Wow…wow…I mean, wow!  It seemed like all the stars were aligned for us this past Sunday from 2 pm to 5 pm.  Our special teams played great again and helped out both the offense and defense in the field position battle that is so important in the CFL.  Our defense played out-of-this-world with 8 turnovers, something that usually only happens when you play John Madden’s football on rookie mode on Playstation 3.  The offense did really well too and credit goes to both coaches and players.  Coach Lapo did a great job at keeping the Bombers guessing and for the most part we executed the plays he called pretty well all game long.  Some of their players got a little frustrated in the 2nd half which led to a few “dust ups” and it seems that I’m always in the middle of some of those “dust ups”.  Late in the 3rd quarter, as a play ended I turned around to see my linemate (and good friend) Chris Best on the ground, being punched in the helmet by one of their players.  So I decided to investigate the situation a little further by running over there and drill that player off my friend, which for some odd reason resulted in a little altercation between the two teams.  The only part I remember is that this player was then trying to rip off my helmet while I was “tapping” him in his “unrestricted area” (I have to keep it PG-13).  After the game I talked to my fiancée, mom and dad and they all asked me the same thing: “Are your ribs ok?”  I was a little confused as to why they were asking me that until I found out that another one of their player had jumped on top of me and was punching me in the ribs (he got ejected for that anyways).  Truth be told I didn’t feel a thing and I want to thank my parents for that because had they not fed me so much when I was young I wouldn’t have this extra thick layer of fat protecting my ribs and those punches might have hurt me but thanks to my Oreo-stuffed-protective shield I came out unscathed.  Speaking of altercations, I want to wish Belton “Crash” Johnson a quick recovery and hope he gets back out there soon because I know he would have been right next to me in that dust up.

    So how does a player feel after a big win like that?  Or after any win?  Obviously we’re extremely happy that all that hard work paid off but speaking for me personally, I can’t ever fully enjoy a win because I start thinking of the plays I should have done better on.  For example, two weeks ago I played a really good game and out of 65 snaps I had 2 bad plays, one of which resulted in a sack because I thought I had inside help on a pass play when I didn’t.  I don’t get why I feel like he got the best of me when 63 out of 65 times I kicked his butt…is it the strive to be perfect?  And this past game, I had no major mistakes but I could have done better on a few plays that, for example, might have resulted in a run going for 20 yards instead of just 10 yards.  Why is it that a defensive lineman is said to have had a good game if he collects 1 sack and few tackles when for 60+ plays he was blocked and not close to the play?  That’s the funny thing about football and the game within the game.  Every player strive for the perfect game and I am no different and next week is just another chance for me to try and do so, just like I have since my first game ever back in 1995 with the Cardinal Gibbons Redskins.

    I really missed the usual bus trip we take to Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl this year.  For some odd reason, we decided to fly there and back this year and got to see a little more of this beautiful country by flying to Calgary first and then Winnipeg…makes sense though, go west before going east.  The bus trip, which would have been quicker anyways, is always a good time for team bonding and I sure hope they bring it back next year.  For those who watched the game, you may have noticed that Cates fumbled on one of his touchdown runs and yours truly recovered it in the end zone.  The officials say he was down before the fumble but I’m gonna appeal that with the league to have it changed to my touchdown and then try to get that ball back from Winnipeg so I can bronze it.  I offered Wes to try and quiet me down about this situation by paying me off but as of press time he wasn’t cooperating…make an offer Wes, anything with ice cream will do!...and I tell you my friends, I’m not making this stuff up…

Marc Parenteau #57