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Ottawa Redblacks achieve ninth consecutive sellout of first season, as honeymoon phase remains intact

Ottawa's Marlon Adams (98) runs with the ball Friday with Hamilton's Marc Beswick (3) and Craig Butler (28) in pursuit (The Canadian Press)
Ottawa's Marlon Adams (98) runs with the ball Friday with Hamilton's Marc Beswick (3) and Craig Butler (28) in pursuit (The Canadian Press)

Ken Hobart, wherever he is, might have been wise  to run an absentee campaign for mayor of Ottawa.

He might have got a few votes, going solely by the stretched-out, "Hooooo-bart!" chant Redblacks supporters broke out this season when quarterback Henry Burris and Ottawa's first-year offence really struggled. Evoking the name of a long-ago Rough Riders backup who played a pair of seasons in the capital, 25 years and two defunct teams ago, serves to sum up how the CFL's return to Ottawa has gone over well during the past few months.

Being in on that joke involves being enthusiastic and engaged with the CFL, while also being attuned to the reality of the Redblacks, who came into a league that was less generous that initially advertised about allowing a first-year team to contend. Yet the Redblacks managed the rare feat, especially for an Eastern Division team, of selling out all nine home games. That became official after the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group announced a crowd of 24,101 at TD Place during Friday's home finale against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, where Ottawa lost 34-25 to fall to 2-15.

Nine for nine. Burris and backup Danny O'Brien, who both threw pick-six touchdowns to the Ticats (8-9) in the second half, should be so efficient. So should kicker Brett Maher, who is a dynamic punter but did shank a 29-yard field goal in the first half.

The positive vibes persisted throughout a trying season for a number of reasons.

The Renegades, who lasted only four seasons (2002-05), were unable to break out beyond the bubble of the diehard Ottawa football fans whom OSEG president of sports Jeff Hunt once said "would sit on tacks" to watch the CFL. That team also came into being while the wound left by the original Riders folding in 1996 was still fresh. A skein of losing seasons in an aging stadium, under two different ownership groups that didn't inspire much confidence, contributed to the team's demise.

The extended absence stoked the craving for the CFL's return, which also synced up with the CFL becoming a much more stable league than it was in the bad-old-days of the 1980s and '90s, when there were crises in 8-of-9 Canadian cities and the short-lived U.S. expansion. With Hunt fronting the OSEG group and the municipal government having invested in postcard-perfect TD Place, CFL games became a place to be the capital for the first time in generations.

Every gameday saw a stream of fans in red and black streaming along Bank St., several wearing their game tickets around their necks on lanyards. That was primarily for convenience and security, but it reflected a civic pride, wanting the whole neighbourhood to know they were going to the game.

Support beyond the diehards

Support from the Gatineau, Que., side of the river, where the Renegades once reportedly sold a whopping 22 season tickets, was also strong. The emergence of a budding Quebecois star, rookie linebacker Antoine Pruneau, certainly strengthened that connection.

Point being, it feels like a first-rate operation, notwithstanding Redblacks' not-for-a-lack-of-trying struggle to play a full four quarters. The reception, both in ticket sales and the rituals that sprouted among the regulars, reflected that. There was the traditional jocular, "North side sucks!" ... "South side sucks more!" back-and-forth between TD Place's dueling grandstands. And one could always look forward to seeing a section of Southside supporters calling, "Move those sticks!" while signalling a first-down, even in fourth-quarter garbage time. And — perhaps you had to be there to appreciate this — there was the sight of hundreds bopping along to House of Pain's Jump Around during a fourth-quarter TV timeout on Friday. It was a reminder that this was also a young crowd, also much more comfortable for the female football fans who were alientated during the second Glieberman era in 2005.

All three of those changes are a welcome sign.

The first season, though, was always going to be a honeymoon. When there are no expectations and the team hasn't accumulated baggage, it should be an easy sell. The best gauge, though, is often the eyeball census — how often you see people on the street wearing the colours on the street. The chainsaw logo is much more ubiquitous than the Renegades' was nearly a decade ago. That's enough reason to hope this is more than a passing fancy.

The sizzle is strong. The football part, the steak itself, proved undercooked, with the offensive line and receiver groups often proving most deficient. Ottawa's final offensive snap of the night offered an unneeded, unwitting reminder of that as Burris threw an end-zone interception to linebacker Simoni Lawrence with 1:31 left. On the return, the veteran quarterback attempted to tackle the 228-pound linebacker and got trucked by Lawrence for his trouble, right in front of the bench of the team he left to become Ottawa's first big-name free-agent signing.

It was determined, dogged, ultimately unsuccessful, and eager to be back for more. That about wraps it up.

Minutes later, hundreds of fans were on the field. The first few were there as part of 'Jerseys Off Our Back' promotion. Soon enough, many more streamed out to snap selfies, rough-house and make a memory of a year that felt so right, even as anything that could go wrong on the field invariably did.

And they won't have to worry about whether there will be a next year. That is also different and part of why the third time will be the charm for the CFL in Ottawa.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.