Kelly Bates
CFL.ca
In 1986 Bob Ackles, fresh off of a Grey Cup Championship, departed south for the National Football League. Until Mr. Ackles return to the CFL and the BC Lions in 2002, our game seemed to be missing that voice of strength and reason that promoted the CFL and the BC Lions with great pride. That is not to say that our league has not had its great people to build and strengthen it. One need not to look any further than an individual such as Pinball Clemons to see what one person can do for the CFL, but nobody did it in such a way as Mr. Ackles. He promoted our game with its main selling point… it is the game of Canadian Football.
The beginning of the 1980’s had shown great promise for the CFL. Attendance numbers were up for the League as a whole and a multimillion dollar advertising contract was signed to further promote league growth, accessibility, and awareness. League attendance had reached a new all-time high for regular season games at over 2.8 million people. At the conclusion of the 1985 season the CFL was heading towards a downturn and although Bob Ackles had just won a Grey Cup championship as the General Manager of the BC Lions, his days in the CFL at his current post were dwindling.
Mr. Ackles left the BC Lions while the organization was at that top of its game. In 2002 he returned to a league that was struggling to put people in the seats in two of its major markets; BC and Toronto. He realized that without success in BC the CFL would cease to exist and a game he had grown with and loved would no longer be enjoyed by Canadians from sea to sea.
Mr. Ackles set forth to rebuild the game of football in BC from the grassroots up. During his second tenure with the BC Lions the average attendance increased from just over 18,000 per game in 2002 to over 32,000 per game in 2007. One man’s direction and insight into how an organization should be run and how a league should promote itself has been pertinent to the success of the BC Lions and the CFL over the last six years.
Mr. Ackles willingness to step forward and speak out against NFL expansion into the Canadian market further demonstrated his great love for the Canadian game, while still showing his great respect for the American game.
As a current Lion, I am able to experience day in and day out the pride that has been restored to the Lion’s organization. Mr. Ackles was a selfless individual who did everything he could to ensure the Lions and the CFL succeed. Now that we have lost Mr. Ackles again, we must learn from our past without him in the CFL to move forward with him in our thoughts. We must all champion our league and our game the way Mr. Ackles had his entire life.
Kelly Bates has been a regular starter along the BC Lions’ offensive line
since 2003. He was a 2007 CFL All-Star and played his 100th career game
in Week 3.
