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Post by CRASHER on Nov 16, 2004 9:54:29 GMT -5
Roughrider fans dump manure on kicker's lawn after missed field goal
Updated at 23:37 on November 15, 2004, EST.
REGINA (CP) - Add Saskatchewan's Paul McCallum to the list of Scott Norwood, Bill Buckner and others who have paid a nasty price for a costly mistake on the playing field.
McCallum missed two field goals, including the potential winner in overtime, in a 27-25 loss to the B.C. Lions in the CFL West final Sunday in Vancouver. Within hours, eggs had been thrown at his home, manure dumped on his lawn and he had been the target of threats.
"We're taking it very seriously," said Regina police spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich. "I think everyone is really dismayed by this sort of event."
But it was McCallum who was saying sorry.
"I'd like to apologize," McCallum told the Regina Leader-Post on Monday. "I feel terrible about the outcome. I do blame myself. What bothers me is that the attention has been taken off a good performance by my team, minus my performance, and on to this ridiculous situation that has taken place."
Popowich said the first call reporting that the kicker's house had been pelted with eggs came in about an hour after the game was over. While McCallum's wife was out cleaning up the mess, a second vehicle used a neighbour's driveway to pull up and dumped the manure.
Shortly after that, another vehicle passed by and the people inside allegedly uttered "threats against the property of the home owner," Popowich said.
She would not elaborate on the threats.
Regina police subsequently charged Mark Conrad Lehmond, 31, with uttering threats. He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 15. The investigation continues.
"This is a very sad day for the Rider nation," Roughriders chairman Garry Huntington said in a release. "We have earned an enviable reputation right across Canada as having the classiest and most passionate fans.
"To have this reputation shattered by an act of wanton vandalism has resulted in an outpouring of outrage from hundreds of (fans) who have condemned this act as an isolated incident carried out by thugs who are not Rider fans."
Saskatchewan's politicians even weighed in on the issues, with MLA Glenn Hagel rising in the house to offer McCallum support.
"I would ask all members to join with me in condemning the actions of a few and in offering our support to Paul McCallum and his family," Hagel said.
B.C. kicker Duncan O'Mahony said Monday he'd been trying to get hold of McCallum to offer his support but hadn't been able to reach him.
"That's a classless act and it's really unfortunate," O'Mahony said as B.C. prepared to leave for the Grey Cup in Ottawa. "Paul is a great guy. I hope those people, they get them."
McCallum, 34, is the latest in a line of athletes to pay the price for a costly error.
Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal with second remaining that would have given the Buffalo Bills the win over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV in 1991. The ball went wide right and Norwood, despite a fine record with the Bills, became a championship goat.
McCallum's overtime miss was from just 18 yards out, compounding the disappointment.
"I didn't do my job," McCallum, who crumpled to the turf and lay flat on his back holding his helmet with his hands after missing the kick, said after the loss.
"I pulled it. I was trying to hit it straight. I mis-hit it. I let a lot of people down, especially the guys in this locker-room."
Following the miss, O'Mahony booted a 40-yard field goal for the win and a ticket to the Grey Cup.
As in Buffalo, fans in Saskatchewan were starved for football success. The Riders had won six of their last seven and had a good shot at heading to the Grey Cup for the first time since 1997 - and for only the ninth time since 1950.
After the game, Saskatchewan general manager Roy Shivers came down hard on McCallum.
"It's fair to blame (McCallum)," Shivers was quoted in the Leader-Post. "It's a team game, you're supposed to do your job. All I ask is for everybody to do their job. He didn't do his job today."
"There was nothing wrong with the snap, nothing wrong with the hold, I don't want to hear that," Shivers continued. "We had 39 other guys busting their ass off and we get let down."
But head coach Danny Barrett offered support.
"Let's make this perfectly clear: it didn't come down to (McCallum)," Barrett said. "We had more than one opportunity."
The actions of the angry few were strongly rebuked by the Leader-Post.
Columnist Rob Vanstone pointed out that it was a last-second field goal by McCallum against Hamilton in September that kept the then 4-8 Roughriders in the playoff hunt.
"If the Riders had not won in Hamilton, they might have kept spinning out of playoff contention," Vanstone wrote. "And now he is Saskatchewan's version of Bill Buckner - or so his detractors would have you believe."
Buckner was the Boston first basemen who, in 1986, let a ground ball roll between his legs at the worst possible time. The Red Sox went on to lose the championship to the New York Mets in seven games.
McCallum was born in Vancouver, but now makes his home in Regina. He has been a mainstay on the Roughriders roster since 1997.
"Paul and his family have been an important part of this community for over seven years," said Huntington. "They live here, work here, raise their family here and are making contributions every day to our city. . . .
"This is not who we are. We win together. We lose together and we cannot express strongly enough how sorry we are over this incident."
SaskEnergy, McCallum's employer during the off-season, will unveil a giant card Tuesday for employees and members of the public to sign. It will later be delivered to McCallum's family.
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