WATCH: Hamilton sports bar seeks fan seen punching TV after Grey Cup
Published December 15, 2021 at 9:03 pm
First the Hamilton Tiger-Cats failed to punch the ball into the end zone, and then a fan punched a TV screen at the End Zone.
The End Zone Sports Bar & Grill in Hamilton is asking for the public’s help with identifying a man whom it says destroyed a flat-screen television following the Tiger-Cats’ Grey Cup defeat against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Tim Hortons Field. Security footage, time-stamped at 12:38 a.m., shows a young white man in a black jacket, a black-and-gold team scarf and a horned helmet enter End Zone’s foyer and punch the screen. He then turned and left.
The screen-puncher’s acquaintance was wearing a white Ticats jersey with No. 69 on the back, also accessorized by horned headwear.
“Unfortunately the two gentlemen in the video were not happy with the ‘The KNEE’ play in the Grey Cup and decided to take it out on our defenseless 75″ TV located in the front foyer,” End Zone’s post read. “Ideally, we are looking to get a hold of the disgruntled fans ASAP and have a conversation about replacing the damaged screen.”
The post indicated that the bar was only looking to replace the TV, and not press charges.
The host Tiger-Cats were defeated 33-25 in overtime by the Blue Bombers at Tim Hortons Field in the Grey Cup. Two kickoff singles by Winnipeg’s Sergio Castillo, whose team had a stiff wind with gusts of up to 50 km/h at their back in the fourth quarter, helped Winnipeg force the game to overtime.
Many media and fans questioned why Hamilton’s Tim White downed a kickoff to concede a single with 1:52 left in regulation time to extend Winnipeg’s lead to 25-22. White’s choice to take “THE KNEE,” — as End Zone put it — after receiving the kickoff just one yard behind the goal line, set up Hamilton’s offence on the 35-yard line. It also meant that a field goal would only tie the game rather than win it.
Winnipeg head coach Michael O’Shea, a former special teams coordinator, later said that it was the correct percentage play.
Other analyses said Hamilton and White might have made a more costly error on Winnipeg’s previous kickoff. With 5:46 left in the fourth quarter, Castillo’s boot caused White to retreat like a baseball outfielder. He was four yards deep into the end zone when he was unable to make a clean catch.
Helped by the wind, the ball bounced across the backline to give Winnipeg the single. Under CFL rules, though, no point is awarded if a kickoff goes through the end zone without being touched by the receiving team, so letting the ball go might have paid off.
Ultimately, after the second single, quarterback Jeremiah Masoli got the Tiger-Cats down to Winnipeg’s five-yard line. After two unsuccessful plays, including a pass that Blue Bombers cornerback Deatrick Nichols broke up to impede Hamilton’s Jaedon Acklin from making a Grey Cup-winning touchdown catch, Tiger-Cats kicker Michael Domagala kicked the tying field goal.
Winnipeg scored a touchdown and two-point convert in overtime, then intercepted Masoli to seal the championship. The result extended Hamilton’s Grey Cup title drought to 21 seasons, which is the longest in the nine-team CFL.
The damaged TV was not End Zone’s only unexpected expense during Grey Cup weekend. The establishment at 1305 Main St. E. is also facing four fines under the Reopening Ontario Act after a spot visit from Hamilton bylaw officer on Dec. 11. An enforcement fine under the ROA ranges from $750 to $1000, if the alleged offence is proven or admitted.
A business is presumed innocent until that happens.
(Cover photo: End Zone Bar & Grill/Facebook.)
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