""I've made every single rookie mistake that it's possible to make running a professional sports team," says Young. "We now know what we're doing. We're now on the right track. And my hard-suffering fans no longer believe me because I've destroyed my credibility. But I believe this, that we now have the team in place, the management team in place, on the football side."
Our read is that lost credibility includes offering cash rewards for manufactured chants. We are looking forward to being embraced by the current ownership.
;-)
Ya, at one point the end zone crowd had a particularly enthusiastic chant going, complete with forbidden banners, signs, etc. It was nice to see. And hear.
You know, I have to ADMIT ... up until THIS Very Day I had ALWAYS questioned the thought process behind the BAN of this "chant" ... I figured - hey, it's a football game, let fans be fans.
BUT ... after attending this game, with my daughter, for her VERY FIRST Tiger Cat experience ... I can, NOW, see the MERITS behind the BAN.
My daughter was GENUINELY scared of the bunch of rowdies surrounding us BELTING OUT, repeatedly "Argos S _ _ _!" ... she asked me " why are they so Angry, daddy ?" ... then I listened, and watched, this time taking into CONSIDERATION her feelings ...
And I MUST say - it is NOT VERY PLEASANT !
Especially when they are being directed at the Argo Band ... incessantly, and DESPITE the FACT that the Argos were laying the traditional BEATING on the Ticats.
It REALLY is Classless, and in POOR TASTE.
Peace.
P.S Keep in mind, this is my opinion as a FATHER ... as a single rowdy type I can still see the ATTRACTION ... it is a strange dichtomy that I can't quite reconcile with, yet.
You should have explained to your daughter the history and heritage of the chant. Nothing dispels fear like knowledge and truth. A teachable moment lost, I'm afraid.
Of course, I do see the point you are making. But the issue is socially responsible behaviour, not the chant, as has been argued ad infinitum on this site. For the record, the Forbidden Website has always advocated the use of the chant in an appropriate and socially responsible fashion. Another aspect of this issue that gets warped by the inappropriate intrusion of the ownership into this aspect of Tiger-Cat culture.
I've run into the same thing when bringing my 7 year old nephew to the game. He loves the chant and the heritage behind it, but he gets scared (and scarred) around the middle of the 3rd quarter, when the many disgusted fans start streaming out the the stadium, using language that makes the Forbidden Chant look like a nursery rhyme.
And it should be kept in mind that the "single rowdy type" is but one small sub-demographic within the greater Forbidden Demographic. There are many, many senior citizens, for instance, that proudly partake in the chant, and wear their forbidden button/shirt/hat to every game. It's like saying that all beer drinking should be banned, because it is a favourite pastime of single rowdy types.
Again, the issue has little to do with the chant per se. The issue is the Tiger-Cat organization inability to get their priorities straight, something that causes us all to suffer.