CFL Style Watch: The many hats of Mike Reilly

We’ve all seen Mike Reilly’s great pre-game style over the last few weeks.

Bow ties, fedora hats, vests – you name it and Reilly has worn it.

But did you know that his fun style isn’t something new for the quarterback? Yep, Reilly has always had a keen eye for fashion.

Reilly was a backup quarterback during his time with the BC Lions (2010-12), starting games behind Jarious Jackson and Travis Lulay. And back then, the 32-year-old took on the role of making sure his teammates were having fun and not taking their jobs too seriously, to go along with his normal preparation for each game.

And that’s when the original #MikeReillyHatWatch2017 began. (Yes, #MikeReillyHatWatch2017 is a real thing. Look it up on Twitter.)

“When we would go on road trips, I would always try and spice it up a little bit,” he said over the phone after practice this week in Edmonton. “I would wear some bow ties sometimes, I would throw a hat on here or there. But then when I became the starter in Edmonton, I was like, ‘okay, I have to lock it back in and it’s somebody else’s job to keep everybody relaxed.’ So I moved on from that.”

Reilly steered clear of his eclectic wardrobe in his first year with Edmonton, opting for a more serious role on his new team.

But one day last year, he’s not sure of the exact time, he was rummaging through some of his things and he stumbled upon his old hats.

“I was like, ‘man, these things are sweet! I’m going to coordinate them up a little bit and wear them!’’ he remembered. “It just became something that I was excited about every week when we’d go on the road. I’d be like, ‘alright, what do I have now?’”

And so #MikeReillyHatWatch 2.0 was born (while also quickly becoming one of my favourite parts of this CFL season).


He’s worn those old hats quite a few times, enough times that he started running out of options. So he’s always on the lookout for a new hat, whether it’s back home in Seattle or in his second home in Edmonton.

“My wife and I travel a lot in the off-season, we go to New York and Hawaii and stuff like that, so I always end up in different cities that I find a sweet hat store,” he said. “Every time that I do, I go in there and I have to pick out one new hat, at least, that I can wear at some point in the season.

“I still have a pretty good stash of stuff that has yet to be brought out. I have one hat in particular that is pretty outlandish. My wife got it for me and she said the next time I play in a Grey Cup that’s when I have to bust it out. Hopefully I get the opportunity to wear it this year but I’m pretty excited for when that happens.”

I, of course, had to ask what that special hat looks like but Reilly wouldn’t give up the secret that easily.

“I couldn’t even tell you,” he laughed. “You wouldn’t believe me. It’s going to be way more impressive than anything that I’ve worn so far.”

I think I speak for everyone when I say that the Esks need to make it to the Grey Cup just so we can see that hat, right?