allowed to question their “effort or focus.” I have one question Coach… can I question your professionalism?

Congratulations Coach Kelly, your unforgettable (and perhaps unforgivable) performance has earned this week’s Crappy Honker Award,

PS I hope the CLF doesn’t fine me $2,000 for saying half assed (whoops did it again). If I’ve offended anybody, I apologize. It won’t happen again. See Coach, it’s not that hard to apologize.

Make Ian Logan The Twitter King of the CFL & Win Tickets to the Game

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600

Help Blue Bomber Ian Logan be the first CFL player to reach 1000 followers on Twitter.

Ace Burpee and Hot 103 will donate $500 to the United Way if the Bomber safety is the first player to have 1000 followers on the social networking site.

Just announced: Hot 103 is also giving away 25 pairs of tickets to the game against Hamilton. You have to be following @Ianlogan31 in order to win.

Go Blue!!!

Mike Kelly's Outburst After The Game

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:35:00 -0600

Not only did the Blue Bombers get their ass kicked by Montreal, Mike Kelly flipped out again on CJOB after the game. Here we go again.

Hear it here.

Glamourous Movie Stars with Totally Retarded Publicists

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:59:00 -0600

By Mike A.

For some reason my partner had to leave the house bright and early on November 1st 2008. I recall her coming back to tell me a few amusing little stories about the “used up whores”, making their way home on foot after a Halloween night out in their sexy nurse, fairy and bunny costumes. You could tell who they were. They walked with bow legs, with their makeup smeared, their crumpled outfits sagging and stained with alcohol and various other substances. They lumbered through neighborhoods they had no real business being in with vapid and pained expressions on their faces, horribly smeared masks of human suffering and shame that had just woken up in a pile of vomit on the bathroom floor. Twisted ankles, broken heels, chipped teeth, stolen money. It all seems like just another day for the hard living and unholy on their endless quest for a nice strong bar tab to warm themselves up next to.

Its days like this where the CFL reveals its true colours. The playoff picture as it stands this morning affects me as if a rabid peacock just unfurled its grandiose plumage. As it turns out every game has mattered this year. The East could go almost any way. It’s mesmerizing and beautiful to take in, but sadly, this fanned, iridescent blue-green or green coloured plumage in addition to being part of the courtship process, is also used to warn of danger or to ward off threats. What will happen today and how will it affect the future? Questions like this are what make the league interesting. What is guaranteed is that remaining games for teams like Edmonton, Winnipeg and Hamilton will be savage beatings from which some will not rise from.

The floundering Winnipeg Blue Bombers hang on to life by hardly anything at this point. As a result of Hamilton’s unexpected whipping of the Saskatchewan Roughriders last night, a Bomber win tomorrow would kick Edmonton out of the cross over spot unless Edmonton wins next week. Potentially, we could lose to Hamilton and still secure the last playoff spot. A loss tomorrow means the Hamilton game will be won or we will not make the playoffs at all.

I have been careful to hold back on discussing the playoffs because anyone else with half a brain has been blathering on about the playoff picture for weeks. But now with the Bombers improved fortunes as of late and the fact that this game is crucial, it seems that there really isn’t much else to concern ones self with at this point anymore. There is a rushing title up for grabs, but it’s all so meaningless if the Bombers fall on their swords.

It was made formal on Friday morning that Al’s star quarterback Anthony Calvillo will return this week. Coach Trestman must understand that the front line can not be rested even though this weeks’ match is meaningless to the Al’s. Calvillo is exciting to watch. As 2008’s Player of the Year and ranked fourth in all time passing yards in the league, Calvillo has enjoyed whipping the snot out of teams like the Bombers for several years now. After watching his team being heavily dismantled in Winnipeg last week must have been tough on the old cunt. All bets are on that he’ll be itching for his revenge.

Frankly, I don’t think we can do this without Michael Bishop. Without him, the receivers need not show up and the O line will be run into and buried under cleat-stomped shallow graves in the Bombers end zone all afternoon long. The very thought of it makes me want to vomit 3 double vodka crantini’s in the sink but the highly structured and dynamic Alouette Offensive line can quickly tie you into so many knots, all there will be left to do is to stuff a hundred dollar bill in your mouth after you’ve been put to sleep.

Match that kind of poise that Calvillo exhibits week after week with Bishop’s rocket launching arm, and suddenly this could turn out to be a gun fight with both teams trading scores in a match that could see both teams stomping 30 points out of each other.

I have said it at least once this year. Montreal needs to stay focused. This game is no different with the exception that a loss against Winnipeg this afternoon will likely result in a re-match against the Bombers in November. Winnipeg has been building confidence in the last third of the season and are likely hungry for a chance to smack the living daylights out of the Alouettes a second time in as many weeks. The Bombers are four and one in their last five. This kind of outrage requires the kind of disciplined play that Winnipeg has struggled with for years. Without Bishop’s leadership I just can’t see it happening.

We’re either going to win an extremely tough offensive battle this afternoon or else we will wake up in someone’s filthy aqua blue coloured bathroom tomorrow with a head pulsating from the extremely unpleasant physiological effects of living just another day in Bomberville, staring down a lonely journey home, feeling flush, nauseous and with an overwhelming sense of dejection and failure.

Happy Halloween

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:42:41 -0500

by H.F. Salisbury

I love Halloween. Yesterday, I made a comment that it is my favourite holiday of the year only to be reminded by my wife that it is NOT a holiday. Rather it is an “occasion.” Whatever… it’s still cool and the best idea the Celts have had that I’m aware of.

At any rate, the picture above was taken at my daughter’s school Halloween party. The kid in the picture said his only regret about the costume was that a) he couldn’t find a watermelon to wear on his head as they are now out of season, b) he couldn’t find a real banjo, and c) it really pained him to wear Riders gear because he was “True blue.”

It wasn’t the best costume (one kid dressed up as “Vince the Sham Wow guy” complete with portable desk to actually do product demonstrations) but it sure got my attention.

I hope the Bombers dress up as the “Beast of the East” and keep the costume on for tomorrow’s tilt against Montreal.

GO BLUE GO!!!

PS… The Slap Chop commercial with Vince still cracks me up.

The PacNu Report

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:19 -0500

Wanna win some cash? So does PacNu! This week the Pac likes Edmonton to cover that big spread, a tie in the Saskatchewan/Hamilton game and BC in a Proline win. Keep checking back for his pick in the Winnipeg/Montreal game.

PacNu’s Gate Night Special (even though the gamer is on Sunday) is for Minnesota to win in Green Bay.

It's Easy To Be A Winner When You're Not In The Game

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500

by Mike Warkentin - Uptown Magazine

I wonder if Barack Obama feels like Tee Martin.

A few years ago, quarterback Tamaurice (Tee) Martin arrived in Winnipeg and practically stepped off the plane onto coats laid at his feet by ardent supporters of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. After a stellar college career in the U.S. and stints with NFL squads, Martin was a golden child of sorts - the kind of player who might guide the Bombers from the depths of ineptitude to that elusive Grey Cup.

Martin was an instant celebrity and the fans in the stands couldn’t wait to see him in action. Some wanted to anoint the former Tennessee Volunteer the starter before he had even picked up a fat old CFL football and noticed its stripes.

When starter Kevin Glenn faltered, as he often did, the armchair quarterbacks got more vocal and Canad Inns Stadium was soon filled with calls for Martin to be inserted into the game. Suddenly, a dude who had never played a down became the most popular guy in the stadium. Tee was to be the saviour - the next Ken Ploen, perhaps - and the fans were certain a new hero was holding a clipboard on the sidelines.

