Canadian Football and Me

I see the great Nathan Rourke play in person for the first time, the Argos have a home game in Hamilton, and I lose some commercial directing jobs to some industry legends.
Lionel Richie deconstructed, pet peeve articulated, how Brett Lawrie saved the Jays and Chris Flynn saved the day.  Tre Ford. Taylor Elgersma. A video director changes the course of country music, Russ Jackson outlasts the Beatles and an autographed Boris Bede jersey inspires our narrator.
#canadianfootball #cfl #ottawaroughriders #ottawafootball #heccrighton #bclions #russjackson #nathanrourke #treford #taylorelgersma #fredeaglesmith #ticats #argos #nashville #beatit #whipit

Mitchell vs. Collaros. 2026. A sound from that game on tv reminds me of a sound I heard the night that Bruce Springsteen first played in Hamilton.
Dispatches from the pandemic, Y2K, and the longest championship drought in the league. Flutie. Speedy. Country music. Danny Lanois. Heartaches by the numbers. And why I honestly thought that this was the year.
#canadianfootball #cfl #hamiltontigercats #ticats #greycup #brandonbanks #speedy #bolevi #lawler #mcmanis #flutie #mcmanus #lanois #ivorwynne #y2k

While my brother is serving his church mission in Quebec, I get a gift in the mail from my role model.  Sweeping youthful observations from Buono to Bono. Dattilio to Calvillo. Ferragamo to the Big O.  Montreal during the days of disco. The most happening town in the world.  Expansion. Contraction. Ice and Staples. A business story.  A football story.  How U2 saved the Als and how The Wall came to be. A story of Me and Ah You.
 
#canadianfootball #alouettes #cfl #heisman38 #montreal #76olympics #buono #bono #baltimorestallions #calvillo #pringle #cahoon #ahyou #gregjoy

Winnipeg.  The town that invented 911 and the home of the CFL's flagship team.  Tales from Dieter and Dunigan, Taylor and Collaros, and a new hero for our times.
Tales from hotel check ins, flights gone awry, celebrity name drops, hits and near misses, and some ripping yarns from the heart of the continent.
With a nod to the lyrics of John K. Samson, the episode tells the true story of one fella's journey from I Hate Winnipeg to One Great City.
#CFL #bombers #canadianfootball #mikeoshea #dieterbrock #tellthebandtogohome #chrisstreveler #greycup #docwalker #prevost #timeschange(d) #onegreatcity

Moments after working on a national awards show with entertainment icon and lifelong TiCats fan Martin Short, I get a phone call about a 39 year old country singer who has visions of playing in the CFL.  And I made the best television show that no one has ever seen.
 
#canadianfootball #CFL #williemack #martinshort #argonauts #jimbarker #jimdaley #showbizstories #themecca #mississippisnakegrabbers #swayzewaters

I arrive in Calgary in the early 90's, right around the same time as Doug Flutie.  A job for National Geographic takes me away.  An urgent message brings me home. The Stampeders of that era become the model team, and of their stars becomes an unlikely acquaintance.  I just couldn't cheer for them.  I love the city of Calgary, but I just couldn't stand that Yahoo stuff.
#Canadianfootball #CFL #CalgaryStampeders #Stamps #Sapunjis #Flutie #Jabronis #PJPhil #PJPaul #NorthTorontoCollegiate

My family move to Toronto at a time when the city was full of Argos fever. Young me gets the thrill of seeing some Grey Cup games in person, and older me relives the excitement of an improbable day in 2017 when Argonaut football was the talk of the town.  Along the way I meet a nice fella who has had Argonaut season tickets in his family since 1937.
#CFL #canadianfootball #argonauts #lancechomyc #bloordalebombers #coachcraig #Henocmuamba

This is the story of how I started directing music videos, and how one of these early videos became part of a CFL tradition.  Along the way, I become a huge star in Moose Jaw and learn first hand about the great connection between the Green Riders and the people of the province they represent.
#CFL #SaskatchewanRoughriders #MooseJaw #MosaicStadium #GeorgeReed #AJOullette #TempleGardensHotelandSpa #Verobas #JaredfromMooseJaw #CaptainTractor #TheLastSaskatchewanPirate #JoeyChestnut #GeroySimon
 

I catch the showbiz bug from an early age, and our family moves from Ottawa to Edmonton in time for the 1973 Grey Cup.  In the years that follow, come tales of Football greatness, children's theatre, drag queens, a popular adult bar, and some encounters with some of the greatest players to ever play the game.
#CFL #Edmonton #Eskimos #RoughRiders #Elks #Gizmo #MarcoCyncar #Highbaugh #Holliman #HecPothier

This episode delves into my childhood obsession with my beloved Ottawa Rough Riders.  The glory.  The heartbreak. Wonderful Monds.  J.C. Watts. And my favourite of them all, Alvin 'Skip' Walker.
#CFL #Roughriders #Ottawa #Canadian Football #JCWatts #Skip Walker