Rick Moffat
CFL.ca
By the time Ben Cahoon and Anthony Calvillo showed up, the tree cracking through Molson Stadium’s north-side grandstand was uprooted. Many Als fans joke U2 deserves most of the credit for forcing the exodus out of stifling Olympic Stadium, culminating with the inauguration of the newly-renovated Stade Percival Molson including a south side upper deck. But the truth is, this is the house “Velcro Hands” and “AC” have built, all due respect to Bono and The Edge.
Post-concert stage teardown conflicted with the 1997 crossover Eastern Semi-Final. Despite a grey sky and the threat of rain, Als fans embraced the old school ambience and revelled like they were warming up for the next frat meeting with Will Ferrell. Als President Larry Smith and owner Robert Wetenhall saw evidence enough in the beer sales that day. At the time, Ben’s NFL dream was crashing and burning. Anthony’s CFL dream was melting in Steeltown.
Winning isn’t everything, but it sure has refuelled the love of the great outdoors in Montreal. Going into the 2010 home opener, the Als had not lost a game at “The Bird’s Nest” since 2008. Since moving fulltime in Molson for the ’98 regular season, the Als’ winning percentage there is .769 in regular season (compared to .606 overall at various homes since the club’s birth in 1946).
Calvillo to “Cahoooooooooooon” has become the signature chant by fans. The future hall of famers put in as much labour as anyone wearing a hardhat. As a rookie, Cahoon had drawn comparisons to hall of famer Terry Evanshen by the time the team broke training camp that year. Cahoon didn’t know who that was. But the undersized receiving star of the ‘60s and ‘70s could appreciate number 86’s determination.
Ben had talked – he’ll say “begged” – his way into a college tryout at BYU, then with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Argos advised Cahoon to keep his Canadian status for the CFL draft their little secret. Ben would have none of that and contacted the Als as well before draft day. Now the sixth overall pick in ‘98 approaches 1,000 regular season catches, 100+ post-season receptions already achieved.
“Without question,” says Head Coach Marc Trestman when asked if Cahoon could have made it in the NFL. The long time master of the air assault should know and likens Ben to Largent and Tasker, among others. A sentiment echoed by offensive coordinator, Scott Milanovich, the quarterback that very day Cahoon ran routes with countless other nameless receivers under a hot Tampa sun more than a decade ago.
Calvillo took notice. He’s been on the throwing end of 64 of Cahoon’s 68 TD catches including playoffs and Grey Cups. That’s the result of uncounted hours of film study against opponents, but also the uncanny knack to know which way a hot-read will go, or his pet receiver will break. Routes can be drawn up in a playbook, but men must make those squiggles and lines breathe and sweat, ideally outdoors. AC to Ben has made them gasp.
Fittingly, Canadian Football Hall of Fame 2010 inductees Tracy Ham and Elfrid Payton will visit expanded Molson Stadium this season. They led the Als to victory against the Lions that fateful November day in 2007 (Payton laughs instantly recalling his easy stroll with a fumble recovery for the first TD scored back in the great outdoors). Ham mentored AC for two years, sanding away the physical and emotional scarring inflicted on a quarterback pounded for 4 seasons in Vegas and Hamilton by the time he’d turned 25.
Ham calls it “giving back” like other QB greats had done for him in Edmonton when he found exile in the CFL. Calvillo has called the tutoring vital to his career turnaround. The Saskatchewan Roughriders were the only other team bidding for the “free agent” cut loose by the Cats. Regina offered a starting job. Jim Popp offered healing with Ham, a chance to rebuild. A human renovation project.
So if “The Prez” Larry Smith and owner Bob “The Builder” Wetenhall surely deserve credit for the bold vision to return Alouettes football outdoors and ultimately to the now renovated perch on the side of Mount Royal, the sure hands and on-field acumen of Ben and Anthony, who’ve shredded so many defences, would just as fittingly been allowed to cut the ceremonial ribbon.
