Keith Whittier
Special to CFL.ca
I blame it on my parents. Mom and Dad, this is your fault. I was probably about 8 years old when my father took me to my first CFL game at Landsdowne Park in Ottawa. The home team Rough Riders were taking on the BC Lions.
I can’t really tell you what is was about BC that made me like them immediately. It could have been the colours of their uniform; it could have been the players. Actually it was probably the fact they played in a different time zone. A time zone that enabled me to convince my parents if I was good through the week (made my bed and helped with chores) I would be worthy of staying up past my bed time on Friday nights so I could see them play. And see them play I did. Well until the end of the first quarter by which time I had usually fallen asleep and my father had the wonderful task of carrying me to bed. He would then deal with an excited child Saturday morning whose first question was, ‘Did BC win?’
I grew up loving BC. I have never lived there as I was born and raised in Ottawa. I have made a home here as well as a career but when the BC Lions are playing I watch with so much passion you would think I was their Mayor.
In regards to my mother, she was a wonderful woman. Unfortunately she passed away two summers ago. I often watched games with my mother as well. Was she a fan? Not really. However when she was at a game she was giddy as any diehard fan with face paint on. When my mother passed away I sat down and thought a lot about life. She always told me that you must live your life to the fullest. With that in mind I sat down and wrote out a Bucket List. All of the things I wanted to do before… well… I kicked the bucket.
The items on my list include going to England to see a Premier League soccer game, going up the CN Tower (as I am terrified of heights), kissing my girlfriend in front of the Eiffel Tower and seeing a CFL game in every city in one season.
8 games in 8 cities in 1 season. Why would I want to do this? Simple. I love the CFL.
In my opinion it is the greatest game played and the only sport I am passionate about. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy sports but not like the CFL. Some of my friends and co-workers may not be huge CFL fans and don’t understand why I don’t prefer the football game south of the border but rest assured; I haven’t given up on them.
I certainly miss our team in Ottawa. Our beloved Rough Riders were the victims of poor management and some tough luck losses that led to reduced community interest. I am happy that Jeff Hunt’s group has taken a sincere interest in bringing a stable product back to the city and I greatly look forward to supporting it. My passion for the CFL didn’t go away when Ottawa folded. I simply had to adapt. I would usually go to Toronto and Hamilton to see BC play, but in recent years I would take in other games in other cities as well.
And while I have seen games in other cities, my quest to complete this item on my bucket list gave me the opportunity to cover the entire league in one season.
FOUR GAMES IN FOUR DAYS IN FOUR CITIES
I knew right away I wanted to do this trip with my girlfriend, Cheryl. In the time we have been dating she has been baptized a BC fan. When the CFL schedule came out February 1st of this year I was very excited when I saw that Week #7 gave us the opportunity to see four games in four different cities on four different days: Edmonton, Toronto, Winnipeg and Regina.
My girlfriend may not be the biggest football fan in the world but she does enjoy it. She sometimes needs a refresher on the ‘No Yards’ call but other than that, she is golden. I sweetened this trip to her by adding a fifth day-a day where we would fly to Edmonton and she could devote her time to the West Edmonton mall as she had never been to the city before. February 2nd West Jet came out with a seat sale and we booked our flights. The cost was $1,000 per person for the flights. The tickets were about $300 per person. The hotels were about $375 per person. The experience was… wait for it… Priceless.
Cheryl and her friend Danielle made us t-shirts for the occasion. ‘Cheryl and Keith’s CFL Weekend’ it said on the front. On the back it listed the games we were going to and the dates. It was official. We had merchandise.
Another one of Cheryl’s friends, Arlene, put us in touch with a TSN producer who was interested in our story and throughout the weekend we were interviewed and recorded.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12 – DAY 1
We arrived in Edmonton and checked into the hotel. We then went to the West Edmonton mall.
THURSDAY AUGUST 13 – DAY 2 ‘GAME OF THE YEAR!!!!’
In our second outing to the West Edmonton mall I decided to give Cheryl some space. I like shopping with her, but I didn’t want to watch her try on a gazillion pair of shoes. We decided to meet up in a few hours. As I roamed the mall by myself I came across a sea of green; three individuals wearing Saskatchewan Roughrider jerseys. That is when I met Norm and Brad. They were from Regina and were also going to see all four games. They were joined by their friend Connie. We instantly bonded. We took some pictures and made plans to meet later and head to Commonwealth Stadium together.
