The Edmonton Elks have been flirting with the wrong side of history for far too long. At long last, The Elks charged antler-first into Commonwealth Stadium to take on the very defensive BC Lions in what would be a defining and long-awaited moment in Edmonton Elks history.

   This week in The Turnover, we look at what went wrong for the Elks in attempting to even score on the BC Lions in what was a rather disappointing night for Edmonton Elks fans.

GAME DAY VIBES

   On Saturday, we woke up with no expectations for the Edmonton Elks. We celebrated Game Day by listening to our favourite songs and smoking pork belly for our fellow fans visiting our stall #44 for the Tailgate Party. With a mad scramble, we made our way to Commonwealth and got set up. At 3:00 PM, we opened our Tailgate Stall for smoked pork belly sandwiches, SpEEker's Corner and Tailgate Trivia, the usual lineup for The Elks Herd. We met Taylor Cornelius' mother and wife, saw our fellow fans and even received gifts in new Game Day Gloves and pasta sauce from some amazing folks. While this was happening, rising Albertan country music star Hailey Benedict rocked out the Tailgate Party, adding to the vibe of Lot A. The Tailgate Party is never a bad time, despite what happens inside of Commonwealth.

GAME TIME

With drinks in hand and no expectations, we settled in to watch what would be the wrong side of history. Usually in this segment, we give you a quarter by quarter breakdown. We can go back and watch the highlights but I personally don't even care to look. From kickoff until the time we had to leave, due to a migraine, the Edmonton Elks could not string a successful drive together if their lives depended on it. No field goal attempts, many punts and a team that looked deflated on offense. On defense, the Elks would get sacks and stop the ball, but the offense could not move the ball within scoring range, thus wearing the Edmonton defense down. Zero visits to the end zone, zero points on the score board, zero hopes of a win once the second quarter wrapped up. When our two boys were asking, "When can we say move those sticks," you know it was bad. Generally children are just there to have a good time, but when the kids are noticing the lack of scoring and cheering, it's bad. The boys even got in on the booing which was the loudest the building has booed in our existence as fans. The BC Lions would win 27-0 and with that, Edmonton Elks fans showed their frustrations. When we left, we thought the defense had scored a touchdown, however the score would be reviewed and reversed. Overall, a terrible game that punctuated a North American Sports losing record, 21 games in-a-row at home.

CHANGES INCOMING

After securing the record and hitting rock bottom as a football team, General Manager and Head Coach Chris Jones has announced on Monday that Stephen McAdoo will no longer be involved with the Edmonton Elks offense, handing all Offensive Coordinator duties with title to Jarious Jackson, who most recently had success as the OC for the Toronto Argonauts in 2021. It's also worth noting that Jackson was a quarterback himself, so he knows what it's like to be on both sides of the player-to-coach relationship.
   Another change that was announced on Monday was a change at quarterback, with Canadian Tre Ford and American Jarret Doege sharing the starting role when the team comes back from their bye week. Taylor Cornelius has been moved to QB3 which, for his own confidence, is most likely the right choice. Every EE fan is hoping that these changes are what's required to get the offense back into a scoring mentality.

FOR FANS FROM FANS

   This was another tough game. To not care after halftime was a sad moment in my EE fandom history. It's not too often that your team hits all-time lows and with not much for hope, this team was looking at changes whether they wanted them or not. The following day after the game, we had a chance to talk with Chris Jones for a couple minutes. He had indicated changes were coming and that he appreciated the support. I'd much rather have a chat with Coach Jones when the Elks have a winning record, home wins and even home touchdowns, but for Sunday, hearing him say those words gave us the slightest bit of hope. On Monday he delivered by moving McAdoo far away from the mess he created by designating him as a Defensive Advisor, effectively putting him under very close watch by Chris Jones. This team can't fire anyone, we need to make this clear; The CFL Operations Cap has this team's hands tied for the next few years. Seeing a change at the Offensive Coordinator position is what this team and fanbase needed the most, and the offense can't get much worse than what it currently is.

ON TAP: BYE WEEK

   The Edmonton Elks are currently on their bye week getaways and staycations. The Cornelius family, Jake Ceresna and a few others are in the mountains this week while Chris Jones is reporting to Commonwealth Stadium every day to make sure the ship gets righted. The sad but true fact at the end of Week 8 is that the Edmonton Elks are 3 wins away from a playoff spot in a 9-team league. This bye week is extremely important for the Elks as Labour Day inches closer. Buckle up for a wild week of speculation, sports fans!

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