Hamilton kept its CFL franchise alive, only after a former Hamiltonian returned to pick up the pieces at a bargain basement price. Bob Young grew up as a Tiger Cat fan, but made his fortune in the world of computer technology. The founder of Red Hat has taken on the challenge of turning the formerly woebegone Ti-cats into a model CFL franchise, and so far he's doing all the right things. Spending his own money to help create a renewed spirit for the game in Southern Ontario.
He's assembled a pretty impressive crew of football and marketing people to put the product on the field and the butts in the seats. There apparently is once again a buzz about Tiger Cat football, something that has been missing for a long time. With a facelift for Ivor Wynne, a new sense of urgency in the locker room and some serious interest from the fans, things are going fairly well thus far.
So who is this guy, who comes across as almost an Ed Grimley kind of character, one part genius, one part next door neighbor and one part the weird little guy from high school. There's a fascinating profile of him in Canadian Business, one which gives us an indication just how serious he is about helping the Tiger Cats and the CFL return to prosperity. The article recounts his business success in the computer world and how he's using those lessons to build a football and entertainment success in Steeltown.
22,000 fans turned out last week for an exhibition game, an unheard of amount in Hamilton in the regular season, let alone the practice games. So something is going on in Hamilton, when all is put together and the Ti-Cats are back on the road to success one guy should be taking some bows, but you get the feeling he won't be hanging around the centre stage. He'll be off in a corner taking care of some detail or the other.
Bob Young is all about putting the right people in the right place and letting them get to work. For the CFL the same could be said, they've found the right guy, with the right plan, stand back and let the Ti-Cats lead the way.
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