History puts a .500 record in perspective

A long time lurker and a first time poster, it is getting really tiring reading the posts of fans complaining about a .500 record. I take pride in supporting the team, wear the colours where I can (just got back from a cruise and my TC golf shirt drew some comments!!), attend games when I can and although I have never played the game in an organized setting I use the term "we" when referencing the teams accomplishments. Being as I have been a fan since 1967, I thought a little history lesson might be in order.
From 1986 when the 18 game schedule came into being to 2008 we have had 9 regular seasons in 23 of .500 or better football: 2 of those were .500, and 2 were just above 500 due to a tie. In one of those "just above" seasons, 1986, we went on to win the GC.
Since 1950, the overall record for regular season is just over the line at .503

The coaching records are as follows(including playoffs)...
Name Years W-L-T Record Average Champions
Marcel Bellefeuille 2008–2010 19 – 27 .413
Charlie Taaffe 2007–2008 5 – 23 .179
Greg Marshall 2004–2006 14 - 26 - 1 .363
Ron Lancaster 1998 - 2003, interim 2006 60 - 69 -1 .45 1999 Grey Cup Champion
Urban Bowman interim 1997 1 – 10 .090
Don Sutherin 1994–1997 20 – 37 .351
John Gregory 1991–1994 23 – 33 .411
David Beckman 1990–1991 2 -12 .167
Ted Schmitz interim 1987 1 – 5 .200
Al Bruno 1983–1990 62 – 62 .500 1986 Grey Cup Champion

Not a lot of .500 going on there. If we make the leap that we will beat the guys down the QEW on Thursday and bow to recent history and lose the EDSF we can move Marcel to a .431 record. with 3 .500 regular seasons during his command. Thats just below the revered Mr. Lancaster and approaching Al Bruno.

Seems to me a .500 regular season is pretty good in recent times (3 in a row no less) and that Marcel B. has done a pretty good job (also during the era of a salary cap I might add for what its worth!). You can argue with some decisions (taking the ball at the 35 after a FG when we have a pretty good returner comes to mind) but he has gotten some pretty good results. WE would all like to have a better record, but we can be satisfied with what we have had the past few years, especially in light of the ones previous to them. We can think that this team should be doing better based on our talent, but as I have learned being a Leaf fan, we too often fall in love with our players and find it difficult to evaluate them without a home team bias. I am sure that the mngt team looks at the big picture and wonders if a coaching change might lead the team in the wrong direction.
As for myself, I think that when we win out the next 4 games, all of this conversation goes away: after all...
I Want To Believe

Great first Post Mr. “I Want To Believe”. :thup: Stick around and Enjoy. :wink:

I wear my “colours” whenever I’m travelling and I’ve made some real nice connections. It’s amassing how well known the “TICAT” brand is.

being the 1st to reply after OP woody, did you really find it necessary to quote the entire post ?

and I also agree( assuming you know what I'm agreeing to since I didn't quote anything)

WOW, can IWantToBelieve be more dead wrong? As you proclaim to be a Maple Leafs fan and presented us with a list of TC coaches and losing seasons, you have merely been conditioned to accept the persistent losing culture. Hence, a .500 season to you is deemed as acceptable. However, to those who aspire to achieve more such as certain players or storied franchises (Anthony Calvillo, Pittsburgh Steelers, Montreal Canadiens, etc.) a .500 mediocre season is simply not acceptable. Those individuals or organizations strive for excellence and in order to do that MUST have a proper and complete support system such as coaches, managers, team leaders and owners. If there is a weak link in this chain then the entire organization will suffer OR not achieve to their full potential as is with the Ti-cats. Most of us fans have identified the weak links in the Ti-cat's chain, now how do we go about getting this fixed? It might have something to do with a season ticket renewal letter. A proclamation by subscribers that mediocrity will not be tolerated ANYMORE. (For most of us anyways) :wink: That would certainly perk up the ears of management.

All this does is prove how much crappy football we've witnessed over the past 30+ years.

