Ever since Eric Tillman was hired on as the new general manager of the Edmonton Eskimos people won’t stop talking trash about the franchise and where it’s headed. What can be said that hasn’t already been? Fans have come out in droves and have vocalized their opinions, some for, some against. We have all heard the stories of the long standing season ticket holders who have vowed not to renew their seats. Backlash is at an all-time high. It seems like a major blow has been dealt to the Eskimos image.
But this isn’t anything new. The Edmonton Eskimos have been a faltering, destabilized, unsustainable group of so-called “athletes” and “professionals” and they have been that way for five straight seasons under former general manager and former head coach Danny Maciocia. Fans have called in to the Team 1260 or 630 CHED after every game and have done nothing but bitch and complain about their team, of which, had every right to. What happened? The Eskimos were once a force in the West, making a losing appearance in the 2002 Grey Cup and then winning the Grey Cup in both 2003 and 2005. They were not just consistently competing, they were consistently winning.
Five years of disappointment
The past five years has been a much different story. The Eskimos, under the guiding eye of Maciocia, have managed zero Grey Cup appearances. Their home record over the past five seasons, including this year, stands at a mere 22-19-1. Commonwealth Stadium used to be one of the most difficult and intimidating stadiums to play in. Now we play on turf. What’s worse is the teams record away from Commonwealth, an impressing 11-30. My Lord, looking at that stat just hurts.
When a team holds records like these there is bound to be plenty of blame to go around, and rightly so. On July 31st that blame came crumbling down on Maciocia’s shoulders, and rightly so. Maciocia’s past and current record was so bad that CEO Rick LeLacheur fired his general manager, one of the most key important position in all of football, minus the coach, at the mid-season mark. He couldn’t wait any longer and neither could the fans, who were also very vocal in their support in the decision to fire Maciocia. It seemed like there was a little light cracking through a tunnel the Eskimos have barely traveled down. This franchise and it’s fan base, is not accustomed to losing.
The fans want a team that wins just like the good ol’ days. Eric Tillman can bring those days back. He has three Grey Cup rings to prove that he can. Unfortunately those rings come linked to charges stemming from the much publicized sexual assault case involving Tillman and a 16-year old babysitter. What he did was wrong, no one will argue that, but some people have skewed the issue to the point where they have lumped Tillman into the same categories as rapists and child molesters, which is going too far. I’m not going to delve deep into this but what I will say is that if those closest to the situation can move on, why can’t you?
Moving on
As a society here in Alberta we have agreed, legally, that 16 years old is around the time when a person can have consensual sex. Now while what Tillman did was not consensual it certainly wasn’t sex. It was barely first and a half base. I don’t mean to marginalize the severity of sexual assault and the possible repercussions it can cause a victim but this case doesn’t involve a screaming family and a battered victim. Just a man who has to live with his actions and an unforgiving public that had no problem hiring Craig MacTavish, a man who plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence on February 9th, 1984. Both men were and still are extremely apologetic.
I understand the initial backlash to the hiring of Tillman, it was expected. What I hope is that the men and women who initially vowed not renew season tickets next season take a step back and understand that from a football point of view this move makes sense. There is a ton of work to be done to make this team a winner again and Tillman is the most qualified man for the job. The challenge now will rest on the community to show the same class it showed when fans in San Jose booed the Canadian national anthem during the second round of the 06’ Stanley Cup run. We didn’t boo back, that’s not our style. Fans don’t forget, but they move on and it’s a lot easier for them to move on if the Eskimos start winning. Everybody loves a winner.
While basketball fans across North America might not like Kobe Bryant, the fans of Los Angeles sure love him now that he helped them win back-to-back championships. I suggest taking a closer look at Eagles fans and how well Michael Vick plays. If Vick wins, dollars to doughnuts says Philly fans will be dawning more and more Vick jerseys. While Eskie fans most likely won’t be dawning Tillman jerseys any time soon, they might just take the paper bags off their heads.
Photo credit: CBC
