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Jenn Writes

Writing my way through life, one word at a time.

Football Friday – it’s What We’re Made Of

August 25, 2017 by koalateagirl

Two weeks ago, the town of Charlottesville Virginia was the location of a rally by members of the so called “white nationalist” movement (really a white supremacist movement) over the proposed removal of a Confederate statue. A peaceful counter protest was organized for the next day as the alt, and one of the people from the white supremacist / alt-right (I’m going to use those words interchangeably because the members of the alt-right who protested in Charlottesville were definitely white supremacists based on the Nazi flags and racist chants) got in his car and drove into the crowd at the counter protest, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others.  This happened on August 12th. On August 13th, there was a CFL game scheduled between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the British Columbia Lions and as I tuned in, I noticed something different about the sideline apparel being worn by players and coaches on both sides.

You see, normally on a CFL sideline you’ll see coaches, training staff, and injured players decked out in golf shirts (or in cooler weather sweatshirts or jackets) emblazoned with the team’s logo on it. Sometimes you’ll see a t-shirt or two but they’re not as prevalent as the polo shirts or golf shirts. On August 13th, almost every player, coach, and staff member I could see was sporting a grey shirt with a very simple yet poignant message: Diversity is Strength. The back of the shirts had the names of 32 CFL players representing the diverse nature of the league. Some of the names I recognized immediately, they were the legends of the game I’d heard tales about growing up. Others were players or coaches that I’ve been fortunate enough to get to see or meet during my lifetime of being a CFL fan.

grey shirt with diversity is strength written on the front
The front of the shirt is beautiful and simple.

Naturally, I headed over to Twitter to find out what these shirts were all about and how I could get one. I wasn’t the only one judging by the replies to the tweet by the CFL official handle that introduced the shirts.  It turns out that the shirts were slated to debut in the fall, as part of the celebration of Canada’s 150th Birthday this year, but after the events in Charlottesville, the league felt they should be brought out early. They talked to both teams involved in the game on August 13th, received positive feedback from everyone and flew them out so that everyone who wanted to could wear them on the sidelines. The shirts were a joint effort between the CFL Alumni Association and the league itself. Originally they weren’t going to be available for fan purchase but when the reaction to the shirts was so overwhelmingly positive, the league made them available and I ordered one without a second thought. My twitter feed was full of fans who felt the same way as I did – “please let me buy this shirt”:

Please tell me these are available for purchase. Please.

— Erik McKee (@YYCRed) August 13, 2017

The names on the shirt tell the tale of the CFL – a league where the colour of your skin didn’t affect your chance of starting (though the country of your birth might due to the import rule).  I grew up idolizing quarterbacks like Tracy Ham, Warren Moon, and Damon Allen – amazing quarterbacks who happen to be black and didn’t think anything of it until an American friend commented about the CFL having “a lot” of black quarterbacks.  I knew about Bernie Custis – the first black man to play quarterback in Canadian professional football. Custis played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 1950s, at a time when the colour of his skin made him ineligible to play his chosen profession in the NFL (he was drafted by Cleveland and they told him he had to play safety instead of quarterback, not due to skill, but due to his race, Custis declined and came north of the border to play).  Tom Casey was the stuff of legend on and off the football field. He was the first black player to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1964, but that’s not what impressed me at first. What made him a legend in my eyes was that the man was going through medical school while playing professional football for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. As if being a professional football player or medical doctor wasn’t time consuming enough, Dr. Tom Casey did both – while playing on both sides of the ball as was common in the 1950s.  He’s basically superman in my mind.

Diversity is strength CFL shirt
The back of the Diversity is Strength Shirt.

Then there was Normie Kwong – born in Alberta to Chinese parents, he was the first CFL player of Chinese heritage. Zenon Andrusyshyn was a legend to me growing up – he was born in Germany but grew up in Ontario and became a punter for the Toronto Argonauts. He still holds the record for the longest punt in football history – 108 yards. There’s also Bobby Singh who was born in Fiji to parents of Indian heritage, he’s the only player to have won a Grey Cup, a Super Bowl, and an XFL championship.

Seeing the names on this shirt made me so incredibly proud to be a fan of the CFL. Many of the names made me smile – Noel Prefontaine and Troy Westwood were more of my place kicking idols, Ron Lancaster and Wally Buono are coaching legends, and Angelo Mosca is one of the greatest characters in CFL history – he was also a professional wrestler and there was a now legendary fight between him and Joe Kapp at the 2011 CFL Alumni Luncheon over a hit in the 1963 Grey Cup game.

Today, I wore my shirt proudly as I drove up to the cottage for a weekend away with friends. I made two stops on the trip, and both times people came up to me to tell me how awesome my shirt was or offer an anecdote about one of the names on the back. The stories behind the names on the shirt are ones of inclusion, strength, and what makes the CFL so awesome. The current league slogan fits perfectly with the theme of the shirt – because diversity and inclusion are What We’re Made Of.

