I just got banned from Riderfans!

The Place for BC Lion Discussion. A forum for Lions fans to talk and chat about our team.
Discussion, News, Information and Speculation regarding the BC Lions and the CFL.
Prowl, Growl and Roar!

Moderator: Team Captains

Post Reply
User avatar
DanoT
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4309
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:38 pm
Location: Victoria, B.C. in summer, Sun Peaks Resort in winter

My ban is only for 1 week and it is for being a troll for pointing out how bad the Riders are.

I am guessing what pushed things over the top was my cryptic response to a poster who felt that the recent infractions ($80k in fines and $26k in SMS reductions) are a private matter between the football team and the CFL and the whole affair should not have been made public. Private cheating lol.

Or maybe it was my comment about the Bo Mitchell fine. I suggested that next time instead of going public he should take his story to a member of the media, you know someone like Rod Pederson.

Or it could have been for another post the where I referred to their coach as Chris (the smartest guy in the room) Jones.


AFAIK it is still ok on Riderfans to vilify someone who is not part of Rider Nation.

I can't wait until the CFL finishes their investigation of Rider wrong doings and at the rate that CFL does things my week long ban should be over by then.
User avatar
squishy35
Legend
Posts: 1782
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:53 pm
Location: Kamloops, B.C.

Riderfans.com is a site that has it all. Some very good and knowledgeable posters and many former pro players do post on there as contributors.

As they are experiencing a very difficult season, it is normal that some..... Ok, MANY in their fan base are displaying frayed nerves where it comes to any criticism of the team or other posters' input.

I tend to lurk on the board to get the feel of the fan base toward the team and to participate in the Pick 'em. I had been leading until last week...... hoping to regain that this week.
:beer:
User avatar
Rammer
Team Captain
Posts: 22320
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2002 6:04 pm
Location: Coquitlam, B.C.

Rider fans website carries a ton of traffic and from my time spent on there are far more tolerant than most home team fan sites. To be certain, they do rally around there own, and if you upset numerous posters it is easier maintenance to put a hold on one account than deal with all the report a posts you are creating for the mid team. Part of that IMO is the Riders current record leaving members on edge.

That said, for them to ban you doesn't make sense IMO. Your posts added the spark that many posters need for entertainment. Really the whole affair cost on the Riders organization is insignificant to the money generated by the Riders franchise. Teams all look for an edge, and most will have some extra players in camp from time to time, however not many teams have the financial base to support 20 extra players. By the shear volume the Riders gain a decided edge over the rest of the league and this in itself circumvents the concept of the SMS and it's direction of a level playing field. The league made a wise call in reeling in the Chris Jones approach to getting his team better, he would have gone further IMO given their current record.

Basically it isn't cheating until you get caught. Rider fans always complained about the Esks of doing the same thing in the past prior to the Salary Cap. That they are defending this abuse currently makes little sense in the big picture.
Entertainment value = an all time low
User avatar
almo89
Legend
Posts: 2232
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:51 am
Location: Coquitlam

Man you have been a poster on that forum for so long and from what I remember, you never really troll them. They just can't handle the truth.
User avatar
jcalhoun
Starter
Posts: 128
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 1:31 am

DanoT wrote:My ban is only for 1 week and it is for being a troll for pointing out how bad the Riders are.

I am guessing what pushed things over the top was my cryptic response to a poster who felt that the recent infractions ($80k in fines and $26k in SMS reductions) are a private matter between the football team and the CFL and the whole affair should not have been made public. Private cheating lol.

Or maybe it was my comment about the Bo Mitchell fine. I suggested that next time instead of going public he should take his story to a member of the media, you know someone like Rod Pederson.

Or it could have been for another post the where I referred to their coach as Chris (the smartest guy in the room) Jones.


AFAIK it is still ok on Riderfans to vilify someone who is not part of Rider Nation.

I can't wait until the CFL finishes their investigation of Rider wrong doings and at the rate that CFL does things my week long ban should be over by then.
Ha! You should have a "banned from Riderfans" crest made up and stitch it onto your team jersey. Sell 'em online for anyone who can prove they meet the criteria. Mail one to Jon Cornish, another to Bo Levi Mitchell as honourary banees.

