Sharon Higgins
CFL.ca
My journey with Tom started on the football field. We took our regular morning jog to the field where each day Tom and I interval trained prior to him reporting to the Buffalo Bills training camp. Upon arrival there, you can imagine my surprise when he pulled out an engagement ring from his cleats (which I had been carrying!) and in a very traditional way got down on one knee and proposed.
Little did I know then that the football field, the bleachers, cleats and morning workouts would all be a large part of my life with a football guy.
Since then, I have been blessed with the opportunity to stand beside him during his career in many different roles. I have been a player’s girlfriend and wife, a coach’s wife, a GM’s wife and now the wife of the Director of Officiating.
Many years, many stories, many memories and many thoughts to share. Oh yes and on the day Tom proposed… we forwent the workout and walked home.
THE SMELL OF FOOTBALL IS IN THE AIR
Every Labour Day Tom says, “The smell of football is in the air.” Cooler mornings prevail; a light crinkle of frost covers the field before morning practice and players and coaches start the gradual layering of clothes to keep the chill away during practice. All of the weekend’s games signify the pivotal point in the season where teams start to jockey for playoff positions. We’re now on the “other” side and the countdown to the end of the season begins.
At the beginning of the season, when 18 games loom in front of you, it seems forever. Then somehow magically, this point of the season comes so quickly.
Labour Day weekend conjures up about 20 or so years of memories. I’m certain our family is one of very few that have had the extreme privilege of participating in the Labour Day Classic for both the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos. How easily our allegiance flip-flopped back and forth from red and white to green and gold and then back to red and white!
It didn’t matter what side you were on, the stakes were the same. Win!
The intensity and drive to win this game is more than the Grey Cup game itself. The veteran players start the head games long before preparation week. They know the pressure to take this game like no other. Looking for the edge. They coax the rookies to understand this provincial battle and to sense the lingering odor from the win or loss in last year’s Labour Day game.
Every player and coach who have journeyed this path will try and down play it’s worth, succumbing on the inside to the severe butterflies that exist. The euphoric feel of a win is like no other and the rock hard agony of defeat is equally like no other. It truly is the battle of mind, body and Alberta.
Sharon Higgins is the wife of Tom Higgins, the CFL’s Director of Officiating.
