How early impressions, made a lasting impression for one little girl.
Saturday was my eldest’s second visit to Ivor Wynne Stadium. Browsing through some old images of her last trip to Ivor Wynne, going by her uncanny resemblance to our two year old (or vice versa), I realized it had already been two years since the first time daddy shared this very special place with his then little girl.
Now almost four, packing for our day trip was much less laborious. No stroller, no thermos full of warm milk, no toys, diapers or any such supplies. Just a camera, binoculars, and a big foam Tiger claw.
Dressed in our Oskee wee wee best, hand and hand without a care in the world, we walked over to the game early to enjoy the family day inflatable festivities at the adjoining Brian Timmins Stadium prior to the game.
“Look at that daddy” she admired, pointing over and beyond King George School at the stadium lights that shoot high above the rooftops.
“That’s where we are going, honey”, I smiled. If the anticipation of taking my girl hadn’t been enough, the excitement in her voice as we neared Ivor Wynne, had me grinning from ear to ear.
Before we left, my daughter had drawn a picture that she wanted to give to the ticket person at the football game. She handed it to the woman at the Will Call window, who with a big smile, expressed that ‘they don’t get many drawings’, and how ‘the walls could use some color’.
My daughter shyly smiled, but then started to cry; big sad tears and all. Apparently, daddy’s choice of footwear; purple Dora the Explorer Crocs, were not all that suitable for our 20 minute walk over to 75 Balsam Ave. She had a blister on her ankle from where the strap had rubbed up against her bare skin.
The very kind and sympathetic Will Call employees scrounged around in search of a band-aid, meanwhile a couple of sincere cheerleaders stopped to ask my daughter what was the matter. She stopped crying and looked up at the two girls standing over her with big, bright smiles. I imagined to her, they were like princesses which of course, are any girls favourite.
The game was still an hour-and-a-half from kick-off, and the Tiger-Cats organization had already turned a negative “I want to go home”, to a positive “I just met a princess” and “I have a new band-aid”.
TC (Tiger-Cat), one of two mascots (and our oldest), would be my daughters next positive impression at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Well, first was the balloon lady who made her a pretty flower, but as we rested in the grass amongst the inflatable carnival, she nervously watched on and up, as hoards of people surrounded her and TC, for some photo opportunities.
My daughter had been scared of both TC and our other mascot, Stripes, at her first ever game, and two years later, there was still a bit of an uneasy reserve as TC stood next to her. When he walked by her though and moved on to the next crowd of admirers, a giddy smile returned to her tear-filled face. Suddenly, forgetting her boo boo, she watched his every move as he wondered around the Brian Timmins grounds. For the rest of the day, she would continually ask me where the Tiger-Cats were. To her, the players on the field were just a bunch of men running around the field. TC and Stripes were the Tiger-Cats.
The injury kept my girl from enjoying the bouncy pre-game festivities, so we headed back into the stadium, found a bench under the bleachers, and enjoyed a hot dog before the game.
Carrying my wounded warrior, we headed up to our section 30 seats, and settled in with plenty of time to go before kick-off. Of course, the 5th largest outdoor video board in North America was the first thing that caught her eye.
“Daddy! Look at that.”
I took the camera out and the two of us spent the rest of the afternoon taking turns documenting our game day experiences.
There was so much for her curious eyes to take in as she looked around the stadium, first noticing the parachuter’s. She couldn’t understand why someone would willingly jump out of a plane, although she got a kick out of all the excitement as they made their way to centre field.
She admired the other planes from the Wartime Heritage Museum as well, never having seen an airplane fly so close to the ground except at an airport. Even I thought that was pretty cool.
The flag ceremony is impressive for adults and children alike, and my daughter loved seeing all those people holding onto the edges and gathered underneath the Canada flag that spanned the better part of the length and width of the field. It reminded her of a game her and her classmates played in her pre-school.
My shoeless babe had all but forgotten about her wound by this time, and was in awe of all the people and excitement surrounding her. The cheering, the music, and the Tiger roar. “Row!”, I always say to my girls at home. “Tiger-Cats.”
I am trying.
Just before half-time, we escaped downstairs for a bathroom break and some sight seeing. My daughter got quite a kick out of the many characters that make up the game day crowd, from funny wigs, a ‘big man’ on stilts, cheese heads, and of course, the now infamous (corn on the)‘Cobb’ heads inspired by our star running back, DeAndra’ Cobb.
“Look daddy. That man has cheese on his head.” I can only imagine what was going on in my little girls mind, as she took all of this in. When you really pause for a moment and look around, the football crowd is quite a motley crew.
“That’s silly”, she concluded with an equally as silly chuckle.
Later on in the game, I remembered that I had brought my binoculars and from that moment, the search was on for TC and Stripes. She knew where one or the other were pretty much the rest of the game.
“Look daddy! I found the Tiger-Cats.”
Besides her endless search for the striped mascots, another early game day impression had my daughter pointing to the Cheerleaders dancing on Tiger Vision and on the field, every time it was their turn to dance.
“Those are the girls you met before the game. Do you remember?
“Ya daddy”, she said with an exuberant smile.
Although the opening day return of the Tabbies wasn’t the outcome the home crowd had anticipated all winter long, Marcus Thigpen once again kept fans on the edge of their seats for the second week in a row, with a kick return to the house, and a second TD on offence. He has certainly become an early fan favourite this year.
We waited until most of the crowd exited, before making our way downstairs and back over to the inflatable carnival. After testing out a couple of ‘rides’, we grabbed a drink for the journey home.
It was nice being able to walk to the stadium together, and to enjoy rare moments between my big girl and I.
The day could have ended before it really began, but thanks to a certain Will Call lady and two very pretty and concerned cheerleaders who took a moment to comfort my little princess, it was a remarkable day for daddy and daughter.
Thank-you, Ticats.
One more cherished Ivor Wynne Stadium memory on what was another Beautiful Night(afternoon) for Football.
Daugher’s view of the game
