From the Jaws of Victory...

...defeat is snatched! 

If there is anything that tells you that we live in Hamilton, it's knowing that we almost had an opportunity to have a great stadium for the world to see.  And there are plenty of mistakes that Fred Eisenberger et al will have to pay for:

• Minimizing the role of the Tiger-Cats and classifying them a minor stakeholder
• Planning a stadium site without due diligence
• Planning a stadium without a design
• Failing to consider all possible locations to the point that the location of choice is one that has been in the works since 2003
• Allowing Chad Collins to get away with removing the Confederation Park option.  I hope your voters are in a cranky mood in October, Chad.

Now while we hope the city council will be paying for their mistakes at the ballot box, we know that they will be re-elected anyway.  Now we will pay for the decision we made in electing the clowns that sit in council.  We lost what could have been a terrific stadium.  And we lost because we allowed the city council and them alone to determine the site of the stadium.  We never had a good discussion because it was a foredrawn conclusion and we knew it.  Nobody talked about the price we'd pay for building it and the price we will now pay for losing it.

So thank you city council and thank you Hamilton Tiger-Cats for allowing us to lose what could have been a magnificent stadium.  They can redeem themselves here and now if they take those designs that the Whitestar Group have been kind to bring to us and build that on the East Mountain.  The Whitestar design is still the best possible outcome for our new stadium.

For now, I don't want to see any lame design of some stupid park.  I don't want to hear anyone talking about the East Mountain.  I don't want to hear anyone talking about the West Harbour.  I don't want to hear anyone talking about community building or urban sprawl.  I don't want to hear any noise at all.  I don't want to hear any legacy BS or some sustainability BS or parking spaces or anything else about the stadium.  The worst part about this three day weekend, is the fact that I won't be working during that time so I will have this on my mind all weekend long.  This whole thing was a debacle from the beginning and so as a debacle it ends.

Now excuse me while I go get drunk.  This is too damn depressing.