Little things that make Wally who he is
Lions executive McEvoy shares stories about his boss Buono and what makes him unique
One of the first times the true reach of Wally Buono clicked in for Neil McEvoy was at a hockey game — a game in Florida, of all places.
McEvoy isn’t the first name you would associate with the B.C. Lions. He is one of the CFL club’s longest-standing employees. The now 44-yearold signed on initially in ticket sales in 1995, moved to media relations two years later and then on to the player-personnel department two years after that.
Buono might be the first name you’d associate with the Lions. One of the most successful coaches and general managers of all time arrived on the scene here in 2003 and opted to keep McEvoy on. He’s now one of the keys in putting the team together every year, now sporting a director of football operations tag.
Scouting is one of his main duties, and that has put McEvoy and Buono out on the road in the off-season, chasing after free agents.
There was one time they were in the Miami area, had a night off and the Montreal Canadiens were in town to play the Florida Panthers. Buono pulled a few strings and got a couple of passes for the game.
Buono and McEvoy found their seats in the press box. Bobby Orr was assigned a spot two seats away from McEvoy. Orr knew Buono. Buono introduced McEvoy. They all chatted.
Before long, McEvoy spotted a wave of people coming. He assumed they were for Orr. He was wrong. It was Montreal media wanting words with Buono.
“It was almost surreal,” McEvoy said. “I remember thinking this is another Wallyism. It makes him who he is.”
Who he is is one of the CFL’s greatest salesmen. With Buono, 68, announcing this will be his last year of coaching, the Lions are losing a bench boss. The CFL. more tellingly, will be down one of its main promoters. Buono will stay involved in some way and he will still sing the praises of the three-down game, but he simply won’t be on duty nearly as often.
McEvoy understands what Buono is about and capable of better than most. He’s been to workouts and games in small towns all over the U.S. where Buono becomes a focal point, where it takes a little longer than expected to find a seat and a little longer than expected to depart because everyone wants to speak with him.
“He knows everyone and he’s always very personable,” said McEvoy, who played receiver in the B.C. junior ranks with the Surrey Rams. “He’s always selling the CFL game to everyone that he speaks with.”
McEvoy admits Buono can be that hard-nosed football coach who needs to direct a team of alpha-male football players every day on how to win games. He also talks about Buono wanting to build relationships, wanting to build a team concept.
Buono won the CFL coach of the year in 2006 and McEvoy remembers Buono searching him out to congratulate McEvoy on his role in winning the honour, explaining to McEvoy that “this is a big award for all of us.”
When asked about what Buono said to McEvoy the first time one of the players he recommended became a bigtime contributor, McEvoy explained: “Wally and guys like Roy Shivers (former Lions director of player personnel) have always been big on making it about ‘us.’ We found that guy. We groomed the guy. We all had a part in it.”
“He acknowledges that he needs help, as much as he has been the head of all of it for so long,” McEvoy said of Buono.
McEvoy says Buono stepping back will take some adjusting for him. It will have a similar impact on McEvoy’s sons Logan, 11, and nineyear-old Spencer, who are both are keen on field lacrosse.
There are teams that practise on one of the fields adjacent to the Lions’ Surrey practice facility. Buono does a lap of the field every day after practice and, when they’ve used that particular field, he’s grabbed dozens of lacrosse balls over the years for McEvoy to give to his sons.
It’s not a big thing, but it’s another Wallyism. It makes him who he is.