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Radwanski's Ramblings... Housekeeping I’ve been somewhat lax in updating the site lately, but I’ve caught up a bit now. Predictably, my column from last weekend predictably insulted a lot of social conservative types, who promptly accused me of being anti-family. Somewhat less predictably, my dispatch from the Grey Cup offended a few people in Saskatchewan, who promptly accused me of being anti-CFL. (If you’ve been around here a few times, you’ll probably be able to form your own opinion on that one.) And then, my column from a little further back on the Ontario Liberals’ populist shift didn’t offend much of anyone – which probably means it was the most boring (let’s call it “nuanced”) of the bunch. "I've sold monorails to Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook, and by gum, it put them on the map!" This is quite a turn of events. In the 1980s, Paul Godfrey convinces the various levels of government that we need a new stadium. It somehow winds up costing $580-million, the bulk of which is picked up by taxpayers. Less than two decades later, he’s the front-man for Rogers as the company buys the debt-ridden white elephant for $25-million. I’m not particularly keen on an NFL franchise in Toronto to begin with. But if I were, this is not the man I’d give it to. Good thing all his lobbying over the years hasn’t gotten him any closer to getting one. I'm sure just the same sort of thing happens after the Super Bowl I mentioned this earlier in the week, but since we'd run out of film, I wasn't sure there'd be any photo evidence. Thankfully, the e-mail from a gentleman with a digital camera came through yesterday. So to recap: It's 4:00 a.m. on Monday. The Argos carried the Grey Cup off the field six hours earlier. We've been out celebrating all night, we've dropped into Dunn's for something to eat, and the next thing we know...
If you're wondering who's who, that's me in the back right (with the snazzy sweater under jersey look...hey, it got me through the game), and my friends Derek (far left) and Karl next to me. I have no idea who the two in front of us were, but I think it was his camera, so he forever has my respect and admiration. I may put a few more images from last weekend on a separate page at some point, but for now I'll savour this one. Leading by example...or not Interesting type of courage George W. Bush has. Brave enough to send 1,230 young Americans (and counting) to their deaths in an unprovoked war. But not brave enough to enter the Canadian parliament, for fear of being booed by a backbencher. Go get ’em, Cowboy. The Frank truth Good to see that it’s not just nice guys who finish last. The Garden, resurrected A couple of weeks ago, we put this blog to solid use: I lamented the death of my favourite Chinese restaurant, and you responded with some promising alternatives. But miracle of miracles, the Garden is back from the other side. In fact, I had dinner there last night. So let’s make a deal…I’ll try those joints you suggested, and you give the Garden (Bay/Dundas…green sign) a shot before it gets evicted again. Sound good? Before returning to our regular programming, a little more CFL blogging... Made the trip back from Ottawa yesterday slightly exhausted, but thoroughly satisfied. You really couldn’t have asked for better: One of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve ever followed one of my teams through, capped off by one of the most enjoyable weekends I’ve had in a while. The beauty of Grey Cup weekend is that the festivities are such a good time, most fans could go home happy without even getting to the game. But as much fun as I had making the rounds the rest of the weekend, it’s Sunday night that I’ll be remembering most fondly. There was the game, obviously – entertaining even if the right team hadn’t won, and thrilling since it did. There was the post-game party in the Market that we stumbled into – a chance to rub shoulders with some exuberant, well-refreshed and predictably approachable players. And then there was heading over to Dunn’s at 4:00 a.m. for some much-needed grub, only to find the O-line’s Sandy Annunziata there in the company of the Cup. If there’s a more CFL moment than getting to hold the Grey Cup in an all-night deli a few hours after your favourite team has won it, I haven’t found it. If you read yesterday’s Post, you probably saw my log of dozen lessons learned earlier in the weekend. I’ll post it here later in the week, but in the meanwhile a few additional bits and pieces:
For putting together a solid schedule of events, the organizers deserve plenty of credit. Nice fireworks during the game, too. But one thing left a mildly bad taste in my mouth – their utter disregard for those of who shelled out close to $200/ticket to sit in the end zone. There was no sound, meaning we couldn’t hear the anthem, the halftime show or the PA system. There were only a handful of temporary bathroom stalls per section, each of which had a couple of thousand people, meaning the halftime line stretched well into the third quarter. The concessions were a joke. And midway through the fourth quarter, the lights above us went out. Across the country, Canadians saw a first-class game being played. So it’s a bit of a shame that the set-up, at least where we were sitting, was so bush league. There’s no reason all those recent converts shouldn’t be giving some serious thought to season tickets. Toronto currently has no NHL team, an NBA franchise whose biggest name is the bitchiest player in the league, a baseball team years away from contention – and a championship CFL team filled with likeable, middle-income players and run by the most beloved sports personality in the city. So go dispel all those Hogtown stereotypes and invest in a genuine Canadian product that’s every bit worth supporting. Radwanski's Ramblings from November 5-18, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from October 22-November 4, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from October 8-21, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 24-October 7, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 17-23, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from September 3-16, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from August 20-September 2, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from August 6-19, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 23-August 5, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 16-22, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from July 9-15, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 25-July 8, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 18-24, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 11-17, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from June 4-10, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 28-June 3, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 21-27, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 14-20, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from May 7-13, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 23-May 6, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 16-22, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 9-15, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from April 2-8, 2004 Radwanski's Ramblings from March 26-April 1, 2004 All rights reserved. |