Riderfans is kinda fun (they have 369 people viewing right now) --but does one really need to read a twenty-page thread about Jones & Dickenson exchanging words after the most recent game? And the posts! --90% of them amount to a single sentence (I use the term lightly) that fall into one of three categories; "yep," "nope," and "eff-off." There's no doubt a lot of people post there, far more than fans do on other sites, but 400+ bipolar Rider fans chiming in on their team being caught cheating during a 1-6 season does not make for an informative read (except perhaps from a sociological perspective). For the most part it's like a group of pre-teen girls discussing how great the latest pop idol is: one is permitted to agree strongly or passionately, but not with indifference and certainly not critically. Now that I think of it, there's also rather a lot of high-pitched wailing and feigned fainting spells; behaviour one would expect from Beliebers, not grown men.

The problem with the Riders' fan base is they were told for years that they were the greatest fans in the league and this was the consolation prize for being the lovable losers of the CFL. What the rest of the league admired was their fan's stoicism in the face of one horrific season after another. But as the team turned around and started winning with regularity, this consolation prize became a cri de coeur enabling the worst sort of excesses amongst the fan base. When I think of the best fans in the league I think of someone who's there rain or shine, thick or thin; I don't think of a drunk painted green with a watermelon on his head who has left Saskatchewan and only recalls his passion for the game when the Riders come to town.

There are (of course) wonderful people cheering for teams across this league and the Riders have many of them. But in my experience they also have a healthy share of the worst fans in the league. And the latter group is why the rest of the league is smirking right now, over the team's flagrant cheating and woeful win-loss record.

Cheers,

James
User avatar
Sir Purrcival
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4621
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 11:48 am
Location: Comox Valley

One thing that seems to have been overlooked in all of this is the record. How would fans across the league be reacting to this if the Riders record was 6-1, not the other way around. It really does seem that some think it has been an unfair targeting of the team and the fact that somehow it hasn't helped them be more successful mitigates the scope of the offense. It doesn't. What Rider fans and apparently their forum don't seem to comprehend is that if the record was 6-1, there would be a hell of a lot more outrage across the league than is being shown at present. They should probably consider the current record as a blessing because it doesn't seem to have availed them of anything. What you have posted seems to be rather tame. If Rider fans are sensitive, they should be. The conduct of their team has been very poor form and fans should be expecting and demanding better from the Riders. That it has only cost them money to this point is the least of their problems. Trying to gain back some of that lost integrity will be a longer challenge. I am certain that while many fans in this league may not be too upset, they will remember. That Canada's 2nd Favourite Team moniker is pretty dead IMO.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
User avatar
DanoT
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4309
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:38 pm
Location: Victoria, B.C. in summer, Sun Peaks Resort in winter

I was indeed guilty of piling on and there had been an announcement about being stricter going forward with fans of other teams. But the excessive defensive, deflect blame response of the fans and some media is almost as despicable as the excessive cheating. I find it hard to be self restrained under the circumstances. :wink:

The thing is the circle the wagons, us against the world attitude is just what Jones wants, so regardless of the on field record he will get support.
User avatar
CardiacKid
Legend
Posts: 1949
Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:46 am
Location: Under Christmas Hill, Saanich

DanoT wrote:My ban is only for 1 week and it is for being a troll for pointing out how bad the Riders are.......I can't wait until the CFL finishes their investigation of Rider wrong doings and at the rate that CFL does things my week long ban should be over by then.
Ok, the gauntlet has been thrown down! Anyone want to see if they can get a 2-week ban? Or maybe the Holy Grail of Bans, namely a lifetime ban.

This has me so torn....my inner troll has been getting the occasional glimpse of freedom but I have been muzzling him for the most part. But now, it is getting harder to resist. Down boy, down!

And from the "Take That, B-Yotch Department", Rod Podge Pedersen just got a smackdown from Drew Edwards and 3DownNation.com. A very enjoyable read and by sake of comparison to Pederson's MMG rant on Monday, a far better piece in terms of writing and points made. Pedersen had better part of a week to formulate his complaints and they read as if they were dashed on a piece of TP. Well, if you are doing your Number 2's, you might as well do your "other Number 2's" while you are at it. :tp: :tp: :tp: :tp:

Here's the link....http://3downnation.com/2016/08/16/peder ... unfounded/
User avatar
Rammer
Team Captain
Posts: 22320
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2002 6:04 pm
Location: Coquitlam, B.C.

Petersen takes several hits from his blog stance on the Rider fines. That makes me smile after s long days work.

Here is Petersen's rant to clarify.

A Team Under Fire...by Rod Pedersen

Something really stinks.

