Don Landry
CFL.ca
Simoni Lawrence looked pretty fleet afoot in his first practice of Grey Cup week. Nothing terribly strange about that, I suppose. The second year Hamilton linebacker racked up 78 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries on the way to being named a CFL East all-star, in 2014.
But… those shoes!
Glittering under the lights at BC Place, Lawrence’s shoes – all golden in colour – really stood out. A glance around the practice field showed there were a number of Ticats, including running back Nic Grigsby and receiver Terrell Sinkfield sporting golden cleats as well.
Lawrence, though, is the ringmaster of the look, designed for a little fun and as a little something to bring a tight locker room even closer together.
“It was a mission last week to get the focus on the goal,” explained Lawrence. “To get the gold. The hardware. To come in first place. That’s what they represent.”
Looking for something to capture the essence of his team’s pursuit of a Grey Cup Championship in a very real way, Lawrence got out a spray paint can and went to work.
It was in the week leading up to the Eastern Final when he first introduced his golden cleats to his Ticat teammates.
“He just laid ‘em out in the middle of the locker room,” said Sinkfield, remembering the moment when Lawrence unleashed the gilded gliders. “We were like ‘dang.’”
It was a moment that didn’t exactly catch the fancy of Grigsby, at least not at first. His cleats were completely spray painted for Hamilton’s practice, as well, even though he wasn’t at all impressed when Lawrence and Sinkfield first floated the notion that “playmakers gotta put on the gold shoes.”
“I (thought) they were kinda tacky at first,” said Grigsby, glancing down at his boats. He admitted, however, that it didn’t take long for him to become a convert. “We sprayed ‘em up and were like ‘aw, we’re wearing them things.’”
So now you have Grigsby, Sinkfield, Lawrence and Mossis Madu sporting the team-bonding footwear, and the hope is that more and more Ticats will join in as the week goes on.
“We’re trying to get the whole O-line and everybody out there in gold cleats,” said Grigsby.
They will not succeed in getting every ‘Cat on board, however. Brandon Banks sped by Sinkfield while he was being interviewed. Plain cleats, no gold. “He’s got the golden heart,” Sinkfield said in his defence. We’ll see if the CFL’s Special Teams Player of the Week goes gold as the week marches on.
Receiver Luke Tasker won’t be fiddling with his shoes, though, and he seems dug in. Black shoes are, indeed, very Ticat, just not as ‘Grey Cup Week Ticat’ as Lawrence and the rest of his spray-painted brethren would like.
Nothing personal, says Tasker.
“I’m going black cleats just like I always do,” he said. “Not ‘cause I don’t believe in their gold cleats. Just because my feet are comfortable and I can’t change anything right now.”
Hard to believe that any of his teammates will argue with him. Tasker is an East Division All-Star, himself, hauling in 72 catches for 937 yards and 5 touchdowns, in 2014. When it was pointed out to him that gilding his shoes wouldn’t mean more than a coat of paint, he held his resolve.
It’s not for me, man,” he replied. “I’ll just leave it to them.”
For Lawrence, the golden shoes are merely a metaphor for what ultimate success can look like, should they beat the Calgary Stampeders this Sunday. The 25 year old native of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania is fully aware of what it’s really going to take to lift the big mug this weekend.
“We understand what we’re in,” he advised seriously. “We understand that if we don’t have focus we won’t be able to accomplish the main goal of winning the Grey Cup.”
With that in mind, Lawrence was exceptionally pleased with the way the Ticats practiced on day one.
“Just coming out here today during practice, I feel like it was awesome. We had a great, clean practice. Everybody flying around. I’m proud of everybody. We practiced like we practice back in Hamilton.”
But back to those shoes. Upon closer inspection, all that glitters can look a little ragged up close.
“They’re not done yet,” Lawrence insisted, adding that his shoes will look clean and bright on Sunday. “These are last week’s. We’ve gotta get ‘em refinished. I gotta get ‘em touched up. They’re gonna be bright gold.”
