Remembrance disgrace

[maxlion]

...all our countries have veterans and people who have been lost so that we can enjoy freedoms like watching football. Stopping practice for two minutes to observe some silence is not too much to ask.

Presumably if the Germans won, we'd all be forced to watch soccer.

[KnowItAll]

...all our countries have veterans and people who have been lost so that we can enjoy freedoms like watching football. Stopping practice for two minutes to observe some silence is not too much to ask.

Presumably if the Germans won, we'd all be forced to watch soccer.

naah, it is just that only the superior race would be allowed to play and watch pro sports.

[nipper1959]

I was at the Whalley Legion , and I heard the "hut hut " plain as day , probably at 11:01.Whatever time it was, it was during the 2 minutes of silence. I was disgusted. I looked around me, and several people looked to practice field wondering what was going on. There were 2500 + people in attendance there. I am not the only one who witnessed this. After the event was over , I noticed a BC Lions official, and I approached him. He denied that happened, and was very defensive. He said they did stop. According to some feeds on Twitter , they took 2 minutes at 11:11. Hey Lions, that's 11 minutes late. You would think that someone from the Lions would have noticed A. The date on the calendar, B. The 2500 + people standing across the street. C. A parade going right past the practice field. D. Heavily armed Mounties toting machine guns. The proper thing for the BC LIONS to do, should have been to stop practice at 10:50, locked the doors to the facility, walked every one that was on the field, across the street, and participate in the 2 minutes of silence. That would have cost them about 15 minutes of practice time. And they probably would have made some new fans, instead you have alienated some. I'm sure their excuse for that reasoning, would be that they would distract the ceremony. If someone had any brains, they would have pushed practice ahead, or later an hour or so, or moved it to BC Place. I wonder who called that. Total disgrace . I am a huge fan of the Lions, and the CFL, but after that, makes me wonder.

[nipper1959]

Did you actually see them doing this? Were you at the practice field watching them do it?

If not, it's mere speculation.

I was there, yes it happened

[nipper1959]

I wasn't there but practice was scheduled to begin at 11:10 a.m. today so if players were making noise during the two minutes of silence at the nearby Whalley Cenotaph, they were likely doing so on their own.

No they weren't, it was a full scrimmage. Not on their own.

[TheLionKing]

I was at the Whalley Legion , and I heard the "hut hut " plain as day , probably at 11:01.Whatever time it was, it was during the 2 minutes of silence. I was disgusted. I looked around me, and several people looked to practice field wondering what was going on. There were 2500 + people in attendance there. I am not the only one who witnessed this. After the event was over , I noticed a BC Lions official, and I approached him. He denied that happened, and was very defensive. He said they did stop. According to some feeds on Twitter , they took 2 minutes at 11:11. Hey Lions, that's 11 minutes late. You would think that someone from the Lions would have noticed A. The date on the calendar, B. The 2500 + people standing across the street. C. A parade going right past the practice field. D. Heavily armed Mounties toting machine guns. The proper thing for the BC LIONS to do, should have been to stop practice at 10:50, locked the doors to the facility, walked every one that was on the field, across the street, and participate in the 2 minutes of silence. That would have cost them about 15 minutes of practice time. And they probably would have made some new fans, instead you have alienated some. I'm sure their excuse for that reasoning, would be that they would distract the ceremony. If someone had any brains, they would have pushed practice ahead, or later an hour or so, or moved it to BC Place. I wonder who called that. Total disgrace . I am a huge fan of the Lions, and the CFL, but after that, makes me wonder.

Agree

[CardiacKid]

That is unfortunate. Personally, I find it bit of a disconnect between what we witnessed at halftime during the last home game and what transpired at the practice. I am going to hope it was simply an oversight on the Lions management and perhaps the coaches as well; I don't think the players were being intentionally disrespectful.
That being said, I think the Lions should institute a default expectation amongst the organization as a whole, not just the players, that a moment of silence be implemented from now on. I think alerting them to the fact that it would be appreciated by the public at large and not just their supporters, is totally fine and a good step to making sure it happens.

[Hambone]

The proper thing for the BC LIONS to do, should have been to stop practice at 10:50, locked the doors to the facility, walked every one that was on the field, across the street, and participate in the 2 minutes of silence. That would have cost them about 15 minutes of practice time.

I can appreciate the passion folks have about this topic but sorry IMO starting and stopping as you suggest, while being of the utmost respect, would be foolish from the perspective of preparing for Sunday's game. The only realistic alternatives IMO were to start the meetings and practice day so that everything would be over by 10:30 or don't require the players to arrive at the practice facility until after ceremonies are over with the actual on-field practice session starting mid afternoon.

Sounds like this was a full scrimmage type practice which I assume means it was padded. If so it would be the only such practice they are allowed to run this week prior to the most important game of the season to date. The CBA is so restrictive these days for how long practice sessions can be and what they can and can't do during them that teams need to maximize every second available to them. Coaches and players need to be 100% focused on preparing for Sunday from the moment they arrive at the facility until they are showering up after it's over. Interrupting things even for 15 minutes creates a major distraction in the middle of the most important practice session of the week, something this team can ill afford if they expect to succeed on Sunday.

[B.C.FAN]

The proper thing for the BC LIONS to do, should have been to stop practice at 10:50, locked the doors to the facility, walked every one that was on the field, across the street, and participate in the 2 minutes of silence. That would have cost them about 15 minutes of practice time.

