This post was written by Dave Spadafora
I was reminded of a very important lesson this week as I was dealing with the emotions I was feeling because of the Canceled CFL Season. It came from Cody Fajardo. Listening to his podcast ‘The Rouge Report’ which he hosts with fellow QB Isaak Harker, the down-to-earth pivot offered some words of wisdom that snapped me out of the bitterness I had been feeling. to paraphrase, he compared the situation to losing a football game, saying it doesn’t do any good playing the blame game or to point fingers, the important thing now is to come together, fix the mistakes that were made and come out stronger to face the next opponent.
Fajardo’s words made me think about my actions. I’ve been highly critical of Ambrosie and the BOGs in their handling of this whole situation. Was it warranted?. Well… yes, but it’s time to put it behind us, and start focusing on bringing the league back stronger in 2021 and beyond. What I won’t do is look for a scapegoat or call for anyone to be fired, it won’t change what happened, and besides, it’s not for me to decide. Thank you for setting me straight Cody.
Meantime, there was some positive news on that front this week. It would appear that the CFL and the CFLPA have buried the hatchet. Word is that the Players will be eligible to receive the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy, their medical coverage has been extended, and those looking to do so will be able to opt-out of the last year of their contracts to explore NFL options. It’s good to see that the league and the players finally make nice with each other, I just wish it could have happened a few months sooner. To those of you who don’t think that the American players should receive CEWS, stop it right there! Just remember that these guys have paid their fair share of taxes up here, and have every right to be compensated. It wasn’t their fault that the Government decided to shut down the economy.
On a non-football related topic, there was an interesting situation in Major League Baseball last week. The San Diego Padres were in Texas playing the Rangers. The Padres had a Substantial 10 to three lead in the late innings when Fernando Tatis Jr was at-bat, with the Count at 3 Balls and no Strikes and the bases loaded, Tatis misread his third base coach’s sign to take, and instead, he swung and hit an opposite-field grand slam homerun. The Rangers took exception saying that Tatis violated one of baseball’s “unwritten rules” by running up the Score. Are you kidding me?
Since when in baseball, or any other sport for that matter, are you ever supposed to take your foot off the gas pedal? The Rangers still had 6 outs to try and mount a comeback. It would have been highly improbable that they would have been able to granted, but the opportunity was still there. Were the Texas Rangers just going to fold up their tent, not try to score any more runs and call it a game? I don’t think so. The situation was different, but a prime example I could point to was last Thursday’s game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies jumped out to a seven to nothing lead in the first inning only to score a single run the rest of the way and watch as the Blue Jays came back and won nine to eight. So do you mean to tell me that if Philadelphia would have been able to hit a grand slam in the first inning they would have been accused of running up the Score? No, as it turned out it would have been the margin of victory.
In professional sports, you’re not going to win every time you play, sometimes you are going to lose, and lose big. I’m not saying you have to like it, but when you do, instead of crying foul or making accusations of running up the score, shake your opponent’s hand to congratulate them, but in the back of your mind be thinking of ways to kick their butt the next time you play against them!