Nachos—check.
Beer—check.
Friends—check.
As I sat down to watch the Riders’ game Friday night I thought I had everything I needed, that is until Hugh Charles caught a 15-yard pass for a touchdown in the fourth quarter and proceeded to do three back flips in the endzone—clearly I hadn’t thought of everything.
Needs—puke bag, vicodin and earplugs.
A puke bag for my gag reflex, which was going a hundred miles a minute.
A vicodin, for the anger I displayed, a fit of rage that involved several choice words.
And earplugs, for any children sitting within an earshot of said blow up.
Curious to know what could send a grown man into such a fit of fury?
Charles’ celebration.
Let’s make this perfectly clear, I support a good ol’ fashioned celebration, and the CFL has been the sports leader in celies (see Dave Stala). But what Charles did on Friday night crossed an unwritten sports code of ethics, while at the same time, made a pile of people sick to their stomach.
Don Cherry often preaches the virtues of the modest celebration or no celebration at all. Well I don’t entirely subscribe to his philosophy, Charles would greatly benefit from a lesson or two from Grapes.
The problem isn’t the celebration itself—three standing back flips. It looked good, he pulled it off without a hitch and he stuck the landing—it was the timing.
At the time of the trip-flips, the Riders found themselves down 38-20, with 13 minutes remaining in the game. That’s right, he didn’t score to give the Riders the lead—something they didn’t have all game—nor did he score to clinch a playoff birth, or Grey Cup or tickets to a Rider game, which are becoming increasingly easier to find.
Nope, he scored to pull his team within 18 points, on his own field, in the last quarter of a 1-6 start to the season.
BRAVO Mr. Charles, BRAVO.
You’re the man.
Now you could argue it’s good to see a team, that could be down on their luck, doing a little celebrating. After all, things have been pretty grim in Rider nation for the duration of the 2011 campaign. And if you do feel that way, also feel free to do the new dance of idiots around the league—the trip flip—while chanting “We’re tied for last. We’re tied for last.”
Anyone who has every laced up a pair of cleats, strapped on a pair of skates or tugged on a pair of batter’s gloves, knows when you score to bring your team within three scores, goals or runs of the other team in the final quarter, period or inning, you go quietly get lined up for the next play.
Why?
Because the other option is doing three back flips and making yourself, and your entire team, look like a bunch of fools—in this case 1-6 fools. While at the same time, giving the opposing team, who is—for lack of a better description—kicking your ass at the moment, a whole bunch of comedic material.
What I would have done to be on the field, wearing a Stamps jersey when Charles performed his elaborate celebration. Size, speed and an overall lack of any talent prohibited that, but man-oh-man did I like to run my mouth when the other team did something that stupid.
Here’s some of the things that you’d hear.
“That a flip for every score you’re down Charles?”
“I think Cirque du Soleil is holding auditions next week Hugh.”
And an new twist on a classic, “Does the scoreboard look any different upside down, in the air?”
The point is, there is something to be said for being humble when you’re winning, and when you’re losing, it’s a necessity. I always find it interesting to scrutinize the body language of a team when they are in the midst of adversity. What I see right now from the Riders isn’t good.
This week, Charles came out and said the team needs more vocal leaders. More guys to step up and call certain players out. Other players said they needed to let their play on the field do the talking.
I agree with the latter camp. When your 1-6, people aren’t interested in how you talk or what you talk about. They’re interested in how you play—between the whistles that is.
Photo from Calgary Herald.
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