Football hiatus

It may not be the most edifying or productive passion, but I do get a major kick out of most sports. Soccer is foremost among them, but in terms of local sports teams, the Bombers have always been my favourite.

However, I'm just about ready to give up that relationship. At least for a while.

I attended last Friday's contest (and here I am using the term pretty loosely) between Winnipeg and the B.C. Lions.

How terrible was it? Let me count the ways:

1. After the Bombers fell behind 20-5 after 2 quarters, the halftime show consisting of 2 dispassionate Guitar Hero wizards battling on the big screen was probably the most entertaining moment of the 3 hours.
2. The team's overall performance was so poor that backup quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie's performance, which featured 2 interceptions and several sacks in less than 2 quarters of play against B.C.'s defensive backups, was seen as a bright spot.
3. The fan experience: a drunken loud-mouthed lout sitting in front of us who was far too generous in using his airhorn kind of ruined things, though his tale after halftime of outrunning event security, who were trying to confiscate said airhorn, was mildly amusing.
4. I didn't think it possible, but since last year the stadium has become even more unfriendly to those who bike to games. Unless I missed something somewhere, there are no longer any proper bike racks on the stadium grounds, let alone something like a bike valet, and we ended up locking to a tree. It's bad enough to work one's way through the big box wasteland in the area, and the actual wasteland-cum-parking lot where the old arena used to sit without having to walk around half the stadium looking for a place to park your ride.
   
5. By the third quarter, I had as much interest in the planes landing at YWG as the game itself. You get a great view of the airport from portions of the east side upper deck.
6. The stadium is a miserable dump. When the team is winning I hardly notice, but it is not pretty to look at, comfortable to sit in, and a downright disgusting place to go to the bathroom (although I very much like the water-saving aspect of the troughs). I don't want to get into the stadium debate, other than to say that the proposed Point Douglas location is pretty stupid, but the status quo is not a real option.
   

I was a fan through the miserable Reinebold years, and other rather disappointing seasons, but this was by far the worst performance I've seen in person. I've made a promise to myself not to watch any games or read any CFL-related reporting until the Bombers put one in the win column. Which could mean that I'll have a bit more free time on my hands for the next month or two.

The "Official Rally Towel", pictured upside-down out of protest. Any use this towel got was ironic; the only 'rally' the Bombers mounted was far too late to matter.

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On a brighter note, I read a good book recently.