Being .500 and losing in the east semi final was fine 5-6 years ago when the team was going 1-17 but I want more and will not be content with .500 and sub .500 seasons anymore! This is only an 8 or 9 team league we should have more than "1" Grey Cup in the past 25 years!

I generally agree with this post, all of you can complain about our .500 (sub .500 at the moment) record but if we win the Grey Cup this year, this season will forever be remembered as a successful season.
Grey Cup Champs
1970- Alouettes: 7-6-1
1986- Ti-Cats: 9-8-1
1988- Bombers: 9-9
1989- Sask Riders: 9-9
2000- Lions: 8-10
2001- Stamps- 8-10

These teams did not have the most spectacular records but no one can deny them of their Grey Cup championships they won.Sure its a small sample but for anyone who says we have no chance of winning the Cup this year because of our shady .500 record is a fool.

Just get into the dance (the playoffs) and anything can happen.

I believe.

If we win the 2012 Grey Cup (or at even get into the game) all disgruntlement will certainly be eliminated, and the TiCats will be the best team ever!

If not, two words: "Danny Barrett". He coached the Riders to 3 consecutive 9-9 seasons (2004-5-6),lost in the playoffs,and was removed in 2007 in favour of Kent Austin, who took the Riders to the Grey Cup that season. That is also history.

Go Cats Go!

I couldnt agree more, its Championship game or bust for Mr. Bellefeuille

You can’t be serious…CAN YOU??? :roll: I mean, really…stop going to games because the team doesn’t have a winning season to your liking? That’s going to help? Do you think that the ownership and management really are as bad as the Maple Leaf’s…they will fill that Air Canada Centre no matter how many losing seasons, but NO…Not the Ticat’s ownership…they are trying to put a winning team on the field and we as fans should support the team…after all we get what we paid for…to watch a football game…somebody wins and somebody losses. Don’t lose sight of THAT FACT. :wink:

And GeoffW…Yes, I did have to quote the entire piece because once quoted it can’t be changed!

You mean the same Anthony Calvillo who has a career 3-5 record in the Grey Cup?

Or do you mean the same Pittsburgh Steelers who had exactly ONE playoff appearance prior to 1972 and who spent the vast majority of the 1980s in the basement of the AFC (two playoff appearances in the decade)?

Or do you mean the same Montreal Canadiens who haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1993 and have made one appearance in the conference finals (as an eighth seed, no less) since then?

My point being that every great player or organization goes through rough patches or has blemishes on their résumé. Being negative is very easy; remaining positive is rather hard. I wish more people were like the OP.

theres 3 parts to the season i believe preseason the regular season and the playoffs . Who cares if u go 0 for 2 in preason and 9 and 9 in reg season as long as u make palyoffs and go 3 and 0 who cares what u did in the reg season or pre season

You mean the same Anthony Calvillo who has a career 3-5 record in the Grey Cup?
I'm certain most TiCat fans (myself included) would be elated, ecstatic and honored to have been in the Grey Cup 8 times in the past decade while winning three titles.

Heck, if the Cats make it to the Grey Cup this year (1st time in 12 years)and lose, I’ll be ecstatic! :stuck_out_tongue:

Yeah, you sure had to dig hard to find Calvillo’s blemishes. Only won 3 times in 8 Grey Cup appearances? What a loser.

And the Steelers? You conveniently left out their 6 Super Bowls since 1972 and numerous Divisional wins and playoff appearances.

Even if these organizations do have rough patches, the winning culture surrounding them ensures that the losing doesn’t go on for decades and decades, thereby keeping fans entertained and above all interested. And that’s what it’s all about, is it not? The fans paying the organization to be entertained and to have fun.

IWanttoBelieve,

Welcome to this site.

I agree with you, and with Woody and the others who beat me to the punch in agreeing with your perspective.

One of the beauties of the CFL is that you can win the Grey Cup with a strong finish after a mediocre season. It truly is a case of “any given Sunday” (or Saturday, or Friday, or whatever).