I can appreciate the passion folks have about this topic but sorry IMO starting and stopping as you suggest, while being of the utmost respect, would be foolish from the perspective of preparing for Sunday's game. The only realistic alternatives IMO were to start the meetings and practice day so that everything would be over by 10:30 or don't require the players to arrive at the practice facility until after ceremonies are over with the actual on-field practice session starting mid afternoon.

Sounds like this was a full scrimmage type practice which I assume means it was padded. If so it would be the only such practice they are allowed to run this week prior to the most important game of the season to date. The CBA is so restrictive these days for how long practice sessions can be and what they can and can't do during them that teams need to maximize every second available to them. Coaches and players need to be 100% focused on preparing for Sunday from the moment they arrive at the facility until they are showering up after it's over. Interrupting things even for 15 minutes creates a major distraction in the middle of the most important practice session of the week, something this team can ill afford if they expect to succeed on Sunday.

Again, the formal practice didn't begin until 11:10 a.m. so there should have been no conflict. The only area where the Lions appeared to be remiss was in not cautioning the players on the field to be respectful and quiet prior to the official start of practice.

Practice schedule from bclions.com:

Wednesday, November 11
Practice: 11:10 am to 12:44 pm (Surrey practice facility)
Shooting period: 11:10 to 11:27 am
Jeff Tedford media availability: following practice
Player media availability: following Tedford

[sj-roc]

The proper thing for the BC LIONS to do, should have been to stop practice at 10:50, locked the doors to the facility, walked every one that was on the field, across the street, and participate in the 2 minutes of silence. That would have cost them about 15 minutes of practice time.

I can appreciate the passion folks have about this topic but sorry IMO starting and stopping as you suggest, while being of the utmost respect, would be foolish from the perspective of preparing for Sunday's game. The only realistic alternatives IMO were to start the meetings and practice day so that everything would be over by 10:30 or don't require the players to arrive at the practice facility until after ceremonies are over with the actual on-field practice session starting mid afternoon.

Sounds like this was a full scrimmage type practice which I assume means it was padded. If so it would be the only such practice they are allowed to run this week prior to the most important game of the season to date. The CBA is so restrictive these days for how long practice sessions can be and what they can and can't do during them that teams need to maximize every second available to them. Coaches and players need to be 100% focused on preparing for Sunday from the moment they arrive at the facility until they are showering up after it's over. Interrupting things even for 15 minutes creates a major distraction in the middle of the most important practice session of the week, something this team can ill afford if they expect to succeed on Sunday.

Again, the formal practice didn't begin until 11:10 a.m. so there should have been no conflict. The only area where the Lions appeared to be remiss was in not cautioning the players on the field to be respectful and quiet prior to the official start of practice.

Practice schedule from bclions.com:

Wednesday, November 11
Practice: 11:10 am to 12:44 pm (Surrey practice facility)
Shooting period: 11:10 to 11:27 am
Jeff Tedford media availability: following practice
Player media availability: following Tedford

Hambone makes an interesting point but FWIW it seems the Stamps interrupted their Wednesday practice for a silence.



(aside: those end times of 11:27am and 12:44pm seem highly specific)

[Sir Purrcival]

I had other reasons to be in touch with the Lions over the last couple of days and I have broached this topic with them. What I can tell you is that they are aware of it. What if anything will come from that, is unknown but it was suggested to them that Twitter is probably not the best forum to reach out to people regarding this. In all honesty, it seems like someone, somewhere just dropped the ball without intending any disrespect. Hopefully they are just taking time to figure out the most appropriate response and steps to prevent such things from happening in future.

[WestCoastJoe]

Practice schedule from bclions.com:
Wednesday, November 11
Practice: 11:10 am to 12:44 pm (Surrey practice facility)

I think the Lions had the time down correctly, with appropriate respect in place. But the result was sloppy. Practice was intended to start at 11:10, well after the important time. But players always come out early, and get to work.

Detailed planning and execution were needed. Some choices.

1. Stay in the locker room until 11:10.

2. Go to the recognition ceremony and participate. One year I stood near Wally Buono and Ricky Foley at the ceremony across the street.

3. Do what the Stampeders did. Stop practice and show respect for all of those who serve to gain and hold freedom in the world.

Somehow on the watch of Skulsky, Buono and Tedford, the poor demonstration happened.

[WestCoastJoe]

I had other reasons to be in touch with the Lions over the last couple of days and I have broached this topic with them. What I can tell you is that they are aware of it. What if anything will come from that, is unknown but it was suggested to them that Twitter is probably not the best forum to reach out to people regarding this. In all honesty, it seems like someone somewhere just dropped the ball without intending any disrespect. Hopefully they are just taking time to figure out the most appropriate response and steps to prevent such things from happening in future.

An idea ...

Stop a practice at 11:00 am and show the necessary respect (or get out there early at 11:00 am and show respect). Soon. Show the same respect as one shows for the National Anthem. Just a quick idea, but I think the team has to do something.

Bud Grant with the Vikings did not allow his players to free lance it during the National Anthem. They rehearsed where to stand and how to stand. Same for team photos. Planned and executed. Detailed planning.

[sj-roc]

I had other reasons to be in touch with the Lions over the last couple of days and I have broached this topic with them. What I can tell you is that they are aware of it. What if anything will come from that, is unknown but it was suggested to them that Twitter is probably not the best forum to reach out to people regarding this. In all honesty, it seems like someone, somewhere just dropped the ball without intending any disrespect. Hopefully they are just taking time to figure out the most appropriate response and steps to prevent such things from happening in future.

I agree — in all likelihood it's a case of Hanlon's razor.