âA lot went wrong…â
By Michael Sopow, Sports Reporter
On November 16, the BC Lions ended their 2014 season with a 50-17 loss against the Montreal Alouettes. With a multitude of team injuries occurring throughout the yearâincluding starting quarterback Travis LulayâBC Lions general manager and vice president Wally Buono publicly stated that the injuries played a major part in why the Lions performed so poorly this season.
âWe all have to share in the blame,â Buono said on November 21 during CBC Radioâs the Early Edition, âA lot went wrong.
âWe had a lot of injuries right off the bat. There was (sic) times at training camp we could barely practice because we hadnât enough healthy bodies.â
Besides Lulay, the other significant injury was running back Andrew Harris, who separated his left ankle. With the BC Lions finishing second-last in the west division, Buono stated there needed to be drastic change.
As a result of the dismal season, on November 20, the BC Lions revealed their decision to fire head coach Mike Benevides. âOur football team experienced a very tumultuous season. Still, we believe as an organization that the team we had assembled was capable of more than what we accomplished in the regular season and in the playoffs. In short, we under-performed and failed to meet both our own expectations and the expectations of our fans.â
Though the 2014 season was disappointing, the BC Lions have had some successful seasons in the recent past. In 2006, the BC Lions defeated the Montreal Alouettes to win the Grey Cup. In both 2011 and 2012, the BC Lions finished the regular season on top of the league, winning the Grey Cup in 2011 as well.
One of the reasons that this yearâs season has been of particular interest is due to the fact that Vancouver is set to host the Grey Cup for the 2014 season on November 30. There are roughly 6,000 tickets unsold.
The Grey Cup game will be between the Calgary Stampeders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with festival events lined up throughout Vancouver starting November 26.
