By Rod Pedersen,
CFL.ca
Like most Regina kids, Greg Treble grew up idolizing the Saskatchewan Roughriders and dreamed of one day playing for them.
His football exploits took him pretty far, starring with the high school Martin Monarchs before spending four seasons with the junior Regina Rams as a starter on defence playing both linebacker and defensive back, winning a national championship.
However when his goal of playing for the Riders dried up, he entered the business world. In 1998, his career took him to Edmonton where he worked as a sales rep with Molson. Over time, he moved into a role at Molson where he worked closely with the Eskimos and Oilers. It was then that he met Eskimos’ COO Rick LeLacheur and it wasn’t long before the football club lured him away from the beer company. Just a few seasons later, Treble found himself running the business side of the Esks as director of business operations.
It’s ironic, because there’s no more heated rival for the Roughriders than the hated Edmonton Eskimos.
“I joined the Eskimos in 2003 and we won the Grey Cup at Taylor Field that year,” said Treble. “Although it was a little odd especially since I spent so many years cheering the Riders on there, it did feel great. By the start of the ’04 season, I was an Eskimo and have been ever since.”
Treble’s father Gary is a dyed-in-the-wool Rider fan who has spent many years as director of the Rams and to this day coordinates the massive 50/50 operation at Rider home games which benefits the junior team.
“I’m glad for his sake,” said the eldest Treble. “His colours are green and gold but mine are green and white. Something happened to him during his lifetime that made him change colour. We have some good fun with it and have some good chuckles.”
Does it bother ‘Trebs’ that his Dad pulls for his hometown team over his son’s?
“My Dad has always been extremely loyal and for that reason I respect his decision. We do have a lot of fun joking back and forth about the Riders and Eskimos. I guess it would be a little boring if I didn’t have the chance to bug him every time we beat the Riders!”
In the City of Champions, Danny Maciocia runs the football side of the Eskimos while Greg Treble takes care of pretty much everything else. That includes sales, sponsorships, customer service, the Team Store, merchandise, I.T. and game day operations.
It appears to be a match made in heaven.
“The Edmonton Eskimos are a great organization to work for,” explained the younger Treble. “They treat everyone very well and the people I work with are fantastic. I always say that I am very fortunate to have a job that I am passionate about, but also the fact that I am surrounded by great people.”
All kidding aside, Gary Treble is proud of his son who, like many others, headed west to Alberta to prosper.
“It feels good and I’m glad he got a break in life and hopefully it’ll continue. I don’t know where he gets his business sense from because I’m a retired cop. But he knows what he’s doing.”
And with the Roughriders set to visit Edmonton Friday night planning to knock the Eskimos out of post-season contention, don’t be surprised if it turns into an old-fashioned family feud!
Rod Pedersen is the Voice of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Regina correspondent on The Score. Check out his daily blog at www.rodpedersen.com.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
