The Anatomy of Schadenfreude Part 1
Darrell Davis Nov 4 2010
By being approachable, emotional and quotable, Eric Tillman has shrewdly befriended many of the journalists who cover the CFL.
Even before he spent 40 months as the Saskatchewan Roughriders' general manager, building the team into a Grey Cup contender and 2007 champion, he was regularly taking those friends to task for not including his insight in their articles.
"Sometimes," he would be told, "we don't want your opinion."
This is one of those times. Another nasty e-mail is likely on the way.
Tillman has been living in Regina, in a beautiful home that has just been sold, despite being hired in mid-September as the Edmonton Eskimos' general manager. Tillman could have driven the family car to his team's next game, on Saturday, when the Eskimos visit Mosaic Stadium for a regular-season finale against the Roughriders. Saskatchewan is 9-8 and will play host to the West Division semi-final Nov. 14, but a four-game losing skid has left its fickle fan base bemoaning Tillman's departure this year. An Edmonton victory - or a loss by the B.C. Lions earlier on Saturday - will qualify the Eskimos for that semi-final. Tillman has been publicly praising his new team and claiming that, although he's expected to be in attendance, the game Saturday has nothing to do with him.
Why did Tillman leave the Roughriders? Sometimes he wonders that, too. When Tillman was hired in 2006, he vowed to clean up the tarnished image the team had acquired with its behaviour on and off the field. To his credit, and helped by Grey Cup-winning coach Kent Austin, Tillman made the Roughriders a proud franchise. He stockpiled Canadian talent and made shrewd personnel moves, dumping overpaid players who were past their primes. No players got into trouble, as far as the media knew.
But guess whose name appeared first on a court docket.
Tillman's.
After pleading guilty to summary sexual assault for an incident at his home with his family's babysitter, Tillman could no longer work for the community-owned Roughriders, even though he received an absolute discharge and had his record cleared.
Between jobs, Tillman vowed he would again become a CFL general manager.
"Two teams want me," Tillman said, and sometimes his media friends wondered about that.
He simply can't stay out of the limelight. He relishes the notion of building a football team. He wouldn't listen to anyone advising him to take a low-profile job in the United States. He could have become a player agent. Instead, he proudly displayed the room in his house where he worked meticulously to keep track of every CFL team's personnel. For a break, he would walk through nearby Wascana Park with members of the Roughriders' staff, sometimes enduring the taunts of punks who would recognize his big glasses and shock of spikey red (now greying) hair, or he would visit with friends. While sipping a pineapple juice one evening at a Regina restaurant, he started crying when talking about his wife and family and the hardships he has put them through.
The Eskimos have won five of seven games since Tillman joined them. They were a desperate team in a death spiral, having jettisoned Danny Maciocia as their GM this season, when president Rick LeLacheur made the controversial decision to hire Tillman, who had been the GM for the B.C. Lions, Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Renegades before joining Saskatchewan.
Although there was a fan backlash in Edmonton, Tillman deserves another chance. He has strengthened the team's talent while assessing head coach Richie Hall, a good friend and former Roughriders assistant whom Tillman twice passed over while hiring head coaches in Saskatchewan.
Know that Tillman doesn't stay long. Although he vows to settle into one place, his flame burns brightly and quickly. After another newspaper column tried discerning why he wears out his welcome so quickly, he threatened to file suit against one of his media friends.
Tillman won a Grey Cup everywhere but Ottawa, where his power was usurped by a floundering franchise. Only enemies don't believe he will win another in Edmonton, and then move along.
Special to The Globe and Mail
By being approachable, emotional and quotable, Eric Tillman has shrewdly befriended many of the journalists who cover the CFL.
Even before he spent 40 months as the Saskatchewan Roughriders' general manager, building the team into a Grey Cup contender and 2007 champion, he was regularly taking those friends to task for not including his insight in their articles.
"Sometimes," he would be told, "we don't want your opinion."
This is one of those times. Another nasty e-mail is likely on the way.
Tillman has been living in Regina, in a beautiful home that has just been sold, despite being hired in mid-September as the Edmonton Eskimos' general manager. Tillman could have driven the family car to his team's next game, on Saturday, when the Eskimos visit Mosaic Stadium for a regular-season finale against the Roughriders. Saskatchewan is 9-8 and will play host to the West Division semi-final Nov. 14, but a four-game losing skid has left its fickle fan base bemoaning Tillman's departure this year. An Edmonton victory - or a loss by the B.C. Lions earlier on Saturday - will qualify the Eskimos for that semi-final. Tillman has been publicly praising his new team and claiming that, although he's expected to be in attendance, the game Saturday has nothing to do with him.
Why did Tillman leave the Roughriders? Sometimes he wonders that, too. When Tillman was hired in 2006, he vowed to clean up the tarnished image the team had acquired with its behaviour on and off the field. To his credit, and helped by Grey Cup-winning coach Kent Austin, Tillman made the Roughriders a proud franchise. He stockpiled Canadian talent and made shrewd personnel moves, dumping overpaid players who were past their primes. No players got into trouble, as far as the media knew.
But guess whose name appeared first on a court docket.
Tillman's.
After pleading guilty to summary sexual assault for an incident at his home with his family's babysitter, Tillman could no longer work for the community-owned Roughriders, even though he received an absolute discharge and had his record cleared.
Between jobs, Tillman vowed he would again become a CFL general manager.
"Two teams want me," Tillman said, and sometimes his media friends wondered about that.
He simply can't stay out of the limelight. He relishes the notion of building a football team. He wouldn't listen to anyone advising him to take a low-profile job in the United States. He could have become a player agent. Instead, he proudly displayed the room in his house where he worked meticulously to keep track of every CFL team's personnel. For a break, he would walk through nearby Wascana Park with members of the Roughriders' staff, sometimes enduring the taunts of punks who would recognize his big glasses and shock of spikey red (now greying) hair, or he would visit with friends. While sipping a pineapple juice one evening at a Regina restaurant, he started crying when talking about his wife and family and the hardships he has put them through.
The Eskimos have won five of seven games since Tillman joined them. They were a desperate team in a death spiral, having jettisoned Danny Maciocia as their GM this season, when president Rick LeLacheur made the controversial decision to hire Tillman, who had been the GM for the B.C. Lions, Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Renegades before joining Saskatchewan.
Although there was a fan backlash in Edmonton, Tillman deserves another chance. He has strengthened the team's talent while assessing head coach Richie Hall, a good friend and former Roughriders assistant whom Tillman twice passed over while hiring head coaches in Saskatchewan.
Know that Tillman doesn't stay long. Although he vows to settle into one place, his flame burns brightly and quickly. After another newspaper column tried discerning why he wears out his welcome so quickly, he threatened to file suit against one of his media friends.
Tillman won a Grey Cup everywhere but Ottawa, where his power was usurped by a floundering franchise. Only enemies don't believe he will win another in Edmonton, and then move along.
Special to The Globe and Mail
..." -Looner
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