Matthew Cauz
CFL.ca
I just don’t understand those people who cannot remember their “firsts.” I remember all of them. From the first day of school, to the first kiss to the first’s that are not allowed in print on this fine, upstanding site. That’s just me.
Now I am also the guy that not only forgets names but faces as well. A deadly one-two punch.
During my early days as a pseudo-intern at TSN, I was introduced to one of the top bosses of the company. The very next day he remembered exactly who I was (there’s a reason why he was in charge), while I couldn’t have had the foggiest idea who this strange man was.
I also once went on a date in Hess Village in Hamilton and during appetizers I realized I had no idea this woman’s name who was sitting across from me. I did a rolodex of names in my head but it kept coming up blank.
I told her I had to go to the bathroom and I ran to my car where I had her name and number in my glove compartment. Needless to say, I am not still with her.
The point is that even though my memory is often my worst enemy on a day-to-day basis, when it comes to firsts I am spot on. For example:
1) Became a baseball fan: 1981, Exhibition Stadium, saw George Bell’s second ever home run with my dad.
2) Became an NFL fan: 1990 NFC Championship Game, Giants upset the two time Super Bowl Champions San Francisco 49ers.
3) Became a CFL fan: The 1991 Toronto Argonauts.
Ha! You’ve read this far, not at all suspecting this would be another Eastern bias, pro-Argonaut article. Stick around there will be some fun John Candy moments coming up soon, I promise.
With the Argonauts celebrating their 20th anniversary of that shooting star of a team, how could I not write about them?
That team was an awesome one year party where everything went according to plan and then disappeared about as quickly as it took for them to burst onto the scene.
The 1990 squad, led by Don Matthews, Matt Dunigan and Pinball, rolled up 689 points before losing to Winnipeg 20-17 in the Eastern Final.
Then all hell broke loose.
Before you knew it the team was sold to Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky and John Candy. While his skills were starting to go on the decline, was their a bigger star in this country than Gretzky? John Candy was coming off a three year run of ‘Planes Trains & Automobiles’, ‘Spaceballs’, ‘The Great Outdoors’ and ‘Uncle Buck’.
So for a 16-year old this team was not only fun and exciting, but was also the talk of the sporting community. And their biggest move had yet to occur!
That move was Heisman runner-up Raghib “Rocket” Ismail. You see back in 1991 Notre Dame was the most prestigious college football program in America and Ismail was their biggest star.
The guy was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the can’t miss prospect, the future #1 overall draft pick. Bill Polian gushed saying: “There’s nobody like him in football today. He becomes a weapon no matter how he’s used.”
Well he wasn’t used in the NFL, at least not for several years. McNall & Co. swooped in, signing him to the richest contract in North American history, at the time.
Everyone knows what happened next. Behind Adam Rita’s leadership and a bevy of all-stars, Toronto started the season with a 41-18 home opener win over Hamilton, went 13-5 en route to capturing the 79th Grey Cup defeating Calgary in minus 450 degree weather.
Ismail was named Grey Cup MVP while dodging a tall boy of Coors Light during his game deciding 87-yard kickoff touchdown and Rita won Coach of the Year. I loved watching Darrell K. Smith, Paul Massotti and Pinball race up and down the field.
I cheered for an over-shadowed defence that was just loaded with talent from Harold Hallman, and Mike Campbell on the defensive line to Darryl Ford at linebacker and Don Wilson controlling the secondary. Even their kicking game was exciting with Hank Ilesic and Lance Chomyc.
A year later it was all gone. Rita was fired and the team went 6-12 missing the playoffs while Toronto hosted the Grey Cup. Soon McNall would be in jail, Ismail would bolt to the NFL and Candy would pass away far before his time. I remember tearing up while listening to the news that John had died.
On one radio station they played his greatest moment on screen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q05p-5TWcj8). Just go to the 2:46 mark and see if you don’t get goose bumps.
On a funnier note check out these old Argonauts commercials featuring John Candy.
Or Candy on the sidelines during Toronto’s 42-3 whipping of Winnipeg. Little message to Swaggerville: if you want to see how it’s really done, here is how you swagger.
With the current squad struggling to find their offensive identity, it’s fun to think back to that ’91 squad and the team that turned me onto the CFL. Even though they wouldn’t be dominant for another five years with the arrival of Flutie, I had been hooked.
That 1991 team was just such a brief flash of perfection. It wasn’t going to last but man was it fun while it did.
