With only minutes left in the Calgary Stampeders and B.C. Lions game, Stampeders fans started pouring out of McMahon Stadium when it appeared evident the Stampeders would lose. We all know the outcome though; the Stamps won in overtime. A fight erupted minutes after the game when some Stampeders tweeted their displeasure with the fans who left early. That happened on Friday. It’s now Sunday, and Stampeders players and fans are still fighting. What kind of a Calgary Stampeders fan does it make you if you leave early?
Good or Bad Calgary Stampeders Fans: The Fight Continues
The Fight Starts
In a post-game interview, Bo Levi Mitchell thanked the fans who stayed. And that statement spurred other players to make comments on Twitter about those who left early.
Shortly after the game, Rob Maver tweeted, “Shame on everybody who left. To those who stayed – THANK YOU for helping us in that comeback. What a game.”
Shame on everybody who left. To those who stayed- THANK YOU for helping us in that comeback. What a game. #FanAppreciation #Stampeders
— Rob Maver (@rmaver6) July 30, 2016
And Jerome Messam , “Thanks to all the fake fans that left…that was all the motivation we needed”.
Thanks to all the fake fans that left…that was all the motivation we needed! ? #together
— Jerome Messam (@JMessam) July 30, 2016
Some fans assumed the players meant that all fans who left early were bad fans.
The Fight Continues
This sparked a fight over social media between players and fans that is still happening. Mitchell asked fans on Twitter, “Let me ask you..When our sideline sees our fans leaving, how should we feel? As if fans are giving up on us, and we NEVER give up on them.”
Let me ask you.. When our sideline sees our fans leaving, how should we feel? As if fans are giving up on us, and we NEVER give up on them.
— Bo Levi Mitchell (@BoLeviMitchell) July 30, 2016
This has sparked fans putting statements on the Calgary Stampeders Facebook page about leaving the game early makes those people bad fans. Mitchell has since said on Twitter that he understood some people had legitimate reasons to leave and those comments are not aimed at them. The fight continues between “the good fan” and “the bad fan”. Some are spouting terms like “fickle fans” or have blamed TSN for having such late starts to the games.
This disagreement does spark a good question. If you leave a game early, does this automatically make you a bad fan? The end of the game was close to midnight, and this doesn’t work for families who brought small children. But some fans stay to the bitter end of every game, no matter the score or conditions. Are Calgary Stampeders fans fickle? Some are suggesting that Calgary’s fans have become so accustomed to winning, that when the going gets tough and the Stamps are losing, they bolt.
This is an interesting argument, especially considering the plight some teams are having with attendance. Take the Toronto Argonauts recent game which had less than 13,000 attendants. Does that make Argos fans “bad fans”? Are Saskatchewan Roughriders fans better than other CFL fans because some say they are “more loyal”? Who decides? Unfortunately, we live in an age where anyone can say anything over social media with no face-to-face repercussions.
Opinions are only opinions, not facts. And we all have a right to express them. But one has to question whether we need to retaliate towards each other. CFL football should be fun for all fans. Doesn’t fighting take the fun out of it?
Main Photo.