And it's not just the Saskatchewan Roughriders' 1-6 record, but that's putrid enough.

No, Saturday's 19-10 Rider loss to the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium capped one of the worst weeks in recent memory for this franchise. Now the 2016 Roughriders season is hanging in the balance and we've barely passed mid-August.

BUT! But, but, but, but, the current situation of the Saskatchewan Roughriders extends far past Saturday's game, and maybe even beyond this current season.

Twice in the past two weeks, the Riders were slapped with fines for breaking CFL rules. $15,000 for a ratio infringement on August 3, and then $60,000 last Thursday for roster violations. For those who don't understand these things (and apparently there are many), Rider Coach and GM Chris Jones got nailed for not playing the minimum amount of Canadians against B.C. on July 16, and further for having too many extra players around at practice who aren't under contract or on the team's roster.

Then, on Sunday, TSN's Gary Lawless reported the Riders were dinged with a $5,000 fine for prancing on the midfield logo in Calgary for too long two games ago. That's about as ticky-tack as it gets. Can somebody say "Witch Hunt"?

Frankly, for what I'd heard about the roster situation over the past five weeks and the subsequent investigation by the CFL, I figured one of two things was going to happen: Jones would've talked his way out of it and walked away unscathed, OR Jones and the Riders would face the firing squad to the tune of a $250,000 fine and the loss of first round draft picks for a period of years. (A la the Portland Winterhawks or New England Patriots).

However when the investigation was completed and the fine was announced on Thursday, CFL Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge slapped Saskatchewan with a $60,000 penalty. He split the difference.

My first reaction? "I was expecting way worse". And for fear of making the situation worse, I tempered my comments on-air about Orridge's decision. That is, until I saw a Tweet from TSN's Dave Naylor which said this was the maximum fine allowable by CFL rules.

Was this the highest fine in CFL history? Nobody seems to know. And that's the way things go in the CFL these days. You wouldn't want to actually announce facts like these when issuing news releases of this magnitude.

But oh no, it's the Roughriders whose conduct, behaviour and activities have compromised the reputation of the CFL as Orridge stated in his news release on Thursday.

The same 1-6 Saskatchewan Roughriders who are currently leading the league in attendance. The Gden Goose. The CFL has a problem alright, but it definitely ain't us.

More on that in a moment. A lot more.

However first, in my opinion, the Roughriders did get off easy in the arena of public opinion on the roster fine. If the Riders were guilty of such a sophisticated scandal as reporters Justin Dunk and Scott Mitchell alleged (of housing, feeding and paying non-roster players), they surely would've faced far more-significant sanctions.

However none of that was brought up by the CFL on Thursday in their decision.

The Roughriders could seriously look at action against Dunk and Mitchell if those cavalier accusations are proven to be false. Rider President Craig Reynold's assertion on Friday that no non-roster players were being paid aligns with what I knew of the situation.

Another thought which bounced around my head was, "We're sure lucky Arash Madani is at the Olympics in Brazil right now" because the Sportsnet reporter loves scandals like these and takes no prisoners when it comes to exposing the truth. But it's Canada. The minimum effort will suffice.

If the Roughriders were an NFL team, ESPN would have a production truck parked outside Mosaic Stadium and they'd be broadcasting live for days. It would end up being a 30 for 30 documentary.

To me, if Jones really thought these tryouts were breaking the rules, he would've held them somewhere else in the city and no one would have even known it was going on. Instead, the tryouts were done in plain view at Mosaic Stadium and on July 15 when the B.C. Lions came into town, they saw it themselves.

But no, the Riders got off fairly easily but Orridge's swipe at them in his news release is something I'm not yet ready to let go of.

But the bigger situation here is where the Saskatchewan Roughriders are going under Chris Jones. Personally I like his direction, but others in the Rider Nation do not.

I'm not going to go back into my monologue on how I'm sick of playing by the rules and losing while watching other teams break the rules and win. (Go back to Friday's SportsCage podcast if you want to hear that). But the fact is Chris Jones is the CFL's answer to New England's Bill Belichik. He's always going to find a way to use his influence, bend the rules, find the loopholes, or occasionally break the rules in order to consistently win.

That's what I want in a Head Coach and in a General Manager.

And as far as this organization goes, any businessman would spend tens of thousand of dollars in order to make millions. That's what winning does.

But the Riders are 1-6 under Jones you say? To that I ask you who was last year's Grey Cup-winning Head Coach?

