by Steve Wettlaufer -

The 1983 Toronto Argonauts Grey Cup Riot

These days it’s like pulling teeth to get anyone out to an Argos game, but it wasn’t always that way. A whole lot of people used to genuinely care about the team, so much so that there was a mini riot after they won the Grey Cup in 1983.

I have no memory of any of this. I was about to turn four, so was obviously far too young to appreciate it at the time. In fact, this is the first I can even recall hearing about it.

Speaking of firsts, I believe this marks the first time I’ve heard the phrase “dumping confetti on shoppers” as part of a report like this. Was that a thing people used to do? It sounds extra weird coming right after the lighting of firecrackers.

It’s also interesting to hear vague talk of what would eventually become the SkyDome all the way back then, even though it makes total sense given that it opened less than six years later. It still being hypothetical kind of gives me a new appreciation for how fast things like government and construction can move when they want to.

You may also like this post from long-time sports reporter Howard Berger that features both his memories from the time and some scans of newspaper front pages and some of his other memorabilia.

by Steve Wettlaufer -

And Now, Here To Perform The American National Anthem In The Key Of C-rap…


What exactly is this man doing? Yes, I know he’s attempting to sing the Star Spangled Banner at a baseball game, but what is he doing? And more importantly, why is he doing it? Did he just discover right now, here in this moment, that he suffers from crippling anxiety? Did he overshoot his vocal cord and social lubrication targets by a couple of miles? Is he dying of something and this is his make a wish?

I figured it had to be at least one of those things or that perhaps he’s spent his entire life away from civilization and was rescued and cleaned up right before show time (How else do you forget the words to the American anthem?), but no. Turns out it was just cramps. Brain ones would be my guess.

It happened Sunday, before a game between the High Point Rockers and Sugar Land Skeeters and involved a “last minute fill in,” Fox Carolina reported. High Point is about 80 miles northeast of Charlotte.

Video posted on Facebook by TV station WXII reports Rockers employee Chuck Hayworth was the singer, and it shows him struggling with both the melody and the lyrics. The results include uncomfortable pauses, skipped lines and occasional shouting.
Hayworth apologized later on social media, explaining he developed cramps from getting overheated just before starting “and you saw what happened,” the station reported.
“By no means was this any disrespect to our country or our organization, nor all those who serve it,” WFMY quoted Hayworth as saying.

The team apologized, too, saying “the rendition was not up to organizational standards,” and noting the singer was standing in for someone who got sick at the last minute, GreensboroSports.com reports.

How much worse could the sick guy have sounded, I wonder.

by Steve Wettlaufer -

Somebody Help Me Figure Out The Ramble Tag


I need somebody to please tell me if there’s something I’m missing here, because I’m not understanding how harnessing yourself to your sighted guide rather than simply taking an elbow makes the experience of being guided any more independent or any less awkward than it is currently.

Is it awkward? I’ve never had a problem with that, unless we’re talking about situations where the person offering the help can’t understand let me lightly touch your arm and insists on any or all of steering me by the shoulders, using *my* arm as a handle or locking arms with me like we’re going to dance or wrestle instead of walk someplace. That does happen a fair bit, so maybe the aim is to eliminate having to tell someone they’re doing it wrong. But personally I’d rather tell someone they’re doing it wrong, because then maybe they’ll learn something and be able to do it right in a future situation where the device isn’t available.

Or perhaps it might be good for guided running or hiking, but as a guy with an ankle that sucks I’m hardly an authority on either of those things since I don’t tend to do them often.

So yeah. If you’ve used one and it actually helped, I’m genuinely curious and would love to hear about it.

Bristol Airport, UK, has launched a new solution to assist blind and partially sighted passengers while at the airport.
Working in partnership with OCS, the airport’s special assistance partner, the airport has deployed the Ramble Tag, which has been specifically designed for blind and partially sighted people to improve the experience of guided walking.
The Ramble Tag is a lightweight harness worn by a guide on their upper arm, offering a comfortable handle as an alternative to linking arms. According to Bristol Airport, the product is comfortable, weather proof and uses the latest design technology.
The harness was created by Laura Maclean, and Tom Forsyth who himself is visually impaired.
“We are over the moon to have our invention welcomed with open arms by Bristol Airport,” MacLean said, “It is so exciting to see passengers use it for the first time in a busy airport environment. We believe they [Ramble Tags] will make a positive difference and it’s great to feel that others see the potential with us. We are very grateful for the support we’ve been shown, and here’s hoping that it makes traveling easier and more consistent for visually impaired users.”

by Steve Wettlaufer -

Happy 50th Birthday, Whatever Is Left Of The Montreal Expos


This is video of the first home run hit by a Montreal Expo during a home game. In the first inning of the first major league game ever played outside of the United States (April 14th, 1969), Mack Jones crushed it into the right field seats to give the Expos a 3-0 lead. They’d go on to blow a six run lead but still beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-7. A pretty good start to an era that never should have ended the way it did and one that will hopefully return some day. I was never much of an Expos guy, but I still liked having them around because it was cool that our country had a team in each league, plus it was an automatic rivalry that always felt like it meant something to the fans even though the Expos and Jays didn’t play each other all that often.

Here’s a look back at that first game, and here’s an oral history of the last one.

by Steve Wettlaufer -

Mini Golf

I saw a strip club across the street from a mini golf place. I’m a liberal, but that’s too much for me. What if you’re just trying to have a nice afternoon with your family and then your kids look across the street and have to see a bunch of losers playing mini golf?

By the way, am I the only one who can’t think about miniature golf without thinking about this?