ARGONAUTS.CA
If I were asked to sum up the first six games of the 2009 Toronto Argonauts season, I wouldn’t use the example of “four quarters”, because 18 games (which make up our regular season) isn’t cleanly divisible by four. And although we are in hockey country and I’ve always loved seeing hockey games in person, I wouldn’t use the example of three periods, simply because our head coach Bart Andrus used that in a meeting this week and I’d hate for him to think I was stealing his material.
However, when I really think about how we got to be 2-4, the constant thought that came to mind was…a pregnancy! Yes, that’s right, a pregnancy. Now before you go looking for the back button at the top of the page, allow me to explain why it feels this way.
As a father of a 1-year old boy, I have recently experienced the pregnancy – birth process and our season has paralleled the 1st trimester of a pregnancy. When my wife told me she was expecting a baby, mixed emotions filled my mind and heart. Excitement at the prospect of being a dad yet concern for all the trouble this world can bring. As I think back to the season opener on Canada Day, there was excitement for what the season could bring with new coaches and players, yet concern for how we would play together and navigate the ups and downs that an 18-game season will assuredly bring.
Also during the first trimester, the woman’s body adjusts to the life that’s growing inside her and adapts her habits and routines. The same can be said about our team adjusting to the coaching styles of the new staff and playing styles of the new players, realizing that it does take a little bit of time to gel together and become comfortable.
Morning sickness is another common event early in the pregnancy due to the extra hormones and physical and mental adaptations the body has to make. With last week’s performance in Montreal, there’s little doubt that everyone associated with the Double Blue felt a little queasy the next morning.
However, the good news is that the first trimester is necessary for the development of the baby, or team in this analogy. The tough days will be there because it’s a new system and personnel that we aren’t used to. Unfortunately, there isn’t a What to Expect When You’re Expecting book for football. Yet the building blocks are being put in place and although we don’t know what the outcome will be or look like at the end of the third trimester, we must keep taking the proper steps to ensure that we control what we can control. Specifically, the way we mentally prepare, practice, and play on game-days.
Another positive aspect is that the first trimester does come to an end, and the second trimester is where the baby takes shape and begins to show signs of progress. For women, it actually looks like they are pregnant and not just full from a big lunch. Growth becomes more rapid, comfort with the idea of pregnancy settles in, and with an ultra-sound, you can get a sneak peek at what the baby will look like.
This Friday at home versus the B.C. Lions, we begin our second trimester for 2009. It’s still early, but for our sake, we realize that we need to show signs of progress and growth if we are to develop into the playoff-calibre team we envisioned back on Canada Day.
Our goal is to give our great fans a true glimpse of the talent we possess by playing a complete game. Hopefully, the rough part is over and the uneasiness from the first trimester will grow into something beautiful.