At the stadium, they went to their seats and us to ours. As Cheryl and I took our seats on the 50-yard line in the second row we knew it was going to be a good game. The battle of Alberta is always a good game. However what we got was possibly a leading candidate for game of the year. A back and forth display that wouldn’t be decided until the final seconds.
Calgary and Edmonton put on an amazing showcase of football on that warm Thursday evening. Both teams were amazing. While I feel for Henry Burris who had 479 yards of passing, three touchdowns, no picks and his team still lost the game; I do recognize Ricky Ray and his ability to mount a last second charge to secure a win.
Throughout the game we saw a TSN cameraman looking through the stands. We could hear him say ‘They are supposed to be in Section F.’ I wanted to stand and scream, ‘We are over here!!!!’
He eventually found us in the fourth quarter. He came to our seats to interview us. He asked questions like; ‘Why were we doing this?’ etc. It was a lot of fun being able to talk to him and share why we loved the CFL and how this trip was so ideal for us.
We found the fans in Edmonton very nice. Genuinely so. I loved seeing the fan loyalty there. Hear that Ottawa……
1 game down – 3 to go
FRIDAY AUGUST 14 – DAY 3 ‘YOU’VE GOT YOUR TEAM’
Cheryl and I are up early again to get to the airport to catch our flight to Toronto. Fortunately we knew our limits from the night before and didn’t stay out too late. I have to tell you when you travel from E
ast to West, its great! You pick up time. When you travel from West to East you lose time. We arrive in Toronto a little after 2pm. After an airport shuttle mishap we make it to our hotel by 4pm. To ensure we didn’t miss any flights for this trip I booked all of the hotels close to the airport. This was only problematic in Toronto where, by public transportation, the airport and Rogers Centre are about 90 minutes apart.
We arrive at Rogers Centre around 5:30pm and shoot a little video outside of the stadium to document our trip and then head to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. This was probably my favourite dining location on the trip because we had the opportunity to watch the pre-game practice from the restaurant. As we munched away on our food we observed the practice drills of both teams. The restaurant was a combination of orange and blue.
We finished up and headed to our seats. We were behind the B.C. bench on the 45-yard line about 10 rows up. There are a few Lions fans scattered around us, but regardless, we know our job: Support our team. Cheryl and I had decided that we would support the home team at each game. Sorry Toronto but you were the exception. The first half was rough as B.C. went to the locker room down 19-7.
However B.C. outscored the Argonauts 22-3 in the fourth quarter to secure the win. You have to love that about sports; comebacks are inevitable. B.C. pulled off the win but they still have a lot to work on.
I was disappointed in one Toronto fan as a young boy who had seats with his parents on the opposite side of the field (behind the Toronto bench) had to change seats as a lady complained because he was cheering for B.C. He felt at home sitting in front of Cheryl and I and the three of us cheered along happily as we encouraged the Lions.
Part of me wants to name Jarious Jackson the player of the game. He’s brought in, then benched, and then brought in again. (Wally, make up your mind!!!!). Jarious didn’t seem affected by the merry-go-round as he delivered. However I take my hat off to the Toronto kicker Justin Medlock who went 7-for-7 in field goals and three were from greater than 50 yards.
After the game fans had the opportunity to go onto to the field to meet Argonaut players and cheerleaders.
Cheryl and I went down and met several of the BC Lion players including Angus Reid, Paris Jackson and Jarious Jackson. The highlight was meeting Mark Washington, defensive backs coach. We told him we were from Ottawa and we travelled around watching B.C. as we had no team in Ottawa. He touched his heart and said: ‘Don’t worry; you’ve got your team!’ Darn right we do.
We tried to go up the CN Tower that night but unfortunately it was closed by the time we left Rogers Centre.
2 games down – 2 to go
SATURDAY AUGUST 15 – DAY 4 ‘THE MIDDLE FINGER GUY’
This was the first time Cheryl and I had been to Winnipeg. We didn’t get a chance to do much sightseeing. After checking into the hotel and taking a much needed nap we head to Canad Inns Stadium. We visited the front office and had the opportunity to meet Obby Khan, offensive lineman with the Blue Bombers. He was very nice and posed for some pictures with us. You have to love that about CFL players; they are very approachable. We wish him luck on the game and take our seats and watch some of the warm-up.
As Winnipeg prepared to take on Montreal the crowd was pumped. We really admired the fans in Winnipeg. For instance, in the row we were sitting in a lady noticed our customized t-shirts and asked us about them. We told her it was out first time in Winnipeg. She was wearing beads with the Winnipeg logo on them and she gave them to us. She even encouraged another fan, who I don’t even think was in her party, to do the same.
