See... Now That's More Like It

7 turnovers.

41 points given up.

Starting quarterback going 4-14 for 35 yards in the first half and getting the big ugly axe.

A 42-12 loss.

These are things with which I can relate. And in a way it's almost welcome to see, not because I am actively rooting against the Roughriders but because this is a reality I am familiar with. After 15 years of high expectations coupled with staggering defeats, this is sort of what you'd expect from the team. At least I do. Shouldn't the burden of proof be on the team, to prove to me that they've changed. Rather than me once again blindly believing that things are going to be different this year, without any real proof.

That's why I've been preaching common sense all week. Starting the season 2-0 doesn't guarantee a Grey Cup, home playoff game, or anything for that matter. But you know what, starting the season 2-1 doesn't guarantee ignominious defeat either. The reality of the situation is that the Roughriders are 2-1 and in second place in the Western Division. Nothing more, nothing less. So can we make an agreement to wait until at least the halfway point of the season before we start looking for fires to put out or start. There are still 15 games to play, so ease up eh.

That being said, there are some things I'm interested in seeing now:

...how will the Roughriders respond after facing some adversity for the first time?

...how will Kerry Joseph respond to getting the hook after the first half?

...will I get any credit for saying months ago that the Roughriders would not be able or have any interest in running the ball? I sometimes find it hard to be really interested in football that allows you to totally discount the running game. In the NFL the extra down demands that running the football be part of a team's offensive strategy.

In related news, apparently the blackout was lifted for the game? What time did that happen at? I had TSN on until about 8:30 and had nothing but black screen. So myself and those who I watched the game with proceeded to watch everything on my 15" laptop screen. Which was not as bad as it may sound. The worst part of the experience was have to suffer through Rod Black and Danny McManus. I don't think I can even get into how bad they are without having chest pains, so I'll just leave it as is. But is there really no way we can do better than this?

And one other note for today. I need your help with something. Because I am inherently biased I need some outside opinion. On Friday, the Official Roughrider Blogger wrote,

"Fire-up the Riderville express, and get on now, because after tonight, it may be standing room only!"

Now fine, that's all well and good. However, on June 18th I had a headline that read:

"THE ROUGHRIDER BANDWAGON - GOOD SEATS STILL AVAILABLE"

And on July 4th I wrote:

"The Roughrider Bandwagon: Sold Out
Seriously people, I told you to get on months ago when there were still lots of good seats available. Now, after one mediocre win the Bandwagon is dangerously close to being over-capacity. This might be a fire marshall situation soon."

Now I have no delusions about how far reaching this blog is and I doubt that this person actually read what I wrote. That being said however, this seemed just a little too close for comfort for me - but it's actually not as close as I first thought it to be. Still I need to go to the judge's scorecards on this one - I'm turning this over to the public to decided.