By: Justin Boone
The Silver Lining
On July 1, the Executive Director of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame Mark DeNobile had a front row seat for the best Canada Day fireworks display of his life. Only his seat was empty.
The fireworks came in the form of Taliban missiles that were raining down in Kandahar, at the Canadian Forces base that DeNobile had accompanied the Grey Cup to on it’s visit to Afghanistan.
While overseas, the Cup was involved in a variety of celebrations on the airbase, allowing troops to see it in person and giving them the rare opportunity to take a photo with the CFL’s ultimate prize in a location more devoid than the prairies.
On Canada Day, it was tucked away, and safe from the attack. DeNobile, on the other hand, found himself face down in the sand as the ground underneath him rumbled with every detonation.
“Don’t worry, you didn’t hear the whistle come in. When you hear the whistle, it’s close enough,” he was told by one of the troops after they had fled to a bunker.
The trip, put on in association with the Department of Defence, also had Hall of Famer Roger Aldag, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Roughhriders Steve Mazurak, comedian Mike McDonald, and of course George Canyon’s group, who had their Canada Day concert interrupted.
“The Taliban must have known the George Canyon band was coming,” joked DeNobile.
As soon as the enemy-strike ended, the Canadian troops responded with their own pyrotechnics show, provided by Canadian Attack Helicopters and F-16’s.
“I’ve never witnessed anything like this before,” explained DeNobile. “I don’t know how the troops do it. They just go out there day in and day out and get the job done. They’re a tremendous group of people, and thank god we have them.”
“When you arrive over there, you basically sign your life away because it’s a theatre of war. If you’re killed, your body is sent back to the base in Trenton, Ontario in a flag draped coffin because you’ve made the effort to go there and risk your life for the troops. You’re treated as one of them now.”
Despite the fireworks, luckily the only flags that came back on DeNobile were of the patches and pins varie
ty.
“I’m getting e-mails now from soldiers thanking us for showing up. They look at it as Groundhog Day, so when they get a break from a visit to see the trophy or just to talk to you about how their team is doing this season, it’s a relief for them.”
The photo accompanying this story will proudly be placed on the wall in DeNobile’s office. If you ever find yourself at the Hall of Fame, I highly recommend asking him about the trip.
“It’s something that you leave and it starts affecting you two or three weeks down the road. When you see those things and then you’re sitting back here worrying about season ticket sales, it puts it in perspective.”
The Ins and Outs
(Storylines from around the CFL)
In The Cards – The Riders have faced injury after injury this season, and now Matt Dominguez is lost for the year, and possibly longer, but somehow they have been able to pull horseshoes from…well let’s say they’ve been lucky. The Riders will be hard-pressed to continue the kind of undefeated success they’ve enjoyed thus far, especially hosting the Stampeders this week.
Pulled Out Of The Fire – Former Ticat JoJuan Armour made headlines this week for all the wrong reasons after the CFL ruled his ejection was unwarranted. The linebacker is known for his fiery personality, but he was clearly pushed into the official in last week’s contest. Thanks to the CFL’s admission, Armour won’t miss any games and will be able to participate in the aforementioned game against Saskatchewan.
Missing In Action – Speaking of former Ticats, CSIS has located Tay Cody and he’s returned to the Alouettes. Cody disappeared early this year prior to training camp and failed to report to Montreal. Hopefully we will see Tay back on the field when the Ticats play the Als on October 4.
Pull Out All The Stops – After suffering an injury two weeks ago against the Tiger-Cats, Jason Tucker was able to walk into the Eskimos dressing room before their game last week. His presence gave the team an emotional boost as they beat the B.C. Lions 35-24, and surprisingly moved into a second place in the West.
Easier Said Than Done
(Quote of the Week)
“They really were able to run against us. We can’t afford to forget about that and I don’t think we will, to be
honest.”
Argos linebacker Michael Fletcher helping to ignite the rivalry as the Boatmen get ready to face the Tiger-Cats Thursday night. The Ticats ran over the Argos in the second game of the season, and even with Jesse Lumsden out this game, their rushing attack is still the best in the CFL.
Follow The Leader
(Leaders from CFL and the Ticats)
CFL Rushing – SSK Wes Cates – 102 carries, 632 yards, 7 TDs
Ticats Rushing – HAM Jesse Lumsden – 63 carries, 443 yards, 5 TDs
CFL Passing – MTL Anthony Calvillo – 156/231, 1,979 yards, 16 TDs
Ticats Passing – HAM Casey Printers – 77/121, 987 yards
CFL Receiving – WPG Romby Bryant – 27 receptions, 580 yards, 3 TDs
Ticats Receiving – HAM Scott Mitchell – 16 receptions, 299 yards
CFL Tackling – SSK Anton McKenzie, MTL T.J. Hill – 36 Tackles
Ticats Tackling – HAM Rontarius Robinson – 33 Tackles
CFL Interceptions – B.C. Barron Myles – 4 INTs
Ticats Interceptions – HAM Chris Thompson, HAM Rontarius Robinson, HAM Jykine Bradley, HAM Sean Manning – 1 INT
CFL Sacks – B.C. Lions Cameron Wake – 6 Sacks
Ticats Sacks – HAM Darrell Adams – 3 Sacks
Let me know your thoughts on the week by sending your e-mails, comments, or questions to jboone@ticats.ca
