TORONTO - It won’t matter if the roof on the Dome is open today or not.
Look out Rogers Centre, Toronto Argonaut fans plan to be so loud they’ll blow it off.
Home openers are like that. The fans, the players are all jacked up and excited about the prospect of a new season and a chance at perhaps getting to and winning the Grey Cup.
Of course all of that will unfold in due course. First things first. The Argos are 1-2 in the first three road games of this young Canadian Football League season, which means a win here Saturday will put them even.
You know they will be motivated.
At 4 p.m. the Boatman and the Bombers of Winnipeg will do battle. But while there will be lots of action on the field, there will also be loads of action off.
And that includes lots of fun before the game.
There is a pre-game tailgate party starting at 1:30 p.m. outside Gate 11, complete with a licensed area with musical entertainment and a barbecue sponsored by Marc Angelo Foods.
Also on hand for pictures will be the beautiful Argos cheerleaders at the Toronto Sun photo wall.
If that’s not already enough, members of our brave Canadian Forces will be honoured. In fact 700 of them and their families are expected.
The national anthem will be performed by the 32 Canadian Brigade Group Band and the Navy Flag Party from HMCS York, Coin toss duties will be handled by the Scotiabank Kid Captain, as well as Brig.-Gen. Fred Lewis and Chief W/O Stan Stapleford.
What a big day planed. But there’s more.
Also to be recognized at the game will be recently retired Argo Adriano “The Kissing Bandit” Belli for his community work through his Big Kiss Fund and David McGuire who on behalf of those who have suffered brain injuries is running a marathon a day across Canada. And after the game the See You on the Field program will kick in where fans can come down and meet the players and get pictures and autographs.
There will also be an official post-game party at Jack Astor’s, 144 Front St. W.
You will see a lot of double blue downtown Saturday. And you may notice the cool new caps and shirts — a product of New Era. I was talking to some people in from Texas who were looking for some Argos stuff to bring home and I sent them over to New Era at 202 Queen St. W, where there was a big party this week with players like Jordan Younger, Claude Wroten, Andre Durie, Chad Owens, Mike Bradwell, Ron Flemons and Dominic Picard modelling the new fashions.
The new merchandise is pretty cool and as a once Argo water boy I must say I am pretty thrilled to see the young people wearing it as much as they do the NFL colours.
The CFL deserves it and so do the Argos which are in their 138th year and have won 15 Grey Cups. This day is all about the fans.
“As part of Fan Appreciation Day, the first 15,000 fans in attendance will receive a Toronto Argonauts ‘All Hands On Deck’ rally towel,” says the team’s news release. “There will be quarterly giveaways for entire rows throughout the game through the Ultimate Fan Contest. Perhaps most exciting of all, one person who attends the Argos home opener will become the first person to be guaranteed a pair of tickets to the 100th Grey Cup game.”
That’s right, next year’s Grey Cup is the 100th and will be at the Rogers Centre and one of you going to this game will be also going to the historic match in November 2012.
But there will be a lot of football played before that.
It will be a decision based on heat and rain about one hour before the game whether it will be indoors our outdoors.
You can tell by all that’s going on, it doesn’t really matter.
Have a great time at the game and a terrific weekend everybody.
Scrawler out.
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