The Canadian Press
By Matt Baker
VANCOUVER — Disco may have died along with the 1970s, but Lions fans might as well get used to singing the famous lyrics “Burn Baby Burn” whenever the club hits the field.
And although Bryan Burnham may not have been born until two decades after the craze began, he can no doubt bellow out all of the lyrics to Disco Inferno. Why not? The athletic receiver is enjoying life very much these days.
“More fun than I could have imagined. It’s been awesome. Best season of football I’ve had in my life,” Burnham says of his breakout 2016 campaign.
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Bryan Burnham is on pace to break 1,000 yards receiving this season (The Canadian Press)
Being one of two Leos receivers, along with Manny Arceneaux, on pace to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark no doubt has something to do with it, but being the team guy he is, Burnham is more excited about the 8-4 record and overall winning feeling in the locker room.
The University of Tulsa product agrees a lot of the jubilation can be attributed to Wally Buono’s offseason return to coaching.
“It’s huge, just having that trust factor,” said the receiver. “Not to dog any of the previous coaches, but Wally has just been here for a long time and he has that respect. He demands it. It’s good having a guy like that in your corner.”
“I think it’s been a combination of his own personal growth, him taking well to coaching and then obviously gaining the quarterback’s confidence,” Buono said of Burnham’s development. “I think he has taken very well to Marcel Bellefeuille’s coaching. He had a good camp, started off well early and as we all know, when you become more productive, you become more reliant.”
Burnham has benefited from having football mentors his whole life. His Father Lem is a former defensive end that played five seasons with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and also had a brief tenure in Canada with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before moving into his post-football career as a Professor of Psychology at Wilmington University.
”He was actually done playing by the time I was born, but growing up it’s all I remember thinking about as a kid – football. In high school and college he would sit me down and coach me up on things I could do better. It was great having that.”
Although Lem played a big role in helping his son follow in his footsteps, Burnham says a lot of the motivation also came from his mother Barbara.
“My mom is my number one fan, not only in football but in life. Everything I do, she is excited about. It’s been great having both of them in my corner, “Burnham says.
“The closer you get, the bigger your eyes get, We’re getting anxious, but we’re still taking it one game at a time. We’re not there yet.”
Bryan Burnham
Growing up in Moorestown, New Jersey, Burnham also starred in baseball and track before heading to the University of Tulsa. The defining moment of his career came when he switched back to receiver from defensive back in his junior year.
“Honestly, it was like riding a bike,” he says of the position change. “All through high school I played receiver and coming out I was just an athlete so they plugged me in wherever they needed me. When they told me I was switching back, that was probably one the most exciting days of my life.”
The rest as they say, is history. Brian found himself at the BC Lions’ Free Agent Camp in Seattle in May of 2014 and impressed Buono enough to earn a spot on the practice roster. He made his debut in September of that season and found himself on the 46-man roster when camp broke a year later.
“If you look at some of the best receivers in the league right now, they’ve started on the practice roster,” Buono adds. “Whether it was for two games, five games or half the season. Part of that is when they come here it takes them time to learn the game and the good ones usually blossom.”
Burnham’s sister Shannon, a former member of the Lions’ front office, was already living in South Surrey with her Husband Carl Ulmer and that no doubt made it a smoother transition to the West Coast lifestyle. Bryan and his girlfriend Aubrey now live with them and their two young children. Carl is a managing partner with Club 16 Trevor Linden fitness, which was one of the big reasons Bryan chose that as his jersey number with the Lions.
“When I saw my regular number 15 was retired in honour of Willie Fleming, I had to make a decision and that seemed like a good reason to go with 16,” Burnham says. Although he has never met Linden himself, Burnham’s grit and ability to help his team win games has been quite reminiscent of one of Vancouver’s all-time favourite hockey sons.
Only one more thing would make Burnham’s breakout season even more special: winning his first Grey Cup.
“The closer you get, the bigger your eyes get,” Burnham says. “We’re getting anxious, but we’re still taking it one game at a time. We’re not there yet.”
As Burnham continues to burn it up on the gridiron, the easier it is to imagine the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack playing during the Grey Cup Parade.
