REDBLACKS NOT ABOUT TO DWELL ON HOME-FIELD WOES
Despite losing record, team confident about East final against Edmonton
Who, exactly, are the Ottawa Redblacks?
Why on earth should Redblacks fans pin hopes for success in the East Division final against the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday on a team that had the Canadian Football League’s second-worst home-field record during the regular season (2-6-1) at TD Place stadium? Or the team that became the first to clinch a division regular-season title with a losing record (8-9-1)?
It’s not as if the Eskimos will be pushovers. They had more victories on the road (five) than the Redblacks had at home and a better overall record (10-8-0), even though it only earned them fourth place in the CFL West.
That made the Eskimos a crossover team for the CFL playoffs, forced to travel to Hamilton for the East semifinal, but they won 24-21 on a late field goal by Sean Whyte.
The thing is … those facts are just component parts of a historical backdrop. Even if they had matched last season’s home record (7-2-0), the Redblacks couldn’t rise any higher than first in the East, which earned them the same first-round playoff bye they enjoyed in 2015 and the same opportunity to advance to the Grey Cup.
To paraphrase linebacker Damaso Munoz, professionals learn from their mistakes and their experiences.
“(Fans) should come to the game because they know the type of guys that we have and the type of team that we are capable of being,” Munoz said Friday. “It’s going to be a fun atmosphere. I’m excited to play against these guys again in the rematch (of the 2015 Grey Cup), or whatever you call it. They need to come here because the Redblacks are playing.”
With workers applying the final touches to corporate logos on the playing surface mere yards away, head coach Rick Campbell said he had talked with Redblacks players about being exactly 48 hours from the middle of the first quarter of the East final, and about being ready to go right from the opening kickoff on Sunday.
“It’s not going to be an issue of motivation,” Campbell said. “It’s about spending these past two weeks getting prepared to win.”
Said Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris: “For us to win as many games as we did down the stretch to seize this momentum of having home-field advantage, having our home crowd on our side for one big moment, one big game, I’ll put the cards in our favour. “I like our chances.” No matter what happened in the regular season, or on Ottawa’s home field.