Here's a draft of the story that will appear in tomorrow's Spec. Sometimes, on days like today, I just love this job and this game.

By Drew Edwards

Paul Osbaldiston's favourite Ivor Wynne Stadium memory doesn't include any of his record-setting performances. It isn't even his iconic, game-winning 54-yard field goal in the 1998 East Division Final that sent the Ticats to the Grey Cup. No, Osbaldiston's favourite memory of Ivor Wynne happened just last year – and there wasn't a soul around to see it.

“I was driving by with my young sons and the gate to the stadium was open. We snuck in and ran around, played a little game of football,” said Osbaldiston, who played 18-seasons with Hamilton. “To live the life as a player and then to translate that into life as a father, it really was a special moment, as big as anything I did on the field.”

Osbaldiston was one of several former Ticat legends on hand Tuesday morning as the team announced its season-long plan to celebrate the final year at Ivor Wynne. The stadium, built in 1928 to host the British Empire Games, is set to be demolished in late 2012 to make way for a new facility on the same site.

The team has secured another Hamilton icon – Tim Hortons – as a primary sponsor and the coffee chain will be featuring cups, Tim Cards and doughnuts with the new commemorative Ivor Wynne logo at over 200 locations around the region.

Ticat fans will also have the opportunity to select the greatest players to ever suit up for the team. Starting in June, online voters will be able to make their picks for the all-time Tiger-Cats team, choosing from a pre-selected field over 120 players. The winners will be presented at a special ceremony at the regular season finale on Oct. 27.

“It's going to be almost impossible to pick that team, there are so many guys that are worthy,” said Osbaldiston, who is one of the few virtual locks. “It's very daunting and I'm glad I don't have to do it.”

Ticat president Scott Mitchell said most of the team's plans are centred around making sure fans get an opportunity to say goodbye to the old stadium in a way that's meaningful to them.

“As much as it's about the stadium, it's really about what's gone on inside the stadium,” Mitchell said, who first came to the stadium in the late-70s when his father Doug was the colour commentator for Calgary Stampeder radio broadcasts. “I think a lot of people want the opportunity to come here and remember the experiences they had through the years.”

Former linebacker Bob Krouse certainly has his share of recollections. Raised in Hamilton, he remembers being wowed as a young man by Olympic-calibre athletes performing in what was then Civic Stadium. He went on to have a 13-year career as a Ticat and says his greatest on-field memory came in the 1972 Grey Cup game when his blocked punt set up an early score.

“I went right up the middle. I remembered to cross my hands which is a good thing otherwise I would taken it right in the face,” said Krouse, who was wearing the championship ring he earned that day on Tuesday. “It was a great game for me, a great memory.”

But even Krouse, who along with running back Willie Bethea will be inducted onto the team's Wall of Honour this season, said that his connection with the stadium has as much to do with family as it does with football.

“When they put the turf in for the first time, I got a picture of me and my son – he's still got the picture hanging in house,” Krouse said. “Those are important memories too.”

Osbaldiston started his family after his football career was finished and says one of his greatest joys was one that thousands of other fathers and sons have shared at Ivor Wynne – taking his oldest son Evan to his first game. It happened just two seasons ago.

“We sat up in an area by ourselves and if people recognized me, they didn't say a lot. He came to the ballpark and had a day with his Dad, just like every kid does,” Osbaldiston said. “It was just perfect.”