Stamps practise in smoky outdoors
Lack of field house like Eskimos have leaves football team with little choice
As the apocalypse — or a lot of forest fire smoke, at least — descended on Calgary this week, the Stampeders soldiered on.
The team’s practices on Wednesday and Thursday were both shorter than planned, but the Stamps still went outside and ran around the field at McMahon Stadium despite conditions that had Environment Canada advising anyone with respiratory issues to stay inside.
The Stampeders didn’t com- plain, but it must have been hard not to feel a little bit jealous when they looked up the road to Edmonton and saw the Eskimos moving their practices indoors.
The Stamps don’t have a field house, so they can’t do that.
It sure would be nice if they could, though.
“It would sure be nice, Mayor Nenshi,” Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson said jokingly. “No, listen, it would be nice. These types of situations (or) heavy, heavy rain (or) in the back half with snow or those sorts of things. Hopefully, it’s in the works, but we just take what we’ve got and the guys are making the best of it.”
The fact Calgary doesn’t have an indoor field house is an issue that affects far more than just the people who play professional football, but Thursday’s practice was a reminder of just how badly one is needed.
Sprinting around in a haze of thick smoke isn’t good for anyone, even if the Stampeders are doing their best in a tough situation.
“We showed in practice again, we’re trying to do what we can, get as much out of practice without necessarily overtaxing them,” Dickenson said. “So far, so good. We’re getting the work we need. I don’t have anyone necessarily getting too sick or any respiratory problems.
“Certainly a little different. We’ve had (smoke) in the past but it’s about as thick as I’ve seen it.”