Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca
When the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa REDBLACKS meet in the nation’s capital Sunday for the Eastern Final, thousands of people in the stands at TD Place and across the country viewing on television will be voting in a referendum.
There won’t be any paper ballots or follow up surveys involved but fans will be making a choice.
Masoli or Harris.
Who do you believe is better and why? It’s a healthy debate, the type that only comes from two worthy candidates and became a point of contention down the stretch as Harris went 3-0 in head-to-head matchups against Hamilton while posting the type of great numbers Ticats fans have come to expect from Masoli.
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For Jeremiah, the eventual Most Outstanding Player nomination was a confirmation of his journey from obscure backup to one of the CFL’s best quarterbacks, but a loss in the Eastern Final against Harris would no doubt damage the public’s perception of how Masoli and the 2018 Tiger-Cats are remembered.
There is an obvious sense of pride in Masoli’s development. Just a couple years ago, as he stood in sweats on the Hamilton sideline watching, some wondered how long he would be in the CFL. Now questions revolve more around how long he can be this effective as a dual threat quarterback with an underrated arm.
When asked what is different about the 2015 Eastern Final and the one we will see Sunday, it’s easy to understand where Masoli’s confidence comes from. “The experiences I’ve gained since then, seeing all these different defences the last couple years and learning from all the unique experiences I’ve had it makes me feel ready for this moment.”
Often during media when asked to make a judgement of himself or others, Masoli responds honestly with something to the tune of, “I’m not sure, I’ll leave that up to you guys to discuss.”
Masoli isn’t interested in all the chatter and hype. He’s a simple man with a singular goal: To bring a Grey Cup to Hamilton.
Anyone who knows Jeremiah understands his low key sensibilities but where do they come from? For Masoli the strength of his character is rooted in Polynesian culture, a background he wears proudly each day.
“Our culture man, it’s a very special culture in that family is first,” he said. “It always comes before the individual no matter what you have to sacrifice to make sure the family is okay. That’s why our culture translate so perfectly to football, we’re willing to do what it takes to protect the family and the team.”
Masoli can throw an interception and walk to the sideline looking identical to right after a 40-yard touchdown pass. He has a zen type of calmness about his huddle presence and pre-snap communication that – quite frankly – is strange for a quarterback tasked with playing air traffic controller for eleven teammates in front of thousands of loud fans.
I asked Jeremiah after practice on Wednesday in Hamilton whether that consistently calm approach to the game was a result of his upbringing, or just who he is?
“A bit of both for sure. My dad always told me to be like that but it’s definitely a part of Polynesian culture. We try not to get too high or low in emotions. The only time I think of Polynesians getting up for stuff is going to war and that’s what football is but you have to have emotion focused and under control, you can’t let emotions control you.”
That word emotion might be the best at describing Masoli’s outlook on the game. Rarely he’ll give fans a look into the fire that burns deep under the Ticats logo on his uniform by letting out a fist pump or flex but those public expressions of motivation are reserved for only the most meaningful moments.
At halftime of the Ticats playoff victory over BC, Hamilton game day operations staff played the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team doing the Haka dance for several minutes to match the playoff blackout theme used in stadium for the teams first home playoff game in two years.
I sat in the press box and watched the Haka for several minutes appreciating the small details and waves of emotion that come and go in the tribal expression known well around the world as one of the most intimidating displays in sports.
In Masoli’s words, “the Haka is about respect for your opponent making sure you aren’t overlooking anyone you treat everyone the same when you go to war.”
As I watched the ups and downs of intensity in the All-Blacks Haka video on Tim Hortons Field’s big screen I realized the connection between Masoli’s approach to the game and the dance.
Masoli sees the same connection.
“The microcosm of the Haka is you get up and down for the big moments but the Haka is really about telling your opponent that I’m about to cut your head off and eat you but that I respect the threat you have to my families well being and I need to show you that respect by giving my best.”
As mentioned earlier Masoli wears the Polynesian culture proudly in his everyday life. What you might not know is that he literally wears it on his skin in multiple places.
“On my arm I have a picture of the village back home a bunch of ‘fales’ or homes back in Samoa with this one mountain that I always see when I’m there called the rain maker mountain man which is like a big dude lying down. I got the Samoa tattoo on my leg when I was 17, my first one was my left arm and I got the Samoan stuff on my chest when I was 19.”
Not only do the tattoos signify his commitment to respecting where he comes from, the places he got them also represent the journey Masoli’s football life has taken him on to this point.
“I got them everywhere from Oregon to San Francisco to Hawaii. That’s our identity, that’s our culture man. My grandma is always telling me to get the traditional one from the waist to your knees but I ain’t got that in me.”
Masoli laughed as he explained that the traditional tattoo is “called the tatau and stretches from your belly button to your knees covering everything in ink but that’s too extreme for me, that’s like a week process.”
Despite not wanting to go through the process of the tatau, there is no doubt Masoli’s mindset and motivation as he prepares for a game that could see Jeremiah and Hamilton given the chance to embrace the week long process of the Grey Cup.
With two more wins maybe the fales and rain maker mountain man pieces of body art are joined by some black and gold ink done in the hammer to remember a trip to a Grey Cup forever remembered as the year Jeremiah Masoli made Hamilton a CFL champion for the first time in twenty years.
