Vicki Hall
Calgary Herald
CALGARY — At precisely 8:54 of the fourth quarter Saturday, Nik Lewis asserted himself as the alpha male of the Calgary Stampeders receiving corps.
With the Stampeders clinging to a two-point lead, Lewis soared high in the air and turned Winnipeg defender Brady Browne into a hurdle in the name of registering a first down.
“Hey, I just try to be an athlete,” says Lewis, a triple jump specialist back in high school. “I go around. I go through. I go over.”
The highlight-reel hurdle helped secure a 23-20 Stampeder victory over the Blue Bombers. More importantly, the move crystallized what has already become clear through five games of this Canadian Football League season.
No. 82 is the heart, soul, and leader of the Calgary receiving corps. The Jeremaine Copeland era is over. Lewis is the man, until further notice.
“We’ve got to move the ball,” says Lewis, who caught 10 passes for 160 yards. “I’m doing everything it takes to move the ball.
“I’ll sacrifice my body and everything else to help this team.”
For any longtime observer of the CFL, it’s easy to forget Lewis is just 28, with perhaps the best years of his football career ahead of him.
Back in 2004, he broke into the league as a trash-talking, pass-catcher with a temper that threatened to tame his undeniable talent.
Maybe we all should have realized he was just 21.
“I was so immature when I got here,” he says. “Not from the standpoint that I was dumb, but I reacted with my emotions. I’m a very emotional player.
“I’ve always reacted with my emotions both on and off the field.”
Through six CFL seasons, Lewis grew up in the public eye with help from his older, wiser teammate Jeremaine Copeland.
When Copeland moved on to Toronto via trade this off -season, Lewis realized his time had come.
The five-foot-10, 205-pounder already has a place reserved on the Stampeder Wall of Honour. He might as well act the part from now on.
“It’s kind of like my team now as far as the receiving corps goes,” Lewis says. “I’ve got to be the one to step up.
“I accept my role.”
By accepting his role, Lewis means no offence to Ken-Yon Rambo, Ryan Thelwell, Romby Bryant or Arjei Franklin.
And there’s none taken.
“Nik’s a good player,” says Thelwell, 37. “He’s always been a good player, but you want to have people follow you.
“Nik has grown into that role. The guys respect and follow. He’s our leader in the receiving corps. And I’m proud of him. He’s my boy.”
The receiving fraternity is tight-knit. Every group on every team has an unspoken leader.
In B.C., the job belongs to Geroy Simon. In Edmonton, Ed Hervey had that role before handing the baton to Jason Tucker.
Copeland was the man in Calgary. He’s now that guy in Toronto.
“I do miss him a lot,” Lewis says. “I miss that smile and that look. But I still have the image in my head. I can see it.
“After a play, I can look up and see him standing there, and he’s like, ‘Good play.’ ”
Lewis can also envision the legendary Milt Stegall watching the proceedings from his perch on the TSN panel.
Stegall, of course, picked the Stampeders as basement dwellers this season without Copeland carrying the mail in the touchdown department.
He also called the Stamps “average at best.”
“I’m motivated by Milt’s comments,” Lewis says. “I’m going to put that out there. For Milt to count us out like that? I’m here to prove we’re not the last-place team in the West.”
The Stamps (4-1) actually sit atop the West Division in a tie with Saskatchewan.
“I still respect Milt,” Lewis says. “When I came into the league, I didn’t know who Milt was. But then you see how he carried himself and took care of his business.
“I call him hero. He’s a hero to so many.”
Once upon a time, Lewis would have taken great offence to Stegall’s criticism. But no longer.
“He may not know it, but he’s always been a good mentor to me,” Lewis says. “I always respect him. I always care about him. His opinion matters.
“I know as an analyst, you can’t come out and favour people you like. But I’m using it as motivation.”
Inadvertently, Lewis might have provided some extra motivation for the B.C. Lions heading into Saturday’s tilt at Empire Field.
On his wildly entertaining twitter feed (nickel18), Lewis wondered if any of the B.C. defensive backs hit anybody above the knees. He also asked Dante Marsh to pass on a message to Simon.
“Tell Geroy he is getting old,” Lewis wrote. “That interview, he needs to put on some makeup to cover up some of that stress.”
Simon, 34, fired back in no time at all
“You can tell me next week,” he said via twitter. “I’m gonna last longer than you. There’s no market for short, fat receivers.”
All is cool, Lewis says. Just talk.
“Geroy looked stressed on TV. I don’t worry about Geroy. He’s a great player. It’s not his play. I just think he looks stressed.”
And as for the aging comment. . .
“I’ve got four grey hairs now and we’re 4-1,” he says. “I’ve got grey hairs on my head and on my chest.
“We’re all getting older, right?”
And, generally speaking, wiser.
Courtesy: www.calgaryhearld.com
