Football is back in the Steel city! New owner Bob Young has made some impressive moves since acquiring the Tabbies, so he must have felt pretty good as his hard work has initially been rewarded. 22,342 football fans stopped by the spruced up Ivor Wynne stadium to take in a football game and kick the Ticat experience tires. The large number is a good barometer for Young, as to how he’s doing as owner.
The first pre season game of the new Young era attracted a larger crowd than any game in 2003, including the traditional Labour Day classic. That’s 22,342 for an exhibition game, one that featured mostly young bucks and old ducks trying to gain or keep a job. It’s certainly a terrific sign for the CFL which has weathered more than its fair share of troubles over the last few years.
However, the good time atmosphere in the stands and new polish to the presentation will eventually have to live on results on the field. And game one has shown new head Coach Greg Marshall that there is still a lot of work to do to climb back to respectability. The Toronto Argonauts strolled into Ivor Wynne and spoiled the party by beating the Ti-Cats 33-10. The game was sloppy from both sides of the field, indicative of a game featuring mainly rookies vying for a place on the team and experiments in the game plan taking place.
For Hamilton two old questions once again jump to the front of the line, is Danny McManus able to continue at the helm of the team or has age finally caught up to one of the great team leaders in the CFL. McManus did not get a lot of playing time but was less than dominating in his time on the field. 4 for 6 for only 17 yards with his offensive stats, while defensively he was -7 as he fumbled in the end zone after a hit from Argo Noah Cantor, setting up the Argonauts first touchdown. It was a result that did not win him any support from the large pre season game crowd. While there is little doubt that McManus will be the starting QB after the pre-season, how he handles the next week of camp and the return match with the Argos on Saturday will go a long way to showing if he’s still got the touch.
The other decision may not be as hard for Marshall to make, Paul Osbaldiston picked up where things left off last year, as he had his troubles in the game against Toronto. Two punts went off the side of his foot, putting the Ti Cats into a huge defensive hole something a young team can’t afford to have happen too many times in a game. Sentiment and tradition are important to any team, but when the time comes to replace a player sometimes steely determination is the best bet. The key to success this year will be to give the defensive some ground to work with; if Ozzie can’t deliver that product anymore he should pass the torch to someone else.
Marshall didn’t put much stock in the score on the board which is as it should be in a pre-season game, for really the line up on Sunday is nowhere what it will look like when the Ti-Cats open the season in Vancouver on June 18th. For the Hamilton fan the next chance to soak up the atmosphere at Ivor Wynne is on June 25th, when the Ti-Cats are home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Dave Ritchies team will be a good yardstick for Marshall and his assistants to see how far along in their plan things are.
Things are on the right off the field and at the box office, with a bit of time and determination the product at the stadium will bring them back in. The Ti-Cats are off to a good start with the groundwork they’ve done past the sidelines; once they get things back on track between them football will be on its way to health in Hamilton.
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