Ticats keep rolling with win over Argos
Past tweet from the Boatmen still revs up Hamilton linebacker
Some social media messages are more memorable than others, and 10 months after reading one of those, Hamilton TigerCats linebacker Simoni Lawrence still feels an echo of emotion: “Every time I think about it, it irks me — it’s an irking thing.”
It was a one-word message, published by the rival Toronto Argonauts on Twitter minutes after the Ticats had their hearts forcibly removed on national television. Hamilton lost the Grey Cup on a penalty call last November, its second straight championship game loss, and the Toronto account sent a monosyllabic message to its rivals — “Sup?” with the drawing of a ribbon featuring the words: “Back 2 Back Grey Cup participants.”
“We’ve just got to keep doing what we do, and they’re going to keep doing what they do,” Lawrence said with a broad smile on Monday. “We’re just going to play football. And they can tweet.”
No ribbons were handed out Monday afternoon in Hamilton, but Lawrence and the Ticats did exact another measure of revenge, hammering the Argos 42-12 under a blazing sun at Tim Hortons Field. The game was theoretically a contest for first place in the CFL’s East Division, but the outcome was never in serious doubt.
The Ticats did not have to punt once in the first half. Hamilton quarterback Zach Collaros — a onetime Toronto prospect — threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns through the first two quarters. He finished with 400 yards and four touchdowns.
Toronto has lost its two meetings with Hamilton by a combined score of 76-30 this year, and depending on the viewpoint, what happened on Monday was either another deserving dose of comeuppance, or another indignity endured by a franchise that has absorbed more than its share over the last several seasons.
The ritual chants of “Argos Suck” began in the first quarter, but by the end of the game, it seemed more like a statement of fact. After, Argos coach Scott Milanovich sounded like a volcano trying not to spill its lava.
“On a hot day like today, when it gets to the point when it looks like you’re going to lose, you find out a lot about the character of your team by how hard guys are playing when, really, maybe there’s nothing to play for on the scoreboard,” he said. “I’m anxious to see the guys that were really selling out and playing for their teammates.”
He did not name any suspects, saying only that he would be curious while watching video of the game’s later stages.
“We don’t like losing, period, who cares whether it’s Labour Day, not Labour Day,” said Argos receiver Chad Owens. “If you’re a competitor, you don’t like losing.”
The perennial rivals will stage a rematch on Friday at the Rogers Centre.
The stadium has been a home in name only for the Argos, with the team having to host its so-called home opener in Fort McMurray, Alta., in June.
There’s also the growing possibility the Toronto Blue Jays potential playoff schedule could force them into evaluating other venues for home games in October.
On Monday, a TSN reporter suggested (on Twitter) the team’s Oct. 6 home game against the Ottawa Redblacks could be moved to Ottawa in the event of a scheduling conflict. It would be one of a handful of games at risk of relocation, depending on how the Blue Jays fare this fall.
“You don’t want to sit here and make up excuses,” Owens said. “I don’t want to have someone else sit here and make excuses for us. It’s us. What we do this year is going to be based on what we do in this locker-room — it doesn’t matter what the outside circumstances are.”
The Toronto Twitter feed was relatively quiet afterward, filled with game notes and video. The noise was in the Hamilton dressing room.
Lawrence finished with a gamehigh eight defensive tackles. Standing near his stall with a smile and a towel around his waist, he repeated that the Grey Cup tweet irked him.
“They’re just having fun with their fans,” he said with a smile. “But some people take stuff like that personally.”