Bomber fans use Facebook to call for coach's head
Blue Bombers coach Mike Kelly has become the target of a Facebook group that emerged in the aftermath of Sunday's blowout loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Winnipeg Stadium.
The site, Fire Mike Kelly, already had more than 600 members on Monday afternoon. It says it is devoted to "anyone who gets sick to their stomach watching a team coached by Mike Kelly."
The Riders routed the Bombers 55-10. That game, nicknamed the Banjo Bowl, was a followup to the miserable outing the Bombers had one week earlier in the Labour Day Classic, which they lost 29-14 to the same Riders.
On Sunday, a number of Bomber fans, embarrassed by their team, were sporting bags over their heads by the game's third quarter and booed their team at times. Others held up signs calling for Kelly's dismissal, which prompted most of the cheers in the second half.
After the game, Kelly took the criticism in stride.
"Those people are having some fun. They pay for that and their tickets and they have every right to have their opinion, and I understand their frustration," he said.
Fans on the Facebook site are venting in various ways, from expressing anger to calling for boycotts of future Bomber games.
"That was the most embarrassing game I have ever seen. We have no quarterback, and there is no one out there. I think that we need to fire his butt out of the end zone cannon. This season is a writeoff anyway," wrote Donald Peleck.
Added Warren Kowalson: "Anyone that was at yesterday's game should call the Bomber office today for a refund."
The demeanour in the Bombers locker room following the game mirrored the mood of the fans.
"It was very, very embarrassing," defensive end Gavin Walls said. "I almost want to walk out of here with a bag on my head."
Defensive end Doug Brown said, "It's just ah, one of those games [where] you're just like, wow. And you are, just, like go back and start over and regroup, 'cause ah … there's nothing to build off of," said
The loss puts the Bombers at a record of three wins and seven losses for the season, good for last place in the East division.
Their next game is this coming weekend against the Montreal Alouettes, who sit atop the East division with a record of 8-2.