Of course, once Martin got in the game, he was terrible. Career numbers: 458 yards, one touchdown, four interceptions and two fumbles. And here’s your plane ticket back to Alabama, Mr. Martin.

Politics is a lot like football and the more I read about both worlds, the more I understand the late Hunter S. Thompson’s passion for both the gridiron and the political arena.

President Obama has been living the life of a backup quarterback for quite some time. He’s new, he’s fresh and he’s full of promise. He hasn’t been beaten up, slandered or abused. He hasn’t screwed up on national TV. He represents hope for the future and the best chance the Americans have of reclaiming past glories washed away by economic crises, sick citizens without health insurance and endless, expensive wars.

Hell, Obama received a Nobel Prize basically for what he might do.

And then Obama got into the game.

On Oct. 23, a Gallup poll revealed that Obama’s quarterly approval rating has slumped from 62% to 53%, which may not seem like much, except it’s the largest quarterly decline since Harry Truman lost 13 points between the second and third quarters of 1946.

The shine is most certainly off the apple.

When Obama was elected, I remember saying I hoped he was everything the American public believed him to be. I also remember saying it was high time he get to work. Now it’s October and it would appear that many Americans have lost some degree of faith in their new leader, just like Bombers fans lost faith in a fleet, strong-armed quarterback with questionable decision-making skills.

Obama is on safer footing than Martin because he’s been elected to a four-year term. Still, I’d suggest that all the expectations placed upon him mean he doesn’t have anywhere near four years to produce some big-time results. I’d suggest he’s got far less than a year and, if things get worse instead of better, I’ll bet they’ll get ugly in short order.

But I’ll say it again: I hope Obama has all the answers.

If he doesn’t, he won’t be the starting quarterback for long.

Mike Warkentin loves football.

Swaggerville's So Sweet

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:54:24 -0500

By: Gary Lawless - Winnipeg Free Press

They call it Swaggerville, this cocky but accomplished defensive secondary of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and it’s become a dangerous place for quarterbacks looking to plunder and pillage for some passing loot.

They’ve already collected 29 interceptions, the highest total by a CFL team since B.C. led the league with 36 picks in 2006 and the most by a Bomber bunch since the ‘94 group finished with 32.

“Swaggerville is an unlimited, infinite, incredible amount of confidence. That’s what it is. I feel like everybody in the secondary, we’re the tone-setters,” explains defensive back Lenny Walls. “For the defence, the team and everything, that’s what we do. One thing about this secondary is we all have confidence. That’s why I started calling it Swaggerville. We believe in each other and making plays. We all make plays and we compete. If you have guys in your secondary that compete and fight, it’s Swaggerville.”

Walls coined the term and says it’s from his youth.

“We used to call it Swaggerville when I was growing up in the inner city,” Walls reflects. “I came here and looked around at these guys and thought, ‘This is the perfect group to be called Swaggerville.’ “

Early in the season they found themselves stranded on the field by an incompetent offence and they lead the league in passing attempts against at 609, and that’s hurt them in a couple of departments. They’ve allowed a league-worst 369 completed passes and their average passing yards against per game of 266.2 is seventh in the CFL.

All that aside, they’ve come on strong down the stretch and added consistency to their ball-hawking abilities.

Bombers coach Mike Kelly says this group has charged hard in the second half of the season.

“I think they’re pretty indicative of the entire football club in that there’s been this melding , if you will, of that group and they’ve fed off each other. They take great pride in what they do every single day,” offered Kelly.

The boss says he enjoys watching his secondary play.

“They’ve got a little swag to them and I don’t have a problem with that because they’ve been backing up their swagger,” said Kelly. “They’re not fools about their swagger. When they make a good play, they certainly celebrate but they celebrate together. They’re not individualistic in how they celebrate just to bring attention to themselves. I like the way they embrace one another when one of them makes a good play.”

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 29, 2009 C3

Winnipeg = Swaggerville

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:50:45 -0500

Winnipeg = Swaggerville