Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
Excitement is never in short supply when a team approaches its season-opening contest. Weeks of technical and tactical training bring with them an anxious yearning for the playing field. After two preseason tilts and a demanding training camp, that anxiety is nearly at an end for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
For one member of the Black and Gold, Friday will bring a reunion with the team that nurtured his talent and provided a home for six seasons. A marquee piece of the Ticats’ off-season reloading process, Andy Fantuz will line up against the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the first time on Friday and he admits that the prospect is both nerve-wracking and exciting.
“It’s a little bit of both,” says the veteran slotback. “It’s mostly excitement, more just to get back on the field and start another CFL season. It’s felt like an extra-long season for myself, and it’ll be nice to see all of the guys before the game. But once we come back from warm ups it’ll be all business and it’ll just be a football game, and I can’t wait to get out there and play with the new team. Out in front of the crowd, it’ll be electric as the first game of the season. It’s the Friday night lights, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
In moving halfway across the country in the off-season, Fantuz also returned to his roots in Southern Ontario. Surrounded now by friends and family alike, the Ticat receiver suddenly has a very large following to attend to at Ivor Wynne Stadium. He estimates that roughly 150 such supporters will be on hand on Friday, and Fantuz acknowledges that the circumstances accompanying both the upcoming game and the season as a whole make for an appetizing prospect.
“I think it’s great for the league,” says Fantuz of the Saskatchewan match up. “There’s a great buzz around the whole last season at Ivor Wynne, and everything just seems to be coming together. We’re excited to play them. It’s not as relevant for some of the other guys, but for me, I’ll have a lot of my family here and my following is very excited about this game. So it makes it a lot more fun for me.”
The man responsible for feeding Fantuz the ball, Henry Burris knows full well how it feels to match up against a former team, having himself confronted the Roughriders after a stint in the Green and White. The Ticats’ pivot emphasizes though, that his slotback – like the rest of his teammates – is most excited simply to be facing a return to live fire.
“Number one, for all of the guys who are former ‘Riders, we’re all excited and I know that he is looking forward to getting out there,” says Burris of Fantuz’ mindset heading into the Friday tilt. “Above and beyond that, he’s talked about the excitement of just getting back out playing and starting from game one, feeling healthy and ready to go out and play the way that he knows he can play. But again, when you play against good friends like he will be, he’s looking forward to doing some good things and helping us be victorious against a good ‘Riders team.”
The quarterback knows that ensuring that his receiver has a positive impact on the game is partially his responsibility, and Burris explains that he will do his utmost to put Fantuz in a position to succeed on Friday.
“Regardless of what the situation is, I’m going to do whatever I can to help make his life easier while he’s out there by making sure that I make the proper reads and put the ball in places to let him make the plays that he’s capable of making,” says the Ticat pivot. “But regardless of the situation, he’s a guy who will be definitely be missed by [Saskatchewan]. Anybody who lost a guy with the caliber of Andy Fantuz on and off the field with his playmaking ability would feel it, and we’re very happy to have him here.”
The slotback will have every opportunity to demonstrate that ability under the lights at Ivor Wynne Stadium, but while he would love to have a productive night of his own, the numbers Fantuz is most concerned about are those gracing the final scoreboard.
“To win,” says the veteran receiver bluntly of his Friday night goal. “If we win, then it’s all good. I think that you’ve got to be a team player, and that’s how you win. Whatever you’re asked to do, you’ve got to do it as well as you can. Whether I catch 10 passes or make 10 blocks, whatever it is, I don’t want to have any mental mistakes. I don’t want to have any plays where my man makes the play. I think that’s the key to being successful, and then any time I get the opportunity to make a play, I want to be able to do that.”
One hopes that Fantuz’ single-minded pursuit of success is infectious, as the Black and Gold look to open the season on a positive note on Friday night.
