Well, that was rather enjoyable. So much so that you probably don't need us to tell you - either you're europhic or, um, you're not. But having been at Ivor Wynne for this one, a few passing observations:

• In the spirit of all the harmony at the very friendly pre-game tailgait, we'll spare you the usual smug Torontonian observations about Hamilton. Just one question, though: Is Steeltown the only city in North America where the scalpers are vastly more clean-cut than the fans?
  

• Not to pat ourselves on the back, but we've been remarkably restrained in not poking fun at any unusual aspects of Jason Maas' appearance. After all, that would be juvenile. But then, kids are supposed to be a bit juvenile. So the real surprise wasn't that the very young Ticats fan in front of us said something when Maas' photo appeared on the scoreboard; it was that his exact words were "Hello, Mr. Big-Eared Fellow." We were so taken with his polite verbiage that it didn't occur to us to suggest that maybe he still shouldn't be insensitive about people's appearances. And besides, if we'd done that we would've missed his subsequent suggestion that Maas would soon be flying out of the stadium.

• Courtesy of some very good seats with the Friends of the Argonauts, we got to see all sorts of interesting goings-on on the Argos' bench: The fiery leadership of Jonathan Brown and Jerome Davis... the interaction between Pinball and his players...the endearing grin on David Azzi's face when he heard a few fans chanting his name...the slight discomfort on Damon Allen's as a whole lot more chanted his. We'd be remiss, though, if we didn't make note of one thing that deeply disturbed us: Ricky Williams in Crocs. Unless this was some sort of misguided tribute to Steve Irwin, there's simply no excuse for a grown man to be wearing Crocs. Not even yoga can explain this one.

• If we were Ticats fans, we'd almost be longing for Danny McManus at this point. But that might just be because we miss watching him take about 47 minutes to walk from the sideline to the huddle, pausing along the way to catch his breath and contemplate whether he has time to get a donut and a beer before the play clock runs out.

• It was really very nice - if slightly random - of Steve Mariucci to turn up for Damon's record-breaking moment. But how long do you think it took for a frantic Bob Young to offer him his entire fortune to take over the coaching duties for the L'il General? We're guessing it was right around the end of the third quarter.
  

• Okay, one more thing about Hamilton. Having driven through Steeltown en route to the game, is anyone else having a little trouble figuring out where the slick "downtown loft" Mike Morreale lives in might be?

• Paper bags over the head are one of those things - like scowling kids giving the thumbs-down to rival players - that we thought only happened in bad sports movies. We now know otherwise. And somehow, we don't think Ticats fans are viewing what happened last night as "a step forward."