When you lose a game of football you can feel one of two ways.
You can be satisfied that you played your heart out and left it all on the field or you can be frustrated that you were dominated and didn’t quite play as well as you would have liked.
Our loss on Saturday was the latter. No one wants to lose but sometimes it happens. In the last four years, we haven’t had many significant defeats but Saturday’s was one that particularly stung.
I have to say I was particularly frustrated, having lost a yard rushing as my total. That does not reflect well on you as a running back. As a first-season full-time starter in the CFL, you quickly learn that people will try to lay blame in one place or another, mine being the most visible job that was not being done well enough to win.
Football, however, is a team sport and it is never one person that succeeds or fails — it is a team effort. When I am trying to gain yards, it is not just me but my teammates making their blocks that my job is contingent upon.
Sometimes, though, it does not work, for whatever reason. Those are the hardest times to deal with.
As I said, it is a team effort and you should never call out another teammate. I myself had a poor game vs. Saskatchewan, everyone does have an occasional poor game. I came into the BC game looking to improve and deliver a great game for the fans but it is important to note that no player is ever beyond report. I failed in that regard, despite my own weak performance the previous week I mentioned my dissatisfaction with some of my teammates.
As a player, that is something you shouldn’t do because they’re trying to succeed as much as you are.
I apologize — I have to say I feel pretty bad about some of the things I mentioned. There are things that should be talked about publicly but, in this case, my thoughts should have been kept to myself. I lost my cool and while that is an excuse, I can ensure that that will not happen again.
I treat every day as a learning experience and this has certainly been one. One just has to accept that some will hate you for your numbers if they are weak. That is why I can only promise to keep working hard to help the Calgary Stampeders be a winning squad.
With all that said, despite the loss we did have a great success on Saturday night. The Purolator Tackle Hunger program managed to collect 138,000 pounds to feed Calgary’s hungry. That is a massive accomplishment, one that I am proud to be a part of.
Thank you Calgary for all your support, both on the field and off.
Jon Cornish, #9
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