Locker Room Leaders (lack of)

Old threads can be funny.

Hey AD - I'm still not completely convinced. There are ALWAYS multiple ways to work towards a championship team. Success with one route doesn't obviate the possibility or likelihood of success with another.

Like most topics, I don't believe that there's a clear-cut answer on this one but it sure is nice that this team found its answer this year, isn't it? On that we can both agree!

Players like Stalla and Jamal Johnson are not going to agree with the current system run by coach Kent Austin but it's his system like it or leave it and from what the players who are there now in this locker room, they are enjoying playing for the Tiger-Cats and it's great to see.

This team has come a full 360 degrees since it played in Ivor Wynne Stadium and it's last game in November 2012, since that time up to Labour Day this year this team has fought adversity like no other team in the CFL has ever experienced and yet no or very little mention of it in the CFL media. When your playing basically away from your home field for so long it effects many things in football life and now that the Cats have had a home at Tim Horton's Feild since September 1, 2014 this team has demonstrated that difference and played to a 7-0 start.

I really like Coach Austin's approach because he asked the players to talk it up amongst themselves and through that individual leaders emerge on this young team (youngest in the CFL on average) Austin knows he's got good players who care and a group of coaches prepared to guide the players to victory and understand the importance of winning as a team!

Wasnt really an argument just pointing out the folly of this panic in general and how it never really was a problem.
There are sure hands on the tiller in the dressing room and Jarvis St. in that regard we can relax.

Ummmm..... I think that any perception of a lack of "locker room leaders" has been soundly dispelled.

It could also be that individual leadership is discouraged

Having Individual leaders puts pressure on them and removes responsibility from the rest of the team. It's a very, almost imperceivable bit, but it's there.

It's better to have a team of peers. All feeling responsible to one another and thus everyone becomes the motivator to everyone else and everyone feels answerable to his team mates. It moves the team from a "just doing what I'm told" attitude to a "what can I do to make myself and the team better" attitude

If you are saying there has been no mention of the fact that the Cats didn’t “have a home” since the last game at IWS (in October of 2012, not November) then you must not have been paying attention. All last year that was the talk. The early part of this year that was the talk. The team never made it an issue publicly, but the media sure did talk about it (not much in the Spec, but among the national media, it seemed to be all they could talk about).

The team didn’t use it as an excuse last year and they didn’t use it as an excuse this year. But regardless of any adversity, the team now has a place to call home and are back in the Grey Cup. The rest is immaterial. GO CATS!

Im sure he means we still get 0 Respect

I really don’t understand this line of thinking. Why does it matter if the media respects the team? They are just people who watch the games and comment on them. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong. I don’t think they intentionally try to disrespect the Ti-Cats.

And I don’t agree that the team isn’t shown respect. I think people equate communists’ opinions with disrespect. And I remember the lean years (2005-2008) when the Ti-Cats were constantly picked to finish first and go to the Grey Cup because they picked up a free agent or two (Jason Maas, Josh Ranek, Casey Printers, etc.). No one complained about disrespect then. Until the Ti-Cats put together an Als- or Lions-like playoff run, or a Calgary-like string of regular season success (not 10-8 and 9-9 records; I’m talking 12-, 13-, 14-win seasons), columnists are always going to be skittish about jumping on the bandwagon.