I thought so.

Zip it.

When I heard Craig Reynolds was racing home across the prairies from a vacation in B.C. in order to address reporters on Friday, I thought to myself, "He'd best Google some quotes from Patriots owner Robert Kraft before he gets here".

I did so myself. Here's an excerpt from an ESPN.com column from April 1/2008 when Belichik and the Patriots were nailed for "SpyGate", the scandal involving the videotaping of other teams' sideline signals:

- "New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick made the rounds on Tuesday, apologizing for and explaining Spygate.

In an emotional speech before NFL owners, Kraft and coach Belichick apologized for the franchise's involvement in the scandal.

With apparent tension in the meeting room, Kraft asked for time to speak and apologized for Spygate in which a videographer was caught taping signals of Jets defensive coaches. After an investigation, the Patriots lost a first-round draft choice and $250,000 and Belichick was fined $500,000.

Kraft spoke of the values of the partnership with the league and how disappointed he was that his team brought negative attention to the league. Colts coach Tony Dungy described the speech as heartfelt and excellent, saying "I appreciated what he had to say."

Others who listened believed Kraft was speaking from the heart. Once Kraft was done talking, the entire room broke into applause.

Belichick also requested time to speak. As he told reporters earlier in the day, he accepted the punishment and thought that action showed no gray area in regard to the rules involving spying. Since the season opener against the Jets, Belichick said he has changed the entire operation and is now moving forward with no misunderstanding."

Ahem.

That sounds exactly what went down here on Friday.

By the way the Patriots have appeared in two Super Bowls since Spygate, winning once in 2015. And now their quarterback Tom Brady will serve a four-game suspension to begin this season for his role in DeflateGate.

That's about all I have to say on that other than I'm glad Chris Jones is in charge here and hope he is for many, many years to come. I've had only one five-minute, "off the record" discussion with the man but it's clear our philosophies mesh.

And regarding Jeffrey Orridge and his claim that the Riders damaged the reputation of the CFL, well, that's a very disappointing statement for the Commissioner to make.

The CFL had better look in its own backyard when it comes to the Mickey Mouse nature of this league. I could go on for days citing examples but the first one that comes to mind is the mole in the CFL office who leaked all this year's draft picks to Sportsnet's Justin Dunk on 2016 Draft Day, completely ruining TSN's live Draft coverage. Perhaps Dunk was sitting in the league office himself and had access to the picks. Either way, TSN was livid. Not good for the CFL and to our knowledge, nothing was done about it.

What about the leak of the Riders' chats with Greg Hardy, or the worst logo launch in the history of pro sports at last year's Grey Cup in Winnipeg?

Those are just the public instances you all know about. What about the ones you don't?

A lot of the finger-pointing in the CFL right now is being directed at the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the heartbeat of the league. The marquee franchise.

People around here are still furious at the non-Pass Interference call against Naaman Roosevelt on the final play of the third quarter Saturday night, and a missed facemasking penalty against Darian Durant in the game's waning moments.

If Stampeders defensive back Jamar Wall had been called for Pass Interference on Naaman Roosevelt upon review - which he should have been - the Riders would've carried the lead into the fourth quarter and who knows how the game would have played out after that?

Some "fans" are pointing out that TSN's Glen Suitor stated that it wasn't Pass Interference.

So what? When did Glen Suitor become the CFL's Director of Officiating?

Besides, Suitor even said, "There was shoulder-to-shoulder contact on the play". Wall didn't go for the ball. He KNOCKED ROOSEVELT OVER before the ball arrived. That should've been a black and white call, not left up to judgment.

That potentially game-changing call was made out of the Command Centre at CFL head office in Toronto.

After the game Chris Jones and Rider linebacker Greg Jones alluded to the fact that non-call was a major factor in the outcome of the game. However they were smart enough not to say anymore.

So the Riders are 1-6. It is what it is. The prospects for the playoffs do not look good. The Chris Jones-led Roughriders will survive and ultimately thrive, but it might not be in 2016. I sometimes wonder if that was even the plan all along anyway.

And most of the anti-Roughrider bias these days seems to be coming out of CFL headquarters in Toronto, the very office which is overseen by one Jeffrey Orridge.

On Friday, September 16 I'm scheduled to MC the annual Plaza of Honor Luncheon in Regina. On the agenda that day is a Q&A forum featuring Jeffrey Orridge and Chris Jones.

It should be fun.

