It was late afternoon yesterday when the Edmonton Eskimos issued the media advisory for a Monday 2010 Grey Cup press conference to reveal ticketing details.
Nice timing.
The easiest way to sell tickets for the Grey Cup is to have your town turned on about the prospects of the home town team perhaps getting to the game.
As of this morning, the town is now totally turned off about this team which lost 27-17 last night to the second biggest joke in the league before the smallest crowd in almost 10 years in Winnipeg.
With a chance to essentially guarantee themselves no worse than a playoff position as a crossover club in the Eastern Semifinal, as they did last year, the Eskimos went to Winnipeg and soiled the sheets from the opening kickoff.
They hardly looked like the team which went into September looking very much like they could play host to their first home playoff game since 2004 ... at the very least.
All of a sudden the Eskimos look like a total train wreck with no real clue how to get back on track.
They've now lost three in a row and four of their last five.
They've given the eight-loss Bombers new life in the East and become a seven-loss squad themselves in doing so.
In the last 10 quarters -- after Ricky Ray went 20 for 20 in the first 30 minutes and change in Regina -- the receivers have had the dropsies and seem confused about running their routes.
Kevin Strasser's offence has been so impotent the move to fire Rick Worman as offensive co-ordinator in mid-season is beginning to demand an inquiry.
Worman was 5-4.
Strasser is 1-3.
Ray, for most of his career against Winnipeg, has been good for 300 yards passing, minimum.
Last night he had 97 yards in the first half and 91 in the second half before Jason Maas was brought in to mop up.
Their coach and quarterback went on the record before they took their seats on the plane what this one was all about.
"You see all the stuff happening in Winnipeg and there's a danger of thinking 'Oh, we should win that game,'" said Ray. "You have to focus on the fact this is a big game and go out there and play a big game."
Where was the focus?
Ray damn sure didn't go out there and play a big game.
When it was over he said it was just not being in rhythm offensively and shooting themselves in the foot and nothing to do with their systems.
What is it about everybody not having their helmets screwed on straight?
"It's a playoff game," said head coach Richie Hall going in. "That's how important I think this game is. We don't have any reason to look down on anybody. We're 6-6 not 12-0."
Yet this team didn't even show up for this game.
If Mike Kelly and the Bombers were viewed as the slapstick squad going in, the Eskimos looked the part from the opening kickoff.
Tristan Jackson fumbled it.
The ball even bounced off his helmet as he was looking around trying to find it, but never did, as the Eskimos gave the Bombers a 3-0 lead.
Jackson dropped two others in his return from injury.
Right off the go, Fred Stamps dropped a pass and Jamaica Rector had the ball stripped on another one shortly thereafter.
Bobby Keyes gave up a pass interference penalty in the endzone and the Eskimos special teams allowed Jovon Johnson to take a wide field goal 118 yards from endzone to endzone for a touchdown.
If you didn't know better you'd have guessed the two teams had traded uniforms before the game.
They definitely traded momentum after it.
Now 6-7, the Eskimos can't even be confident they'll be able to beat the 3-9 Toronto Argos in the two games they have left against them. The Argos played the Bombers last week in Winnipeg and only lost by four.
Step right up and get those 2010 Grey Cup tickets.
TERRY.JONES@SUNMEDIA.CA