Filed Under: Life, Sports Tagged With: Argos, Canadian Football League, CFL, Charlottesville, Diversity, Football, Inclusion, racism, What We're Made Of, WWMO

Word Wednesday – Para what?

September 14, 2016 by koalateagirl

As I wrote in an August Word Wednesday Post, I love the Olympic and Paralympic games. I love the way entire countries rise up behind their athletes and how small acts of kindness between athletes make you realize that even in the heat of competition, people are inclined to help one another. One of the things that drives me absolutely crazy about the Paralympic games though is the way they’re treated in the media and by the general public. During the Olympics, I couldn’t log on to Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook without seeing #Olympics or #Canada or one of the Olympic filters on a profile picture. During the Paralympics, however, I have had to actively look to find people mentioning the games. I understand that there is some degree of “sports fatigue” – in that a lot of people who aren’t necessarily into sports watch the Olympics but aren’t actually all that interested beyond their favourite sports.  The 2 week wait between the Olympics end and the Paralympics begin also plays a role in diminished media attention and public appetite.  What I vehemently disagree with is that the Paralympic games are in any way or shape less important than the Olympic games. Paralympians are elite athletes – period. If you think that just because someone is physically disabled, they aren’t training just as hard or just as athletically gifted as an able bodied athlete, I challenge you to go to the Canadian Paralympic Team’s Paratough website and try one of the Paralympian workouts. I tried the swimming core workout 4 days ago, and my abs haven’t forgiven me yet!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Grammar, Sports Tagged With: 1500m, Athletes, Canada, Comparison, Deaflympics, Grammar, Olympics, Paralympics, Rio 2016, Special Olympics World Games, speed, Sports, Word Wednesday, words

Outdoor Football in Toronto – Thoughts at Midseason

August 26, 2016 by koalateagirl

I’ve been an Argos fan since I was born. I’m old enough to remember watching games at the old Exhibition Stadium on the CNE grounds, and of course the Skydome era.  I’m the first to admit that the Skydome wasn’t a great place to watch football. There were some seats where you got a good view of the game but others that were definitely not as good. I’ve heard purists say that there are no good indoor football stadiums. Those people have obviously never visited Ford Field in Detroit. Ford Field was built for football. Yes it also hosts concerts and other events but its primary reason for existence is football. I’ve sat in the cheapest seats available and still had a great view of the field. So it can be done, but wasn’t done at Skydome (and no, I won’t call it Rogers Centre). Interestingly, my Dad had seasons tickets with a large group of people at Exhibition Stadium, but when the team moved to Skydome for the 1989 season, the great tickets he’d had at Exhibition Stadium turned into obstructed by players seats because of the shallow slant of the seats and the habit football players have of spreading out along the sideline. They were also decidedly worse seats for more money – the tickets at Exhibition Stadium were on the 45 yard line, south (open) side, about 1/3 of the way up. These new ones were on the 25 yard line and only a couple of rows up. (For the following seasons there would be tarps over those seats because you couldn’t watch the game from them). He and other members of his section spent the better part of the season arguing with the team about the seats and eventually most of them just gave up their tickets, my dad included – his entire row gave them up at the same time and nobody at the Argos ever apologized or tried to get the fans back.

 

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Ignore the goalpost in the middle of the shot but those are the tarps covering where the tickets were

I managed to convince him to take me to at least a game a season after that, but he was never as into football as I was after that. I would have surpassed him eventually in my love of football, but it happened more quickly than expected because he felt that he (and all of the others in our section) got a raw deal. That said, that was a very different era for the CFL and goodness knows how many owners ago for the Argos. When moving to BMO field was first brought up, I first worried that other season ticketholders would be in the same predicament we were in in 1989, but then realized that the new Argos staff with their focus on customer service and fan enjoyment wouldn’t let that happen again; so then I started thinking about outside football.

A little background: I’ve been a member of Argonotes (the official band of the Toronto Argonauts) for my entire adult life – joining while I was still in high school and continuing through University and Grad School and beyond. I mostly play piccolo though I’ve been increasingly pressed into service with the percussion section. Woodwind instruments aren’t a great mix with rain or snow and heat can throw them out of tune too so I was a little concerned with the proposed move. Also I’m a wuss and have a complexion that I can only describe as Irish meets Vampire. I don’t tan well, I burn easily, and I wear UPF 50+ clothing and sunscreen year round. So sitting in the sun watching the game could go anywhere from “this is the coolest thing ever” to “I’m going to spontaneously combust”.   I was hoping for the former, but got the latter at the first game. So I upped my sunscreen game and the next game went much better.

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BMO Field has some spectacular sunset views.