It was a shame that Winnipeg didn’t have a better showing but there were two very interesting fans we came across. The first was Ray. He was sitting beside us. Now Ray is a diehard fan, He spoke very passionately about the Bombers and their old quarterback Dieter Brock. I liked Ray as not only was he knowledgeable about the league, but he loved talking about it.
The other character is someone I never met but will refer to as ‘The Middle Finger Guy’. Every time Winnipeg had a bad play or turnover there was an elderly gentleman a few rows in front of us who would stand and raise his hand extending his middle finger. He never said a word so it was unclear who it was directed towards. The Montreal bench, the Winnipeg player who made the fumble, the referee, the popcorn kid? He left the stadium with four minutes left in the game and as he marched down the stairs he held one hand over his head with his middle finger hanging high. Very odd but very humorous.
When we returned to our seats from halftime we found a TSN camerawoman looking for us. We did an interview with her as she recapped our adventure so far. We were and are very grateful for the attention TSN gave us on this trip. We were interviewed 4 times and felt honoured that our story was important to be told.
Ray and his friend Brett were very nice. As was the nameless lady who gave us her beads, literally off her neck. We felt embraced by the CFL community in Winnipeg. It just made me miss the game in Ottawa even more and I thank them for their hospitality.
After the game we went to Earl’s, a popular restaurant chain in the West coast. We had some refreshments and bumped into Obby Khan and his girlfriend Megan. We had a good conversation about the league and his experiences. Obby used to play for Ottawa but when they folded he found refuge with the Bombers. While the game was in no way close it was a great day.
In regards to the game, Winnipeg showed some good heart and as soon as Michael Bishop learns the offence they should be good to go.
3 games down – 1 to go
SUNDAY AUGUST 16 – DAY 5 ‘IT AIN’T OVER, TIL IT’S OVER’
Getting to Regina was a bit of a milk run. We flew from Winnipeg to Calgary back to Regina. We got ourselves checked in and headed over to meet Norm and Brad at a tailgate party. The party was held by a gentleman named Rick. Rick in all his glory and face paint exemplified what a true Saskatchewan fan was all about: Rider Pride.
It was pretty difficult not finding someone in green. The population of Regina is approximately 200,000 and over 30,000 of them were at the game. That is amazing support and the crowd was loud. It was impressive to see Saskatchewan jump out to a 23-0 lead at halftime without allowing Hamilton a first down. It was more impressive that Hamilton marched out of that dressing room after halftime and tied it up. Saskatchewan pulled it out in the end but Hamilton gave notice they are for real.
At halftime a TSN cameraman came and interviewed us. While the other interviews were done reasonably close to the field, this one was done in the upper deck.
After the game we had th
e honour of being interviewed by TSN’s Wray Morrison on the field. We recapped our adventure as he asked us questions. This was probably the most difficult interview as we were both freezing in the 10 degree Regina rain while trying to sound sensible.
4 games down
TOP 10 THINGS I, KEITH WHITTIER, LOVE ABOUT THE CFL
10. The BC Lions. The best professional sports team. Period.
9. 3 downs!!! If it takes you 4 you are doing something wrong.
8. The ‘This is our league’ commercials. Makes my eyes water every time I see it.
7. Dave Dickinson. He had the good sense to put his family first and not risk another concussion. One of the great quarterbacks of our time who is also one of the most accurate passers of our time as well as a huge influence on Henry Burris.
6. The Cheerleaders. A talented group of women and men, yes men, thanks Edmonton and Saskatchewan, who give a lot of their time to their communities and fundraise so they can travel to Cheer Extravaganza. A must see during Grey Cup Week.
5. TSN’s panel. Dave, Jock, Matt, Chris and now Milt. The best professional sports commentary team. Period.
4. Geroy Simon’s Superman pose. Come on admit it. You love it too.
3. CFL.ca. Who doesn’t love up to date coverage?
2. The Players. We keep our stories on the field.
1. The Fans. Whether you have waited years in Hamilton for your team to have a winning season or you live hours away from Regina but make the drive to each home game and all the other cities I salute you and join you in your passion for our game.
THE ULTIMATE WEEKEND
This was one of the greatest weekends I have ever had. People think you need to go somewhere tropical or far away to have a great time, but Cheryl and I had a ball right here at home enjoying our game.
I’m glad we did it and I’m especially glad we did it together. I look forward to sharing this game with my children one day, when I have some.
By the way, Mom and Dad. Thanks!!!!!
Keith Whittier grew up in Ottawa, but considers himself a B.C. Lions fan. He posts on Twitter as @cfl_fan.
