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The Stamps stomp around in the snow

CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders are working towards football in November, and they didn’t have to wait long to break out the hoodies, toques, and gloves.

Over the weekend, the city of Calgary was hit with a snowstorm that was expected to leave nearly 25 centimetres of snow behind.

For the Stamps’ first practice of the week in preparation for their game against the Montreal Alouettes, the field at McMahon Stadium was shovelled but the weather was sitting at around the freezing mark.

Everyone got a scale of just how bad the storm was from Toronto Argonauts receiver Jimmy Ralph, a native of Raymond, AB., who shared a video sent to him by his mother.

For most of the Stamps, they are used to the cold weather and snow having spent time in Cowtown over the past few years. However, there was one member of the team who was especially surprised by the fresh sheet of snow.

Andres Salgado, who the Stamps selected ninth overall pick in the 2019 2019 CFL-LFA Draft, is in his first year in the CFL. The native of Mexico got to see snow for the first time on the weekend, even getting to play out on the street with teammates.

“So far, it like it. Yesterday, we were in the street throwing snowballs and everything. It was pretty fun,” Salgado told reporters on Monday. “But my teammates are telling me that in probably one more week, I’m going to be sick of it.”

Salgado said that the biggest hurdle to get over was the cold, because it made the footballs harder and therefore harder to catch. Other than that, he’s been loving his first few days in the winter wonderland.

“My parents and my grandma have asked me ‘hey, how is it? Please send pictures. Please send videos.’” he said. “From the 16th-floor apartment to the street, everything is white. It looks so cool.”

The Stampeders will get away from Calgary for Week 17 and travel to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, where the Montreal Alouettes await. When the team’s kick off at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, it’s supposed to be a balmy 12 degrees and sunny.