Though we imagine they won't be surprised that the call to collectivism comes from north of the 49th, that bastion of the left as they frequently find us to be.
Well, ok that's a bit much we admit, but Gary Lawless's Free Press column in the wake of yet another Blue Bomber disaster left us wondering aloud if indeed the Bomber's fan base is seeking for government intervention into the Bomber upper offices.
The hyperbole from the Free Press correspondent included these interesting interpretations of the state of football in River City today.
What do we as a province need to see before we get change?
The model is clearly broken. The self-appointed board of directors are well-meaning people and have a collection of skills but the concept doesn't work. No one is accountable. That just doesn't work in business. The results have been in for some time, however, the stakes are now higher than ever.
The new stadium can give the Bombers new life. But they need new leadership. Selinger must have provisions to change the leadership structure of the franchise. And he needs to step in. Now.
The Bombers aren't playing with house money. They're playing with ours. And we need to get more for it.
And while we can sense the frustration that Lawless may have, much of it we imagine shared by the faithful in the stands and at those at home making yet another call to CJOB and other radio call in shows, turning to government control is perhaps as likely as a Bomber Grey Cup berth this year.
While the province's auto insurance program which is run by the government receives rave reviews by most, we're not sure that an Office of Football Operations is in the cards any time soon.
The idea of a bureaucracy built around the province's football team would no doubt be laughed out of the Legislature and considered folly by the tax payers as well.
Not to mention that Premier Sellinger probably has more than enough on his plate these days than having to take on the governing of the Bombers as one of his portfolios, we imagine he's quite happy to let the Bombers muddle their way through a terrible season.
While he's no doubt a true Bomber fan hopeful of a turn around, the idea of government intervention probably isn't high on the agenda under the Golden Boy Dome.
Socialized Medicine, Socialized Auto Insurance, sure we have a feeling that those are ideas that find favour from coast to coast to coast, but Socialized Football? Well, we suspect that's a dog that don't hunt.
Yes, the stadium is being built with much in the way of financing from the people of Manitoba, but that's not exactly an unusual situation across North America, where even more magnificent monuments to excess have been built on the public dime.
Indeed, communities in the past have done whatever it takes to satiate the needs of the professional teams that call their city home, nowhere in that pact has been a contract rider that suggests the government take control if all goes wrong, nor we imagine would the taxpayers wish for that.
Frustration at incompetence does bring out the best in satire and commentary, though judging by the tone of the Free Press column there's not much satire there, it does however make for a howler of a column and one that pretty well outlines the annus horribilis of the Bombers this year.
The entire work of broken dreams can be found here.
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