The good news is that OUA/CIS sports are back on the table and that makes this retired coach Uber happy because that was a big component of the decision to relocate to a university town like Guelph. Unfortunately, as quickly as that smile appeared, the corners of my mouth turned southward as I discovered that U-Sports, and their college versions, in a pandemic is not even close to what it was previously, and that has this old fart miffed. As I sit down to write this, I am forced to admit that my distaste for the situation is not aimed at anyone in particular, but that doesn't mean that the level of miffed-ness is any less valid. While I admit that this is a 1st world problem, it still burns my butt like waist high flame.
If you haven't paid attention to the OUA/CIS situation, the quick info you need to know is that cheering your uni of choice LIVE is only possible if you're quick with the mouse because the reduced venue capacity results a limited number of tickets being available, and there's a really good chance that you'll end up left blowing in the breeze like a flag at half mast. While I was successful in securing preseason tickets for rugby at Guelph, I have been unsuccessful in multiple attempts for regular season clashes, relegating me to proverbial knothole peering, wrong side of the fence cheering of my youth. What good is it to have the cash and time to display your colours in support if you can't get past the gates?
Many of you who have read my previous posts will know that I'm a proud-as-a-peacock, gold wearing, highland-loving, former Queen's Golden Gael who takes absolute glee to pointing out my alma mater's successes to all of my buddies who couldn't get into Queen's ... HaHaHa! Choosing to live in Guelph means that travelling to Kingston to cheer on the Gaels in person and their state-of-the-art Richardson Stadium is doable but difficult, made even more so by the fact that game tickets are near to impossible to secure. Silly me, I reckoned that when my Gaels got on the bus to travel to U of T's Varsity Stadium, I would be able to scratch the itch easily. It is U of T football, after all, so I figured how many fans could there be? Oh no, no, no, my dear man ... those tickets are long spoken for.
Well, colour me yellow and hang me from the flagpole.
It has become blatantly obvious that I must join the likes of scalpers, eyes illuminated by the phosphorescent glow of my Mac Air, a slight sweat on my brow as my right index figure twitches nervously while it hovers above the trackpad in anticipation of clicking through the ticket web portal mere seconds after the treasures are released to the public. If that's not a FML moment then I'm not sure what is.
Thinking this to be an OUA/CIS thing would be a grave mistake. When I stepped down as a Georgian Grizzly assistant this year, I mistakenly imagined cheering the blue 'n black on from the other side of the pitch, but I recently found out that GC and the OCAA have declared ALL fans persona non grata for games. Like their university compatriots, rabid fans are left to choose the only option available ... stream the game on-line. After so many months of social distancing, I don't mind admitting that some outdoor live action was certainly desirable, but I guess more patience is required. I hope that we can get ahead of this virus soon since the indoor sports will be starting up in November.
WAIT!
In a stoke of dextrous brilliance I was able to secure two little pieces of glory for Guelph @ Western Men's Rugby game on Oct 8th! How does that boil your beans?
Road Trip!
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