By: Justin Boone
jboone@ticats.ca
As kids we dream of playing in the Grey Cup, the World Series, the NBA Finals, and the Stanley Cup. Our backyards and ponds are transformed into stadiums and arenas, and every kid on the block takes his turn pretending he’s the one that scores the fourth-quarter touchdown, hits the homerun in bottom of the ninth, drains the last-second basket, or nets the game winning goal.
For some, that childhood fantasy one day materializes and those lucky few find themselves on the ultimate stage at the most important moment of the season. But for the rest of us, and I include myself in that pack, we come to realize along the way that our athletic careers peaked on the playground.
Which brings us to an unsung group in pro sports, Eternal Free Agents.
Everyone in that second category has had a moment when they realize that for the rest of their lives they’re going to be a free agent for every sports league out there. Whether it be football, baseball, basketball or hockey, they’re going to remain on the market, unsigned forever.
My Eternal Free Agent moment came this past weekend at the CFL draft combine as I stood on the field amongst the prospects who were running through their drills in front of the scouts in attendance. It suddenly dawned on me that these players are younger than I am. They’re coming out of University and College, many of them on the cusp of CFL careers, about to attain that schoolyard dream of playing sports for a living.
It was as if in that instant I realized that the World Junior Hockey Championships are played by teenagers. That Sidney Crosby is 20 years old, and Lebron James, despite looking 40, is actually 23.
When I mentioned my revelation to a friend, he laughed and said, “It’s taken you this long to figure that out?” Turns out my buddy, came to grips with his EFA status when he was 18, while watching a soccer game with his dad.
Coming from an English family, the two of them always took in England’s International matches, but this game marked the debut of young star, Michael Owen. My friend’s dad wasted no time pointing out that Owen was only 18 years old, the same age as my buddy, to which my friend sarcastically responded, “Yeah, but he’s not starting.”
Maybe we like to put our pro athletes on a subconscious pedestal to help us forget that if it came down to it, they would dominate us in a pickup game. A point that’s often driven home on the show Pros Vs. Joes.
In elevating them to that superstar social level, we forget that that underneath the helmets, behind the masks and under the ball caps, we’re dealing with real people. They go through everyday chores like pumping gas, going to the grocery store, and shoveling snow. They eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, although there might be a fourth or fifth meal in the day for some of the lineman.
Sports stars may become celebrities in their own right, and may look superhuman at times on the field, but all of us started out in the same place, as children hoping to one day be in the big leagues.
And as I watched the draft hopefuls this weekend in Toronto, I couldn’t help but realize that each one of them has a unique personality. From the comical, to the confident, to those who are just downright anxious to make an impact on the scouts, each one of them is still a student looking to excel at the most important job interview of their lives. Test well and you’re one step closer to making that childhood dream come true.
So with St Patrick’s Day now behind us, let’s have one final toast to all of us, the Eternal Free Agents of the world. We’ll never make it onto a roster, but you can bet we’ll be filling the stands of the stadiums and arenas, sporting the jerseys of our favourite players, and secretly waiting for the day when a key injury forces the coach to turn around towards the crowd, point us out and throw us into the game.
That’s the great thing about being a free agent, there’s always a chance.
When was your eternal free agent moment? Send your e-mails, comments, or Ticats questions to jboone@ticats.ca
Easier Said Than Done
(Quote of the Week)
“The bottom line of what you’re trying to do is learn as much as you possibly can about a potential player in a short window of 48 hours and see if he’s the kind of guy you think who can help your team be successful. It’s not all just raw physical skills, you want to find out a little bit about the young man as an individual, his family background, his education, his goals and what makes him tick.”
A great breakdown of the CFL Evaluation Camp thanks to Charlie Taaffe. The Ticats brass was well represented in Toronto over the weekend, with more football operations people on hand than any other team, aside from the hosting Argos.
In Case You Blinked
(News from the Week)
Just in case you aren’t sure, the CFL Draft Evaluation Camp was this past weekend, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from the amount of coverage it received. Recently hired TSN analyst Duane Forde did a solid job, but aside from TSN there was a surprising lack of media in attendance. I understand that the event took place in Toronto, one of the busiest cities in our nation, but there’s really no excuse. The Raptors were off Saturday and away in Sacramento on Sunday and the Blue Jays are still Florida for spring training, so I guess every writer was at the ACC watching the golf-course-bound Maple Leafs play the Sabres. The best way to get excited about the CFL Canadian Draft is to get to know the prospects coming out, so it’s shame that the mainstream media failed to give these young guys a chance to showcase their personalities.