I’ve been a fan about as long as you and even a little bit longer. Yes, you meet Ticat fans everywhere. I’ll always remember being in a taxi in Ottawa about 15 years ago, striking up a conversation with the driver (an Ottawa native) and laughing when the two of us blurted out “Smokey Stover” as we recalled a favourite short term player from that magical 1967 season.

For my part, I’m in favour of Marcel Bellefeuille and Quinton Porter (I like to take a contrarian view sometimes compared to the consensus of critics on the board). Like you, I don’t sweat too much about individual losses, or call them “unacceptable” or call for boycotts.

I like to have players with character, even if they aren’t necessarily the most talented (I would have dumped Jiminez a year or two ago when he intentionally injured an opposing player, never mind the recent stuff that seems to have him on the outs with the coaches and management).

I’m looking forward to the playoffs this season, and to being a Ticat supporter next year and beyond, regardless of the outcome of this playoff run.

Have a great time on the site, and keep up your positive approach.

:roll:

Yes, I am serious because the team hasn’t had a winning decade to my liking, so I’m sick and tired of driving home from IWS all pissed off after another atrocious Ti-cat performance. If the Ti-cats brass want my hard earned cash then they will have to make the necessary investments in players and coaches in order to produce a product that will satisfy the die-hard and casual fans alike, thus returning to the stadium frequently in order to enjoy high quality entertainment. You make it sound like that we should be privileged and honored to hand over our money for something that is of poor quality. Do you do that at Canadian Tire?

So by saying this you are trying to state that the Ti-Cats losing culture has lasted decades and decades? The last decade was the only really losing culture ever in Hamilton, last time I checked we won a Grey Cup in 99, and in 86 (and atleaast one cup in every other decade before that) therefor we have not been “losers” for decades and decades.

And to comment on Blogskee’s post, I honestly can’t say I have ever disagreed with you, everything you say is just the exact thoughts I have, I really respect your opinion. Anyone who says a organization has a COMPLETE winning culture is ignorant. Every team in history of sports (A team that has been around for longer then a 15 years id say) has gone through a stretch of bad years.
I am a Colorado Avalanche fan, I’d say they had one of the most most consistent teams for about the first decade of their existence, but if you follow hockey you know that they have been very inconsistent in the past 5 years. It just goes to show a team cannot remain on top forever, every good team has their rise and fall, its the nature of sports. The Ti-Cats from 03-08 were the laughing stock of the league, they went from Grey Cup Champs in 99 to 1-17 chumps just 3 years later. To say that any team doesn’t strive for excellence is just a little weird for me. The point of sports is to win, no organization strives for being bad, all teams want to win, if they didn’t they wouldn’t be in sports. Sure some teams have lower goals, such as the Buffalo Bills this year, sure they want the Super Bowl, all 32 teams set out to win the Bowl each year, but for them making the playoffs would be a great improvement but for a team like the Patriots making the playoffs just isn’t enough because they haven’t been an awful team like the Bills. Now if you go back to the early 90’s it was switched, the Bills were the dominant team and the Pats were the basement dwellers of the NFL. It is the nature of sports, rise and fall, it is why we all love sports. :thup:

Like you, I would be ecstatic if the Cats got to the Grey Cup eight times in 11 years, but I would be equally as disappointed if they lost five of the eight times. In fact, at one point, Montreal was 1-5 in Grey Cup games, and in two of those five losses they have been defeated by an 8-10 team (BC, in 2000) and a third-place team (Edmonton, in 2005).

My point was that holes can be poked in just about anything. I think that point still stands.

Like you, I would be ecstatic if the Cats got to the Grey Cup eight times in 11 years, but I would be equally as disappointed if they lost five of the eight times.
ok, which is more disappointing to you...

Zero appearances in the Grey Cup for the past 12 years, or 8 appearances in the Grey Cup in the past 11 years and winning 3 titles?

Yeah, well at least those Montreal fans had hope and something to cheer for in all those Grey Cup losses. Where were we again?