Maple Leafs coach showing his Rider Pride as CFL playoffs loom
Mike Babcock can sympathize with the pressure that faces Saskatchewan GM and head coach Chris Jones day in and day out in Regina. Both are coaching in rabid markets where their every move is being dissected by fans and media.
They are also both going to celebrating should the Riders hoist the Grey Cup in three weeks. For Jones, the reasons are obvious. For the Toronto Maple Leafs bench boss however, it will be another shining moment in the history of the team he grew up watching and still keeps his eye on closely today.
“The pressure of trying to deliver every day, and deliver on a franchise, a historic franchise that means a lot to the province I think is a special thing,” Babcock told Sportsnet’s Donnovan Bennett in a recent feature on the NHL coach’s love for the Riders.
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock poses with the helmet of his childhood team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders (Sportsnet.ca)
“I think it’s a real honour. When you accept the job, you have an obligation to that community to get the team to play right and make the community proud so obviously he’s doing a good job.”
In the sitdown at the Maple Leafs practice facility, Babcock and Bennett speak on everything from growing up a Riders fan, its importance on the community and the impact greats like George Reed and Ron Lancaster had on his life.
Read the full article here and see the entire feature below:
