BC Lions / Nathan Rourke discussion

[J5V]

When I was a kid we were taught that men/boys don't cry.  Women/girls cry. I realize times have changed.

[TecnoGenius]

The amount of people harping on Rourke?s display of emotion is disappointing.  First off, he?s a kid who feels like he let his team down.

Coach Orlando was crying in the 4th Q -- while the game was still on -- in the 2019 GC.  And crying big time afterwards in his speeches and pressers.  No one blasted him for that.  I noted it and poked fun at him, but not in a "you're accomplishments don't count" way, more in a "nya nya you tried to beat the Bombers" way.

I think very few people doubt that Coach O after the '19 GC loss was still a great coach, just as few people right now doubt that Rourke will be a great QB.

I'm fine with his crying.  I'm also fine with poking some fun at him for failing to beat our D.  Doesn't have to be either/or.  He's certainly not less of a man because he couldn't hold it in.

I think he stayed out to feel what it is like to win the west. Campbell was talking to him the whole time. Motivation for the future, no matter how much it hurt in the moment.  

Ya, he stayed out pretty long, as far as these things go.  That takes more courage than tucking tail and scampering off the field immediately like most losers do.

Hey, I remember AH staying out or coming back out onto the field after the '18 WDF loss in CGY and sitting on the bench alone with his head hanging down.  I'm pretty sure he was crying, too.  Never televised, but I was there live watching him right in front of me, this is after most of the Blue fans had left.  Maybe staying out and feeling more of the pain is the best way to motivate yourself for the future.  Certainly worked on AH: just look at the following year!

[TecnoGenius]

Rourke put up essentially comparable numbers of attempts and completions in his 1.5 years as Streveler did in two full seasons.  So the data for evaluation is comparable.  Moreover, they are different animals.  Streveler is a running QB whom you hope can make the throws.  Rourke can make all the throws, and can also run.  Not as much of a power runner in short yardage, but he can gallop too.

But that was my whole point.  Strevie got his NFL looks precisely because he wasn't an every-down passer.  He fit a niche a couple of teams wanted, to recreate his WPG role.

Rourke will be looked at in the NFL in the same way any "normal" QB would.  That is a far higher bar to face than Strevie did!  Rourke has to look like the next Rodgers or Brady to win a spot.  Not the next <insert limited package running QB name here>.

20 teams interested, and if you've seen any NFL this year, QB talent is thin...

THIS will be the deciding factor.  If NFL is as hard up for QB talent as the CFL is, the Rourke has a great shot.  If it was a normal NFL decade with gobs of promising QBs, then maybe not so much.

My question now is: How did the NFL scouts miss on Rourke at all? (i.e. 1-2 years ago)  None of this was apparent from his college ball or combine results??  BC clearly saw something.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

But that was my whole point.  Strevie got his NFL looks precisely because he wasn't an every-down passer.  He fit a niche a couple of teams wanted, to recreate his WPG role.

Rourke will be looked at in the NFL in the same way any "normal" QB would.  That is a far higher bar to face than Strevie did!  Rourke has to look like the next Rodgers or Brady to win a spot.  Not the next <insert limited package running QB name here>.

THIS will be the deciding factor.  If NFL is as hard up for QB talent as the CFL is, the Rourke has a great shot.  If it was a normal NFL decade with gobs of promising QBs, then maybe not so much.

My question now is: How did the NFL scouts miss on Rourke at all? (i.e. 1-2 years ago)  None of this was apparent from his college ball or combine results??  BC clearly saw something.

No NFL team was willing to give Rourke a shot as a QB, they only wanted him if he would transition to another position.  Just because they're rich doesn't mean they're smart.

[GOLDMEMBER]

When I was a kid we were taught that men/boys don't cry.  Women/girls cry. I realize times have changed.

lol

[J5V]

When I was a kid we were taught that men/boys don't cry.  Women/girls cry. I realize times have changed.

lol

Yes, men seem to cry more than women now.

[dd]

So the guy has 2 NFL teams working him out in a week, more than 2 dozen others interested and he's crying because the team he's leaving to.pursue his nfl dream lost?!? Seems overly dramatic and somewhat superficial/fake to me. If you really cares about the Lions players, don't go to.the nfl and stay there and try and win a championship, leaving and crying because you lost and 'care so much' seems hypocritical to me.

[ModAdmin]

So the guy has 2 NFL teams working him out in a week, more than 2 dozen others interested and he's crying because the team he's leaving to.pursue his nfl dream lost?!? Seems overly dramatic and somewhat superficial/fake to me. If you really cares about the Lions players, don't go to.the nfl and stay there and try and win a championship, leaving and crying because you lost and 'care so much' seems hypocritical to me.

If you put your heart and soul into helping the Lions get to the Grey Cup and miss out in the Western Final like Rourke did, you think his emotion is over dramatic and somewhat fake?  I think you have little understanding of compassion.  You don't know the guy and you suggest he's superficial and fake?  That says a lot about you, not him.

[Sec223]

Almost time to shut down this topic ? Bigger things to discuss. Focus people focus LOL

[GOLDMEMBER]

Almost time to shut down this topic ? Bigger things to discuss. Focus people focus LOL

I agree lets move on. Sick of hearing about the guy frankly.

[Jesse]

Almost time to shut down this topic ? Bigger things to discuss. Focus people focus LOL

Jerks need to be called out and told they're wrong.

[CrazyCanuck89]

People make it seem like Rourke is the first football player to ever cry after a loss.  Go back and watch any playoff game in the NFL, CFL, NCAA, U Sports.

[blue_gold_84]

Tears of joy are one thing... Rourke was not weeping for joy...

So, easier to be callous. Got it.

A show of emotion is a show of emotion. Full stop.

Yes, men seem to cry more than women now.

Nah.

[Horseman]

So the guy has 2 NFL teams working him out in a week, more than 2 dozen others interested and he's crying because the team he's leaving to.pursue his nfl dream lost?!? Seems overly dramatic and somewhat superficial/fake to me. If you really cares about the Lions players, don't go to.the nfl and stay there and try and win a championship, leaving and crying because you lost and 'care so much' seems hypocritical to me.

Maybe he was crying because he knows this was his only chance to win a GC for his teammates like Burnham as Rourke knows he will not be returning to the CFL next year. Maybe, no one will ever know.

[theaardvark]

And this is one of the problems we have in the world right now. We still have a few Neanderthals wondering around. 

My point was in reaction to someone equating Rourke's tears of disappointment to Richard Harris' tears of joy.  I was pointing out they are far from equivalent.

Call me a neanderthal, for watching a sport where elite athletes in peak physical condition try to inflict as much damage to each other as physically possible with narrow confines of legal / illegal hits.  And then question why I would find that a young man who is supposed to lead his team breaking down in tears doesn't quite fit the paradigm.  Sure, emotion is important in sport, but weakness is deadly.  Sorry if i take the tears as weakness, and that I think he should have sucked it up, took it, and said "We will get them next time".  Not sure you inspire your team by turning on the waterworks.  There are far superior ways in the game of football to lead a team, and to declare you have "unfinished business", than weeping openly.

Not sure I have ever seen it before, and definately not to the level shown last Sunday.  Yes, he's still a kid, yes, it was a huge disappointment.  But this is a man's game.  Yup, a neanderthal's game.