Len Rhodes was all smiles on Monday as he walked the concourse of Commonwealth Stadium, basking in a moment his city hasn’t felt in seven years.
With Edmonton named the host of the 106th Grey Cup presented by Shaw, the Eskimos’ president and CEO was able to take a moment to exhale. The last six months have been the most trying of both his personal and professional life.
“I’m great. Dealing with stuff, but it’s all good. I feel like a million bucks,” Rhodes said when asked about his health. “I just hope my insides are like a million bucks. I had my procedure in March and in September I’ll go for (further) tests at the Cross Cancer Institute.”
Rhodes has been very open about his prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. Doctors noticed an irregularity last year in a blood test, which led to a diagnosis that came just after Grey Cup week in Toronto. He underwent prostate brachytherapy in Edmonton on March 7.
He had 76 radioactive seeds placed inside his prostate gland, which burn any cancerous tumours. “It’s targeted radiation,” Rhodes said. He was out of his office for two weeks, had limited travel afterward and stayed in Edmonton during Mark’s CFL Week in late March.
And then it was back to work.
“He’s become an incredible Edmontonian,”
– Esks’ board chairman Brad Sparrow on Len Rhodes.
“I go for a pee more often in the night. Other than that, I have the same energy. It’s almost like I’m in denial,” Rhodes said. “It’s good because I don’t spin down. A lot of people get the news of the c-word and they get depressed. I just dealt with it, just like I would with a business case. These are the cards I’m served. OK, I have to deal with it.”
If cancer wasn’t going to care about timing, Rhodes decided to treat it the same way. While undergoing treatment, he’s had his most definitive moments in his five and a half years on the job.
He made a bold move in early April and relieved Ed Hervey of his general manager duties. Seventeen days later, he’d replaced him by plucking Brock Sunderland from the Ottawa REDBLACKS, where he’d been an assistant GM the past four years. He continued preparing the Eskimos’ pitch to be Grey Cup hosts. After years of in-house work (in-stadium wifi, LED lighting on the field level and around Commonwealth’s upper bowl), Rhodes and the Eskimos are investing in an aggressive marketing campaign to try and draw more fans in. That was spearheaded by the team’s One Empire ad; a Game of Thrones-feeling spot that united Esks’ players and fans on the field to do battle together. Rhodes called it a call to arms.
The sun warmed the concourse where Rhodes stood, with a 56,302-seat venue looking pristine behind him, ready to house another season of football. It was a perfect sunny-but-not-too-hot Edmonton day, and for Rhodes, it looked like he was on the other side of a very trying time, his fingerprints on his club like they’ve never been before.
“My doctor would say avoid stress during this. And how I avoid stress is getting things done,” he said. “The last few months have allowed me to put a true fingerprint on this. Everything’s in stages, but one thing I wanted to do is make sure we give this franchise back to the people.”
Rhodes tried to do that on Sunday’s Fan Day, moving the event into Commonwealth Stadium for the first time, after years of holding it at the adjacent Clarke Park. There were about 3,100 people there, a healthy bump from what had made it to Clarke in years past, on field-level, interacting with the players.
“There are things we take for granted in this business, like that we get to be on the field,” Rhodes said. “During a regular game, our fans don’t have the ability — we have our kid’s club and kids get to go on the field after the game — but for the most part the fans don’t get to see the field at the same level the players do. That alone is something.”
Rhodes watched Mike Reilly throw passes to fans. He saw Odell Willis and Adarius Bowman carrying kids on their shoulders. Tony Washington put the durability of a bouncy castle to the test and jumped in it.
Let there be autographs. 🖊👕 pic.twitter.com/JGlznHD8JI
— Edmonton Eskimos (@EdmontonEsks) June 3, 2017
“That’s what it’s all about. The point of differentiation for the CFL is that we have real people,” Rhodes said “These are excellent players and accessibility is something we can use to our advantage as a point of differentiation to other leagues. That’s something we do extremely well.”
Rhodes said that when he was put under for his treatment in March, he dreamt that he was in Commonwealth Stadium, walking the concourse and mingling with fans. He woke up and marveled at that, then told himself, ‘Hey, you’re alive!’ On Monday, he spoke in front of CFL officials, Esks’ board members and reporters and tied the bow on what’s built to be a packed-house, nation-wide party next year. It was a simple enough speech, and he’s certainly made tougher ones recently, but he sounded more comfortable in his role and in his own skin than he ever has before.
“He’s become an incredible Edmontonian,” Esks’ board chairman Brad Sparrow said of Rhodes.
“He wanted to get to know the community. We used to take him to things and now he takes us to things. He’s busy. His health was a challenge, of course, but his staff and his board supported him immensely in that.
“He’s hitting his stride so well. The club’s doing so great, we’re a contender. What else could you ask for?” Sparrow asked, then turned and looked at the ready-to-go stadium behind him. “No green or yellow seats available would be the only thing. And we’re working on that.”
