Mistakes ki
Soward’s popcorn moment seemed humorous at the time, but then the Alouettes took control of game
The turnovers mattered a lot more than the popcorn.
Important playoff games on the gridiron are rarely successful for a team that turns the ball over six times, after all. But while fumbles and interceptions were the tangible mistakes that destroyed the Argonauts’ Grey Cup title defence effort yesterday in a 33- 17 upset loss to the Montreal Alouettes, there was some bad karma that didn’t help either. When Argo receiver R. Jay Soward turned a sensational 43yard touchdown catch- and- run sequence into his own little Terrell Owens moment, it seemed mildly inventive and humorous at the moment, but then terribly misguided as the rest of the afternoon unfolded.
Simply put, it just wasn’t the time to mimic the antics of an athlete currently regarded as the most selfish in professional sports.
It was time to think of the T. O. Argonauts, not T. O. the pariah.
Here’s how it went. Late in the first quarter Soward nearly flew into the end zone beneath the huge posters of former Argo greats like Bill Symons, Doug Flutie and yes, his very own coach, Mike Clemons, and then immediately seemed to turn a team achievement into his own. He wandered around a fence and into the temporary seating area beneath the permanent stands, and for a moment it was unclear exactly what he was looking for.
Perhaps it was a family friend to hand the ball to, or a relative, or maybe even a child or a fan in a wheelchair. Those moments are always nice.
Instead, Soward emerged with a bag of popcorn, clearly a showboating routine he’d considered well in advance, like Owens with a Sharpie or Randy Moss with his faux mooning of Green Bay fans.
Since the flashy score had put his team ahead by two touchdowns before a raucous home audience of more than 44,000, it didn’t seem like a little unnecessary celebration was going to matter anyway.
Well, the game was never the same afterwards.
Indeed, the Als pounded the Argos 33- 3 over the final three quarters, a thorough dismantling of the defending champs as Montreal returned to the Grey Cup for the third time in four years.
There were the turnovers and Soward’s popcorn performance, but there was also a terrific effort by a Canadian running back that was persuasive in the final result.
Unfortunately for Clemons and the Argos, the back in question wasn’t Jeff Johnson, the much-discussed replacement for import John Avery. Johnson only got to run the ball five times for 29 yards and was overshadowed by Eric Lapointe of the Als, who didn’t even start and wasn’t expected to have any serious impact on the game. “My mind going in was all about playing special teams and running as hard as I could,” said Lapointe afterwards.
Robert Edwards, the man with the miraculously rebuilt knee, was supposed to get most of the touches out of the Alouette backfield, but on his eighth carry of the game late in the first half he was stung by a helmet to the ribs courtesy of Argo linebacker Mike O’Shea.
“ I couldn’t breathe,” said Edwards. “ They didn’t want me to go back in without taking Xrays.”
Briefly, it seemed like losing Edwards might be almost as serious a blow to the Als as was the injury to quarterback Anthony Calvillo in last year’s East final loss to the Argos.
Instead, Lapointe simply tore the Argos to shreds in the second half, scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 112 yards on 15 carries in a performance that allowed the Als to control and protect the ball while Damon Allen was throwing interceptions and Bashir Levingston was coughing up the pigskin on returns.
“ I was up to the challenge,” said Lapointe. “We have the best linemen in the league, and when we decide to use them, well, you saw the result today.” Lapointe may now get the chance to run behind that line again in next Sunday’s Grey Cup game in Vancouver if Edwards isn’t available.
It was an awfully disappointing end to the Argo season, one that began with management committing to the same group of players that had won last year’s Grey Cup in Ottawa, and one that ended with the largest Toronto playoff crowd in 15 years. The decision to abandon the York stadium project didn’t injure the Argo community profile, and participating actively in efforts to stem gun violence in parts of the GTA seemed to connect the football team with the population in a relevant, substantive way. The city hugged them back, particularly in November with back- to- back crowds in excess of 40,000. There was actual tailgating outside the dome yesterday, as well as a street festival, musicians and even honest- to- goodness scalpers peddling tickets and haggling with customers. The Argos mean something again in this city. It says here that matters more than one bitter defeat.