Rogers: Bruce continues to journey onwards

Arland Bruce III isn’t the first. Of course, there is his grandfather and his father before him. One of his sons is the fourth.

The Montreal Alouettes player is fiercely proud of his 10-year-old with the same name for how much knowledge he’s gathered, traveling and learning about the world his father lives in as a professional athlete.

“He had to grow up faster than his age shows. I’m so proud of him. He’s been nominated for MVP for the last three years as quarterback, he’s playing pitcher and shortstop [in baseball], he’s been on the all-star team, he’s been the MVP as point guard in basketball…”

Bruce hopes that one day, his son will want to ask questions and learn about his ancestors and his culture, too.

Naturally, the Bruce family had questions when Arland Bruce III became Runako Reth, but it’s all been a part of the journey.

This week, he asked his parents what name they wanted on the back of the Alouettes jersey he was sending them. They’ll represent ‘Reth’ proudly.

At 35, he’s had his heart captured and broken by a game he didn’t know he ever wanted to play. Before Arland Bruce III ever celebrated a touchdown with a Spiderman mask on in 2008, there was a little boy who grew up in Olathe, Kansas, who wanted to be an NBA star. He wasn’t forced into football, but everyone told him he’d be good at it.

When Bruce was released from the Kansas City Chiefs in 2000, he planned to head back to the University of Minnesota to finish his last semester of college. He had already talked to the basketball coach about trying something new, but the Chiefs called him back to join the practice roster.

“I came back to Kansas City, was released again and said ‘You know what? This is going to be a journey,’’” Bruce said.

His Minneapolis-based agent at the time told him about the CFL, but the biggest influence to head north came from his conversations with the Chiefs back-up quarterback, Warren Moon. It was an awakening that sent him to Winnipeg in 2001 on a mission to become a better receiver, and he never looked back.

“I started falling in love with the game again because I was playing consistently. From there on, I said, ‘If I can’t get to Canton [Ohio], I can work my way to Hamilton to the Hall of Fame,’” he said. “That’s always been my dream.”

More than a decade and five CFL teams later, Bruce is just shy of 11,000 receiving yards — enough to have solidified his mark on football beyond the outrageous on-field antics that have earned his reputation mixed reviews.

The outspoken Bruce has grown as a player, and grown up as a person. Runako Reth represents the transition into a practicing spiritual man who has defined that he wants his legacy to extend beyond just being an athlete, to being a good friend, teammate and father.

“When I got traded from Toronto to Hamilton in 2009 and went up the highway, I had some self-searching to do. That’s what pro football does,” he said. “I’ve sacrificed so much for this game, having my longest stint with Toronto, it was heartbreaking to be traded.”

Bruce came into the 2004 season with Toronto more than halfway through after being released from the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers.

“[I drove] 29 hours, then three days later, drove 15 hours to Toronto. After all of that, I was fortunate to win a championship,” he said. In three of the next four seasons, he established dominance for the Argos, amassing over 1200 receiving yards.

 “I just thought that was how I was going to go out, with the Argonauts. It doesn’t happen like that in pro football.”

Bruce will sit down with anyone, on any day to talk about religion. He reads the Quran, the Bible, books on the Earth and science. His beliefs are with him every day, something that went hand-in-hand with changing his name.

“It’s been important because my spirituality is different from when I first came into the game. It’s helped me to understand what I’m really doing in life,” he said. “If you’re just out there playing football, playing football, you have no other balance. Having a spiritual realm outside of it is a balance for me.”

The balance has helped to put things into perspective, at least for Bruce. Questionable conduct and spats with coaches were a part of the learning process.

“I don’t think there’s one person, male or female, who can say they haven’t said or did something at a young age where they think maybe they shouldn’t have said that,” Bruce said. “We’re entertainers. Especially receivers and running backs. We’re here to entertain. That’s what I love about my job and nobody can ever take having fun and entertaining away from me.”

Bruce offers up his Michael Jackson tribute or his Obama mask as things that were meant to be fun, not to disrespect the game or the league.

“It’s all part of growing up,” he said.

Beyond the man who wears ‘Bruce III’ on his back, the CFL is the right place for every Arland Bruce, present and future. He’s the strongest advocate for remedying broken dreams with hard work and finding a way to fall in love with the game again.

“I see the potential in them, but I don’t know if they ever saw the potential in themselves because they never got an opportunity,” he said.

“Even though it’s a small league, it’s still a big league at the same time. Especially when you perform, you win championships, you notice that the fans appreciate it and the league appreciates it.”

Bruce knows that if you can submit to the game, the dividends will pay off. He’s happy to name off a list of players he’s seen grow into respected assets through his tenure with Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton and B.C. From Andre Durie to Matt Black and Chris Williams. He names Duron Carter in Montreal as someone with a bright future.

“A lot of people get the CFL mistaken, thinking that it looks easy,” he said. “You get a receiver [from the NFL] coming up thinking they’re going to score five or six touchdowns up here. I just smile. I used to have that mentality. It’s been a great journey.”

Talking to Numero Un, or AB3, or Handsome King, it’s hard to imagine any ill-feelings could be harboured at the well-spoken veteran. He has a genuine love for the game, for Canada, and for helping others learn to be better players and people.

His Kansas City-based record label, MMA Worldwide has five out of eight songs done for teams around the league. He even remixed his tribute to Canada, Loonies and Toonies, into a pop version for the city of Montreal.

“I just want to be considered one of the greats that ever played this game,” he said. “I want to be remembered as one of the guys that always put it all on the line on game day, in practice, and always wanted to help the next guy to get better.”

He adds, perhaps being slightly facetious:  “And challenge the coaches as well.”