_
Entertainment value = an all time low
User avatar
DanoT
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4309
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:38 pm
Location: Victoria, B.C. in summer, Sun Peaks Resort in winter

From the start of Pederson's rant I thought he was going to come down hard on Cheater Nation, but instead ends up blaming others when it was Cheater Jones who he should be criticizing . lol

BTW I have decided that in any blogging that i do from now on the name Rider will be replace by its new synonym, Cheater. And Chris Jones is now Cheater Jones.

The CFL head office deserves a lot of blame for letting Team Cheater get away with the cheating for as long as they did. It is obvious that had Bo not tweeted about the cheating in Regina the CFL would not have taken the steps they did to end the cheating prior to the Stamps at Cheaters game and if so I guess by now we would be calling it the CFL=Cheater Football League.
User avatar
Sir Purrcival
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4621
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 11:48 am
Location: Comox Valley

It is important to distinguish between the fan base and the organization itself. It was Jones and Co that engaged in the actual misconduct and were punished as such. That much is quite easy. Where many Rider fans have stumbled (quite naturally to some degree) has been the blind loyalty to that management. It wasn't a conspiracy from the league, it wasn't Bo Levi Mitchell, it wasn't Justin Dunk or any other organization or individual that caused Jones to break the rules. The responsibility has to lie with the Rider organization. Pedersen and other Rider apologists have mistakenly IMO decided to deflect/minimize or otherwise tried to explain or excuse the behaviour when really there can be none. It could have been honest mistakes, it could have been deliberate or somewhere in between. It doesn't matter. Instead of trying to point fingers at others and saying in rather child like fashion "oh yeah, everybody else does it". It would have been better to recognize that cheating shouldn't be tolerated period. If they know of others who are doing the same as they have hinted/alleged, report it. If not, accept that your team did wrong and move along. It is an easy thing to say but not always so easy to accept things that somehow suggest less than honest, upright behaviour. Don't know if I could easily accept this if the Lion's had been the guilty franchise but I would strive to do so and would be placing higher expectations on the team as a whole to behave better. Where I find most fault with any of this is with so called professionals like Pedersen who as the voice of the Riders should be setting an example of sportsmanship and good form but instead decides to cast about pointing fingers at others and complaining about completely irrelevant stuff like bad officiating which is a completely separate topic. He completely seems to miss the bigger picture that despite what other issues the league may have, it doesn't excuse or mitigate the actions of the Riders.

When individuals or organization seek to break or bend the rules in a manner befitting a yoga contortionist, it cheapens the game as a whole for everybody. Rod Pedersen, in a monumental gaff, not only condones such behaviour, he actively wants it in his team. No Mr. Pedersen, you really don't because if that is what the league is reduced to, it will sound it's death knell. Every team and the league itself recognizes the value of competitive sport and the importance of ensuring the health of the league by generating new fans especially among young people. Are the actions of Jones and Co. the kinds of lessons that you are trying share with that group? Is the Chris Jones method the kind of model that you think should be held up as an example of how to make your way through life? The "you aren't trying if you aren't cheating" philosophy is a terrible tag line. Do we really believe that true effort has to come at the cost fair play?

In Jones' defense, I am sure he is under terrible pressure to field a competitive product with his job quite literally on the line but when you take shortcuts to success, it really isn't success even if you do triumph. A recent look at the events surrounding the Olympics and PED's are a purrfect example. Does anyone think that all those medals the Russians have won over the years really mean as much in light of their cheating? The most tragic part of that is that even perfectly clean Russian athletes who have won fair and square are now tarred with the same brush as those that didn't. Same in MLB. You can't look at a modern day record and wonder even if for just a moment, if there wasn't some unethical behaviour involved somewhere. In the CFL, we talk about certain teams in certain years and put asterisks next their names if they win a championship. The 2005 Eskimo's come to mind with the Davis-Maas trade which seemed more like a lend-lease program. Sadly, there are so many examples of short-cutting out there today that truly great accomplishments in athletics are brought into question as a matter of course. One of the first things that people do is wonder whether or not it is truly the result of training and hard work or whether something else was in play. It makes it harder to be fan of any sport or to have that privileged feeling that you get when you are able to witness great individual accomplishments. That's the legacy of the Lance Armstrong's, Mark Mcgwire's and Ben Johnson's.