Almost bursting into flames aside, I LOVE outdoor football. BMO field is a truly enjoyable place to watch a game, I haven’t managed to find a bad seat yet (though I am intrigued by the blue squishy seats), and there’s actual tailgating again!  There was tailgating in Toronto once upon a time when there were parking lots near the Dome instead of the crop of condos that went up over the past decade, but those went the way of the dodo as the condo boom happened. Now, tailgating is back in Toronto. Most games have two separate tailgate locations – one in the Ontario Place Parking lot and one at the Shipyard that is close to the Princes’ Gates in front of the newly built (or still under construction) Hotel X. The one over at Ontario Place is restricted access but the Shipyard is open for all the fans when it’s running (which unfortunately it isn’t during the CNE games).  Both locations have food for sale, and cheap beer ($4 for an ice cold Ontario craft beer!) and in the Ontario Place location there are plenty of families with portable grills and people throwing around a football. Oh and you’ll see Argonotes at both tailgates (weather and energy permitting).

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Look at those Blue Seats – they look like they’re for a ride!

The atmosphere inside the game is different too- there’s a lot of energy, and a lot of noise – and not just from the band. My only complaint with the gameday experience is that the piped in music over the loudspeaker is unreasonably loud – to the point that you can’t carry on a conversation with the person sitting next to you over it. When the PA announcer asks the fans to get loud, the endzone (where the band sits) responds – they stomp on the metal risers and hit the back of the seat in front of them and generally make as much noise as possible. It’s a lively experience, and one that I’ve experienced in other CFL cities but felt was missing in Toronto.  Do they need to get more bodies in the seats? Yes, for sure, but that’s not something that’s going to happen immediately, especially with the Argos having such a tough time winning on home turf.

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How nice is that turf?  And the view?  Scoreboard deliberately not included

This season was complicated by an awkward schedule – hopefully the last of its kind, necessitated by the renovations at BMO field taking longer than planned and pushing the primary tenant (TFC) out for the first part of their season which has meant that there are some weird gamedays still (though I quite enjoyed the CFL’s version of Monday Night Football) which should be resolved next season. There are a few home games left this season to impress the hometown fans, and I hope the Argos take full advantage of them and that Torontonians come out and experience a game before dismissing the CFL as an entertainment option. Because that’s what it is – an affordable entertainment option. The ticket prices, unlike those of most of the other professional teams in the city allow for a family to go to a game without spending the equivalent of a car payment on tickets. Make no mistake, there ARE CFL fans in Toronto – there are enough of them to mostly fill BMO field most games. So long as the on-field product is worth going to see. The only team in this city that gets fans out consistently while not being competitive plays at the other MLSE-owned building in town.

Filed Under: Life, Sports Tagged With: Argonauts, Argonotes, Argos, band, BMO Field, CFL, CNE, Detroit Lions, Exhibition Stadium, Football, Ford Field., NFL, Skydome, Toronto

Word Wednesday – Golden words

August 24, 2016 by koalateagirl

It’s really no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Olympics and the Paralympics. I’m a huge fan of sport in general and think that the Olympics can bring out the best in athletes, and enjoy watching athletes who aren’t making millions of dollars for their sport compete. Not that I don’t love professional sports, especially the CFL, but it’s nice to watch people who are doing sport for the love of it (and maybe for a lucrative endorsement contract). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Grammar, Sports Tagged With: Brazil, CBC, CFL, cycling, Grammar, Olympics, peloton, Rio, Rio de Janeiro, rugby, Sports, Wednesday, Word Wednesday

Saying Goodbye to SkyDome

November 6, 2015 by koalateagirl

Tonight is the end of an era, albeit one that many Toronto sports fans (particularly CFL fans) have struggled with over the last 27 years.  Tonight the Toronto Argonauts play their last game at the Rogers Centre (formerly – and forever to me –  known as SkyDome). I was at the first game at SkyDome on July 12, 1989, and I will be there tonight at the last game.  In between those dates I’ve seen around 70% of the Canadian football games played there (including Vanier Cups and Metro Bowl finals but not including the Bills in Toronto series or the NCAA games). I’ve been feeling nostalgic today and reading some of the articles about the best memories at SkyDome including this one by the very talented Andrew Bucholtz, Mike Hogan’s trip down memory lane, and this one from the Toronto Star that focuses on Michael “Pinball” Clemons’ memories of the stadium where he played his entire CFL career and still calls home as Vice Chairman of the Argos.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Life, Sports Tagged With: Argonauts, Argonotes, Argos, band, Blue Jays, CFL, Doug Flutie, Football, Grey Cup, Memories, Pinball, Pinball Clemons, Rickey Foggie, Rocket Ismail, Rogers Centre, Skydome, Sports, Toronto

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Assorted Pictures

Jenn Writes Logo. An old fashioned typewriter with an cartoon owl next to it.
A tea cup with white and pink flowers on it full of tea
Lovely little tea cup… the teapot filled it 5 times
A picture of BMO field at twilight with the words "Every New Beginning Comes from Some Other Beginning's End
A curving road with trees with bright fall leaves on either side
The long and winding road

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