| Green isn't the colour |
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by Derek Putz the Carillon What is the real problem with the Saskatchewan Roughriders? Could it be lack of talent? Lack of heart? Taylor Field? The fans? The weather? Crappy quarterback after crappy quarterback? No. I've decided it's the colour of their threads. Green is a curse. After all, my beloved Roughriders have only amassed two champi- onships in a 96-year history. So, I did some research. Were other green teams experiencing the same pains? Maybe it really is the colour that has been holding the Riders back all of these years. I ventured into baseball first, and quickly real- ized that there is only one truly green team, the Oakland Athletics, and they've had a pretty good history. They've won nine championships in their time. However, the date of their last big victory caught my eye - 1989. Brushing this off as a mere coincidence, I journeyed into basketball. Boston's Celtics were also successful. They have a grand total of 16 championships, but like the A's, haven't had success in the last two decades. Their last was in 1986. The Seattle Supersonics won once in 1979, and the Hornet franchise has never even been close to a championship. Perhaps the luck of the green ran out in the ‘80s? Next, I moved on to the NHL, where teams in Minnesota, be it the Wild or North Stars, have felt heartbreak. The Hartford Whalers were really green, and really bad. Anybody remember the California Golden Seals? They were teal green back in the early ‘70s, and had hall-of-famer Harry Howell, so they must have been good - except that they missed the playoffs every year since moving from Oakland. I guess I was lied to as a child. Who was that kid who said the Golden Seals were good? After finding out that the New Jersey Devils only went on to their dynasty after changing from their Christmasy green and red jerseys in 1993, I moved my search to football. The Eagles and Jets have never won Super Bowls. The Dolphins claimed two in the early '70s before they floundered in the Marino years. However, there are two football teams that have experienced long-term success - the Green Bay Packers and Edmonton Eskimos. The Packers have three Super Bowls, including one under Favre in 1995, and the Eskies have 13 championships. I started to think that green wasn't cursed after all, until I realized that both teams were green and gold. Even the A's have a hint of the good stuff. All of the other true green teams, like my Riders, seem to be cursed, at least since late ‘80s. Apparently, the solution shouldn't be to get rid of the green. We can still have our beloved green Riders, but let's add a tinge of gold for good luck. Then again, the Golden Seals have it right in their name. What ever happened to Harry Howell any- way? |