It could be that 'Sorry, we're unable to,' is the right answer.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away and know when to run

You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table

There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealing's done

Wisdom comes from many sources. Some surprising. (I had to laugh when I found a Muppets version of this Kenny Rogers hit.)

I think that the first two lines of the chorus to 'The Gambler' as noted above hold a lot of potential wisdom for Hamilton City Council.

Further, Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan also speaks volumes when in 'Magnum Force', when he declares 'A man's got to know his limitations.'

Several months ago now on Raise the Hammer, I posed the question 'How horrible a proposition would it be to have to tell the Pan Am Games organizers that in regards to our commitments to the Games, "Sorry, we're unable to"?

To most people, the problem with this scenario is a loss of face. Humiliation. Becoming 'the laughing stock of Ontario, if not the entire country.'

Bollocks.

But what's intriguing to me are the number of people who screw around in similar ways with the presumed ramifications of not having the West Harbour be the chosen site, or of destroying the priceless relationship with the Ti-Cats (and by extension, the loss of the Cats themselves.)

Riiiiight.

As I've been saying repeatedly, a) decisions made in desperation are almost always fraught with crapitude, and b) a clear-cut sign of maturity is to be able to understand when to say 'Whoa!'

I think that both elements are in need of being acknowledged in the stadium brouhaha.

As of right now, I have little confidence that we're going to be able to fulfill our commitment to the Pan Am Games. That is, there will be no stadium built. Which means that some other community will have to step up. (Rest assured that the Games will not be under threat through any of this. It might get ugly, Hamiltonians might end up bowed psychologically, but that's not the same as dying.)

The end result? Anger. Frustration. A deepening sense of disillusionment with City Council. And a further perceived descent into the abyss known as 'Things Can Only Get Worse'.

So?

Let's suppose the 'worst' happens. Let's suppose that we end up with no stadium project. What does this mean?

Well, from the City's end, it means that maybe, just maybe, there'll be an added sense of urgency to address those issues that haven't really been addressed with as much oomph as they could have been. Downtown revitalization. The West Harbour and its 'Setting Sail' mandate.

From the Ti-Cats end, it means they're going to have to reassess and reconsider their options, given how pressing Bob Young's needs were during the negotiations.

From the public's end...

I think this is the most vital of the post-débacle ramifications, the most important of the three groups. Because the Ti-Cats are going to be looking after their needs, their priorities. City Council will be endeavouring to weather another election, and to find small ways to make the best of the fallout of what amounts to a travesty. (I dread to think what these 'small ways' might be; even applying the smallest amount of mental energies possible results in me throwing up in my mouth a little.) The only group that's poised to actually increase its status and stake in the game...is us.

But only if we continue to generate the groundswell of pro-action, of activism, and have it shift to genuine engagement with our government. As I've suggested in this series.

I think we've learned over the past two decades that in Hamilton anyway, it's not enough to vote councillors in and then hope for the best. If we really want to see change happening in Hamilton...and I'm talking about downtown revitalization, West Harbour revitalization, north-end revitalization as opposed to other projects that clearly have their own champions, and are in motion to varying degrees...in fact I'm even talking about a re-imagined Ivor Wynne Stadium...then once we're past all the recriminations and self-righteous indignation that will result from everything going south so badly, we're all going to have to be prepared to ask the following question, and then do something about our answer:

'What do we want?'