We’re Tied for Last! We’re Tied for Last!

In the last sixteen seasons of being a CFL and BC Lions fan, the current year for the home team has been by far the worst I’ve seen. After tonight’s surprising win over Montreal, the Lions are now 2-7, temporarily tied for last in the league with three other teams despite racking up all seven losses in a row. The team is winless in its new ‘temporary’ stadium, which is a real shame, because it’s a fantastic venue in which to watch football.

There hasn’t been a lot go right for the Lions this year. In fact almost everything has gone wrong. It’s great to see them snap their losing streak but even in the best case, with nine games to go, I can’t imagine the Lions winning more than half of those games. In that unlikely event, the Lions could finish at 6-12; not exactly their worst season ever but hardly what was expected out of them. However because the CFL is so zany, six of eight teams make the playoffs, so 6-12 could conceivably be good enough to get into the post-season. I’m not holding my breath though. I’d settle for seeing at least a couple wins at home before the season is out.

Best weekend in … well, a long time

This past weekend was probably the best on record in quite a while. Saturday I wandered around Ambleside with my cousin before heading to the Lions game at Empire Field. The Lions lost (prediction for the 2010 season: 10 wins, 8 losses) in a show of almost total ineptitude, but as I’ve said to anyone who will listen, the ‘temporary’ field is fantastic. It’s such a shame that they’ll only use it for a season, or season and a half at most. It cost a fraction of the half-billion dollars that’ll be spent putting a new roof on the concrete monstrosity of BC Place, and is a far better sport-watching venue than the dome. Granted it might not be as fantastic once it’s rainy and chilly in late October, but for the next three months, it’s going to be great.

Sunday the ladyfriend, me, and a couple of friends went to Buntzen Lake equipped with barbecue, tubular meat products, and innertubes. Despite some temporary barbecue problems, we had a pretty relaxing time (I was the only one to float in the lake for an extended period of time). That evening we all visited the Richmond Night Market, one of the dozen or so things that Vancouverites are expected to have done that we hadn’t yet. It too was a fun time, seeing all sorts of hats, handbags, socks, cellphone cases, sunglasses, and other assorted straight-from-China knicknacks. No one was brave enough to try some curry fish balls or fried whole squid - the ‘double whammy’ of street vendors, plus food no white person’s body is used to consuming, was a gastrointestinal experiment we weren’t willing to try. No sense ending a good weekend with explosive diarrhea!

TWIG Notes XXVII

Another week, another week without blogging. Here’s the rundown.

- Last Sunday was the first game (preseason) at Empire Field, the new and temporary home of the BC Lions. The weather was a cloudy and somewhat chilly seventeen degrees. The stadium’s certainly going to be fun for the summer months - provided summer actually arrives - and in a way it’s too bad that next year the Lions will be moving back into a cavernous dome. Empire Field holds just under 28,000, which is a perfect size for a CFL game. Our seats are literally about twelve feet from the field, which is a hell of a lot closer than at BC Place. The Lions lost, but whatever, it’s the preseason. For the record I predict a 10-8 record for the Leos this season.

- Also: photos from the Lions game are on Flickr. Includes shots of cheerleader bums. Fair warning.

- I’m in desperate need of a vacation, so I booked a night at Whistler for Canada Day for my ladyfriend and I. I only thought of this because some friends of ours took me to Whistler for an afternoon on Saturday, where we wandered around for a couple hours, ate some delicious fresh pasta, then headed home when the rain started to pour. Again, it sure would be nice if summer came soon, so our two days in Whistler aren’t spoiled by rain.

- After not winning a G.D. thing on Lotto Max tickets the last two weeks, I’ve given up on that lottery. Instead, I spent money on a different lottery! Tax for the stupid, my ass - I’m totally winning the PNE Prize Home this year!

- As soon as I finish writing this blog entry, I’m canceling my subscription to GQ. No more fashion advice, no more articles about the best pub food in America. Somehow I’ll be alright. I hope.