Lions boldly go on with Boldewijn
NO MOORE FROM NICK: Man from Amsterdam steps into lineup following season-ending injury to slotback
Four games into the 2016 Canadian Football League season, heralded B.C. Lions free-agent signing Nick Moore faces season-ending surgery on Tuesday for a torn ACL. And he insists it didn’t result from an excessive touchdown celebration dance July 16 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
“It happened on the sideline, after I scored my touchdown,” Moore said as the 3-1 Lions returned to work following a bye week in the CFL schedule.
“I just landed wrong, on my leg. Honestly, it just felt like my knee was a little stiff. They put a sleeve on it, taped it up a little bit. I finished the game. I got through it.
"It was definitely a shock (to learn he had a torn ACL). I didn’t think there was anything major. But, the next day, I woke up, I could feel that something wasn’t right.”
Bryan Burnham is expected to take over Moore’s slotback position when the Lions play the Stampeders Friday in Calgary, with Geraldo Boldewijn drawing into a starting receiver spot for the first time this season.
“He (Boldewijn) has a lot of upside to him,” Moore said. “He’s a hard worker. He was at the facility every day during the bye week, catching the ball, getting ready. He has the height to go up and get the ball, and deceptive speed. I think he’ll be fine.”
The 25-year-old Boldewijn, who came out of the Netherlands, a place where people are soccer-mad, is not your typical gridiron soldier of fortune.
Hooked on American football as a devotee of the John Madden football video games and the Amsterdam Admirals, a charter member of the NFL’s European experiment, the Dutchman left home to play high school ball in Boise, Idaho, before beginning a four-year college career at Boise State.
His unusual football beginnings became grist for HBO’s popular Hard Knocks series when “Amsterdam” joined the Atlanta Falcons, a team intrigued by his size (sixfoot-four, 218 pounds) and raw but developing talent.
“I definitely was into soccer as a kid,” Boldewijn says. “I owned every FIFA video game, probably. But American football was just something new that came around. It just really attracted my attention. The first football video game I owned was Madden 03. I was really into the (St. Louis) Rams and Marshall Faulk (who was on the cover of Madden 03). I’d look up video highlights of Ed Reed, Sean Taylor. I had so much passion for it. I kept watching film, researching football players, trying to imitate their moves and using that on the field.”
As a fan of the Admirals (the team ceased operations with the rest of NFL Europa following the 2007 season) Boldewijn was particularly taken with quarterback Gibran Hamdan and receiver Skyler Fulton. Gibran ended his pro career following a brief stint with the Toronto Argonauts in 2010. Fulton, an All-NFL Europe first-team receiver, landed with the Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks before calling it quits.
“Those guys were my heroes. I went to every single game back then,” Boldewijn says. “I wanted to be like him (Fulton). We became really good friends. Every now and then, I still give him a call, if I need some words of wisdom. That’s pretty cool. Being able to talk to Travis (Lulay) about that (NFL Europa) is pretty cool, too.”
Lulay, who spent the 2007 season with NFL Europa’s Berlin Thunder, was the Lions’ quarterback of record in Boldewijn’s only CFL experience to date — Game No. 18 last season against the Stampeders. He had three catches for 64 yards, including one play of 50 yards.
“He’s a pretty unique story,” Lulay says. “He’s a guy who just loves the game. He’s a long strider. And he’s faster than he looks. He can sneak up on people and run right by them. I thought he had a really good first week of camp — until he got sick (stomach virus). Then, he tweaked his hammy. But he’s looked good the past couple of weeks, getting back into the swing of things. He can play.”
At the mention of Boldewijn’s name, more than just Lulay’s eyes light up. Despite his very limited pro experience, the Dutchman was invited to work out with the Baltimore Ravens after the 2015 CFL season. He had talks with other NFL teams that didn’t progress as far.
“We’ll look at what’s going to be out there in the future,” Boldewijn says. “Right now, the 2016 B.C. Lions are on my schedule. I’m still learning a lot. Wherever the coaches want me to play, on the inside, or on the boundary, I’ll just study my butt off and try and do as good as I can. With Nick hurt, the next man up has to be able to keep swinging. I don’t want this offence to miss a beat.”