Forget the Tiger-Cats’ helmet…Timmy Chang’s Hawaii helmet, now that might be worth a few Tim Hortons’ donuts…
Well, it’s safe to say the CFL hasn’t quite gained the notoriety of the NFL, especially in the United States. But that’s not to say there aren’t a few great aspects of Canuck football that American’s couldn’t pillage for the NFL. For instance, the 18 week season has particular appeal to me. As a Lions fan, how could I not love an extra two weeks of watching Shaun Rogers not play because he has to cheat to not be morbidly obese? In that extra two weeks, who knows how many more DeVale Ellis’ could be signed off the practice squad to entertain me?
But if there’s one great thing that apparently is acceptable in the CFL but not the NFL, it’s the ability to walk onto the field or in the locker room of your hometown team and steal the quarterback’s helmet. At least that’s the case for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (doesn’t that sound a little redundant; what’s next, the Sacramento King-Presidents?), as Hamilton QB Timmy Chang had his helmet thieved by a hometown fan after the team’s 30-5 home-opening loss to the Toronto Argonauts. I’m not sure what’s better about this story - the fact that Chang must’ve sucked so bad that a fan decided to steal his helmet for revenge or the fact that a fan could just walk onto a CFL field or into a CFL locker room and take whatever equipment he wants. That guy from the NFL commercials who always hides in the players’ dirty laundry to steal authentic jerseys would be in heaven if he was a CFL fan. Still, I’m going to say the best part of this story is that Chang sucked that bad; his team put up a paltry 5 points, which means he probably only factored into the scoring when he was safetied, unless Chang is also the kicker or there’s some sort of metric system conversion I’m missing here with the 5 points (both of which are entirely possible).
By the way, if you actually read the article that links to this story, you’ll note the thief was arrested and the helmet recovered. Thank goodness. As the article elaborates:
Fans discussing the theft online on a Ticat chat room described seeing the man being led back into Ivor Wynne in handcuffs…One fan signed on as Ticatsgrr8 wrote: “There are too many good Ticat fans out there who bid honestly for Ticats memorabilia. You don’t steal directly off your team. End of story.”
I’m formally inviting anyone out there who is actually bidding honestly for any memorabilia from any CFL team to officially eat their money and s**t it down the toilet, because I’d say that’s at least as productive of a use for currency as bidding on CFL merchandise.
-NEIL
Here are some good reads:
2 responses so far ↓
1 Rasheed // Jul 12, 2007 at 6:00 am
In the CFL, a team receives one point for a touchback, so it’s possible to get 5 points without a field goal and a safety.
Love that zany Canadian football!
2 Neil // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:33 am
Thanks for the clarification. I thought about looking up the scoring system, but truthfully I just didn’t care that much. If Doug Flutie doesn’t make a comeback, I have zero interest in the CFL.
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