My favourite plays

Kelly Bates
CFL.ca

I can easily admit it. No wait, I can’t… I can… I can’t… OK here it goes. I grew up an ardent Saskatchewan Roughrider fan. Hey… that wasn’t that bad. I guess everybody makes mistakes. Ah I’m just kidding around. The truth is I did grow up a Rider fan, and more to the point, a fan of the CFL.

I was one of those kids who had a Rider hat, a Rider shirt and a Bobby Jurasin bandana. I greatly disliked every other team in the CFL, with my greatest discontent being for the hated Eskimos and the great Brian Kelly. That guy seemed to make more big plays against the Riders then anyone I can remember. I could never understand how some little guy could always seem to be able to get behind coverage and catch the long ball for a touchdown every single time I did not want him to!

Big plays are a huge part of the CFL game. With the wide open field and the run and gun style of play that each CFL offence employs, we are very fortunate to see an abundance of explosive plays over the period of a game. Usually the plays that we all remember are the ones that win the big games, the playoff games, the Grey Cup. Every fan has their all-time favourite plays that are etched into their memory and can be replayed at a moment’s notice.

For me, four plays have stuck out in my mind. Three occurred in the biggest of big games in the CFL, the Grey Cup. The fourth, which may be my favourite, showed great football aptitude.

The first play is an easy one for any Rider fan to pick out. It took place during the 1989 Grey Cup game at the Skydome between the Riders and the Tiger-Cats. Dave Ridgeway’s game winning field goal kick with seven seconds left on the clock to win the cup was the highlight of my youth. John Gregory’s reaction to watching the snap, the hold, the kick, and the splitting of the uprights always brings a smile to my face.

Fast forward to our Grey Cup game in 2006. With the game still in the balance and the Alouettes on our 2-yard line and looking to score, Javier Glatt and Carl Kidd came through. Anthony Calvillo handed the ball off to Robert Edwards for a goal line plunge, but he was met by Glatt and Kidd who had propelled themselves through the air over a pile of bodies to make contact with Edwards and cause a fumble and a turnover. That play sealed our Grey Cup victory.

The next play that sticks out in my mind from a game was a long bomb down the sidelines to Eddie Brown of the Eskimos in the 1996 Grey Cup. The ball went through his fingers and looked to be heading towards the ground for an incomplete pass when out of nowhere he was able to kick the ball back up to his hands, all while in a full sprint. It was truly amazing to me that an individual had that type of reaction, speed and mental focus to zone in on that ball as it fell to the ground and bring it back to the safety of his hands for the catch.

And now my fourth play which occurred two weeks ago in a regular season contest between our team and the Alouettes. It was not a game changing play. It did not determine the outcome in any way, shape or form. And upon first watching the play, it occurred to me that I did not even really see what had happened. Baron Miles decided to hurdle the long snapper of the Alouettes on his way to blocking the extra point. It was simply an amazing play on a typically non-amazing PAT. That’s what I love about the CFL. Big plays can happen at anytime.

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.