Chris Jones and Co, may seem like minor examples in comparison to the above but they are still symptoms of the same mentality and they are not the kinds of values that any true fan of the CFL want in their sport. Professionals like Pedersen display monumental ignorance when they try to excuse or even endorse such thinking. Bo Levi Mitchell has taken a lot of heat for his tweets about going's on with the Riders. He has even been fined. But to label him a rat or some kind of lowlife for speaking the truth publicly is wrong. He may have had ulterior motives and/or used the wrong means to bring this to light but he was being honest. Isn't that what we always encourage our kids to do....speak the truth? Isn't honesty and decency something we proclaim to value above most other things? When people or teams cheat, those things become casualties and the ramifications of such extend way beyond the boundaries of 1 coach, 1 team or 1 league. It is circumstance which is all too common and it is sad that those who would seek to defend such activities can't see the larger picture.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
User avatar
CardiacKid
Legend
Posts: 1949
Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:46 am
Location: Under Christmas Hill, Saanich

Excellent post Sir Purrcival, you truly capture what I think has got a large part of the CFL fan base upset and concerned about this situation. You certainly describe what has bothered me about "rostergate" but been unable to do justice in my posts here and elsewhere. You do an excellent job of writing about what I would summarize as the lack of integrity in the Riders actions and how CFL fans have a right to be concerned in view of the larger picture.

Unfortunately, I am of the belief the only way Jones will change his ways is when the Rider's upper management hands him his pink slip. In the parlance of the US election, I am afraid anyone waiting for Jones to "pivot" is going to be waiting a very long time.

Jones has made no secret of his admiration of John Madden and his work as coach of the NFL's Raiders. In fact, he has made great efforts to emulate Madden's philosophy, etc. Now I am not even close to appreciating the details of the Raider's past beyond the fact they were the bad boys of the NFL; they were rogue and renegades and under Al Davis they embraced that reputation and cultivated it.

I strongly suspect Chris Jones has patterned his career as a coach, head coach and now GM on what the Raiders did. We certainly get glimpses of it in how he dresses on the sidelines, how he conducts himself and the image he has cultivated over the years ( Harley riding bad-ass, etc).

IMO he has worked too hard at emulating John Madden and Al Davis that he isn't going to depart that path so soon in his head coaching career. I think that is why we saw Reynolds take the role of being the accountable and contrite one while Jones simply remained defiant.

Unfortunately, I believe Jones will continue to "go rogue" for the remainder of this season if not further. This is the path he has chosen throughout his CFL career and he is single-minded in his approach.
User avatar
DanoT
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4309
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:38 pm
Location: Victoria, B.C. in summer, Sun Peaks Resort in winter

Great Post Sir P, but I do disagree on a few points. The pressure that Jones is under comes from his own ego. I am pretty sure that upper management are looking long term with him and are not demanding immediate results.

As far as the fan base and some media go, Jones has them positioned just where he wants/needs them as he has now created a very strong "Us vs the rest of the CFL" scenario which has fans defending the team and defecting blame instead of criticizing the on field performance.
User avatar
Sir Purrcival
Hall of Famer
Posts: 4621
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 11:48 am
Location: Comox Valley

DanoT wrote:Great Post Sir P, but I do disagree on a few points. The pressure that Jones is under comes from his own ego. I am pretty sure that upper management are looking long term with him and are not demanding immediate results.

As far as the fan base and some media go, Jones has them positioned just where he wants/needs them as he has now created a very strong "Us vs the rest of the CFL" scenario which has fans defending the team and defecting blame instead of criticizing the on field performance.
I wouldn't disagree. He has at least one more year before I think he is in any real danger and I'm sure that he is aware of this but nevertheless, an professional coach is always under pressure to win. Whether that be the result of his own cognition's or the fan base or the players, constant under performance sets the hour glass to the upside down position and the grains of sand start falling.

The "US vs Them" alignment, it is that way for pretty much every team is it not but eventually that act too begins to wear thin. We are social creatures and Rider fans in particular can be found pretty much in any stadium where they play. It is that away game fan base that will unfortunately bear the initial brunt of the welcome mat being metaphorically pulled as home fans become more polarized against them. As well, folks like Rod Pedersen if they care at all about their reputations will soon find that constant and unrealistic homerism will cost them in terms of their credibility as professionals. It is hard to live in a bubble. Eventually even the most ardent fans get tired of being the focus of negativity and derision. So again, the clock is ticking. It might be running slowly at firsts but to quote Dickens, "If these shadows remain unaltered".
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
Post Reply