November 15th, 2009
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The Hamilton Tiger-Cats host the B.C. Lions in today’s East Semi-Final at Ivor Wynne Stadium, a place that has not seen a playoff game since 2001.
But while the Tiger-Cats have not made a playoff appearance in any stadium in five years, they still have plenty of post-season experience to draw on.
You can watch the game live on TSN and TSN HD at 1pm et/10am pt.
Otis Floyd is one of four former Lions now suiting up for the Ticats who will be lining up against some familiar faces and don’t think revenge isn’t on their minds.
”They’ve got a thing going around here where they call us the rejects but hey, the rejects are ready to go out there and play,” said linebacker Otis Floyd.
Fellow linebackers Markeith Knowlton and Jamall Johnson started their CFL careers with the Lions before moving on to Hamilton.
”It’s a little bit of added motivation going against your former team and a lot of guys you played with most of your career,” added Floyd. ”But I’m not going to get harped up on that and try to do anything extra. I’m just going to play my game.”
Star receiver Arland Bruce, who started the season as a Toronto Argonaut before being dealt to Hamilton, took this week to share his playoff experience and calm the nerves of his younger teammates.
”You don’t want to scare them too much but you just use previous situations that you’ve been involved in,” said Bruce.
Head coach Marcel Bellefeuille, who had his share of playoff experience with the Montreal Alouettes, knows who to lean on in November.
”When you get to this part of the season, your go-to guys, the guys who’ve been there before have to lead on the field and in the locker-room,” said Bellefeuille. ”They’ve done a good job this week talking to the young guys and explaining what we need to do.”
At quarterback, former Blue Bomber Kevin Glenn will be facing former Tiger-Cat and Lion pivot Casey Printers.
Last week, Glenn seized the opportunity to eliminate his former team from the playoffs. Just two short years ago, Glenn broke his arm in the East Final and had to watch his Bombers lose to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Grey Cup.
Meanwhile, Printers returns to the scene of his last CFL stop, a forgettable two seasons in Hamilton.
”It was a chapter in the book and you’ve just got to move on,” said Printers. ”Right now, it’s about a playoff game and the simple implications that go along with it. It’s not really about the mystique of the place, it’s about the B.C. Lions trying to get a playoff win.”
But Geroy Simon thinks Printers will have some extra motivation on Sunday, trying to prove to himself that he’s better than he appeared in his last stint at Ivor Wynne.
”He wants to go and prove that he’s a good quarterback,” said Simon. ”He didn’t have the best situation in Hamilton so I think he wants to show he can make things happen.”
Hamilton swept the series with a 31-28 win at B.C. Place Stadium in Week 2 and a 30-18 decision at Ivor Wynne in Week 5. But that was July and both teams would agree that was a long time ago.
The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to the East Division Final and a date with Anthony Calvillo and the Montreal Alouettes at Olympic Stadium.