The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are going to win the Grey Cup in 2019.
Some people (I’m looking at you die-hard Ticats fans) may look at that statement and think I’m bang on, while others (every non-Ticats fan on the planet) are scoffing at my suggestion and calling me a ‘homer.’
The curtain rises on the CFL season Thursday night when Hamilton hosts the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Tim Hortons Field.
Both teams will obviously want to start their campaign on the right foot, but it’s just game No. 1 of 18. The Canadian Football League season is a marathon, not a sprint.
In the past, there have been teams that have rocketed out of the starting block only to fizzle out at some point in the season and miss the playoffs, and alternatively, we’ve had teams struggle in the first few weeks of the season before they catch fire at the right time and make a deep playoff run.
In 2019, the stars seem to have aligned for the Tiger-Cats.
Orlondo Steinauer may be a rookie head coach in the Canadian Football League, but many of Hamilton’s stars — Jeremiah Masoli, Brandon Banks, Luke Tasker, Simoni Lawrence, Ted Laurent and Delvin Breaux — are back for another season and make for one of the league’s most talented crop of core players.
In past years the Ticats had a devilish start to their schedule, loaded with road trips out west and they were never able to bank a few wins out of the gate. This season, the Cats could conceivably enter their first bye week with a record of 4-1, maybe even 5-0 if things really go their way against Saskatchewan, Toronto, Montreal (twice) and Calgary.
Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal are going to fight for second place in the East. Their talent, at least on paper, would suggest that.
So when Hamilton clinches first place in the East Division by the time the end of September rolls around, they will be able to rest some of their key contributors down the stretch. This will be advantageous when the Ticats host the Eastern Division Final and then advance to Grey Cup 107 in Calgary.
Out west, all five teams in that incredibly competitive division will be beating up on each other all season long and will be so black and blue and emotionally spent that Hamilton will be crowned 2019 champions.
I am the first to admit that anything can happen — and usually does — in the CFL, and nothing is guaranteed, but I get the sense that this will be a very special year for the black and gold.
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