BLEEDING TRICOLOUR: RAIN'S COLD, FROSH

Being too old for the Great Homecoming Gong Show is just as well.

It's all about the game on this end, always has been and always will be. Now, there is a 70% chance it will rain Saturday when our Queen's Golden Gaels take the Waterloo Warriors behind the woodshed at Richardson Stadium. So the Big Yellow Guys better score early and often for the sake of the members of the Class of 2011.

Those Frosh Week coveralls aren't waterproof, so standing out in the rain for a prolonged stretch without having a chance to do an Oil Thigh after a touchdown can make for some freezing froshies. Take the afternoon of Oct. 19, 1996. Playing Laval on a typical Kingston fall Saturday (i.e., it started pouring shortly after dawn and didn't let up), the Gaels didn't get into the end zone until the fourth quarter (Paul Correale on a 78-yard run). By that point, my arms were too numb to be raised in celebration. The coveralls had soaked up so much water that I probably arrived at the stadium weighing 195 and left weighing 210.*

So yeah, if Dan Brannagan or Mike Giffin wants to put a couple touchdowns on the board early, that would be nice. Waterloo has shown little ability to stop the pass (OUA-worst 9.18 yards per pass against) and Brannagan had an encouraging outing last week vs. the Ottawa Gee-Gees, who are kind of known for defence.

The Gaels never seem to quite do what is expected so this will probably be closer than expected, maybe a seven- to 10-point win for the good guys. Waterloo can threaten a bit through the air with Sean Cowie, the Gaels have had ball security issues that could be exacerabated if it rains and the offence still isn't going great guns. Anyway, it should be a good time without having to try to recreate the last days of Saigon down on Aberdeen St.

(* We won't leave the stadium on Saturday weighing 210, sadly.)