Game Thread: Calgary Stampeders (13-4) @ BC Lions (7-10)

Was at the game (disclosure: I live in Vancouver, been here since 1992, but born and raised in Ottawa, Rough Rider / Renegades fan forever, RB fan now; supporting BC Lions since 1995, except when they play Ottawa :)).

I'm pissed off.

Pissed off at the Lions. I know the logic - it's a "throwaway, means nothing game", want to prevent injuries, yada yada. But as a fan, a fan with season tickets, a fan who bought 2 addl tickets for Calgary friend who were in town for the game, I'm pissed off at the BC Lions.

Not pissed off that they had lacklustre play or missed or blown plays. Not pissed off they lost.

Pissed off because they put a b-grade (barely that) team on the field. I grew up playing sports saying, you do you best, you put your best players on the field, and you play to win, 100% of the time. First place, last place, doesn't matter, you put 100% of the effort it takes to win a game.

Andrew Harris had a monster 1st quarter, so what do they do: they pull him from the rest of the game. Bighill was supposed to play the whole game, I don't even know if he got in on a single defensive play.

To me, this shows a big disrespect to the fans. To the paying fans in the stadium. The announced attendance was 22,800 (looked about 17,000 TBH). I support teams that give 100% through complete thick and thin. The good and the bad. Sure, I may be critical of bad or stupid plays, but at the end of the day, when the team fights for every yard, puts their best foot on the field, my support unwavers. I'm a 35+ year Ottawa football fan, I know what it's like to support teams that have 2, 4 wins an entire season. As long as they gave their all and put their best players on the field no matter what, I was there.

When the team decides, let's give our back benchers some play time, experience is what this game is about, winning is, whatever, I lose respect for the team. Vancouver already has fickle, fair weather fans (not talking about people in this reddit sub!) - this city supports winning teams, and if the teams fall below 500, support goes out the window. This kind of playing style and decision doesn't do anything to help a franchise struggling with fan base.

Showing every single yard, every single play, every single quarter, every single game matters as a team, that wins fans over.

Again, I understand the logic of benching your A team to rest them up for the playoffs. They may even play better in the playoffs because of it. But the BC Lions didn't respect their fans today, in BC Place. That sucks.

/r/CFL Thread