Lumbala tackles Buono’s legacy
Longest-serving Lions player sums up franchise’s legendary head coach as ‘the best. Period.’
Back when a 135-pound Marco Iannuzzi, with his “eye of the tiger look on his face” was serving as his lead blocker on kick returns for the St. Francis Browns, Rolly Lumbala was getting drilled in life lessons.
A brick of a man already — back then, he was only a few pounds lighter than his current 6-2, 240-pound frame — he also had a knowledge-soaking sponge of a brain, learning the keys to success. At the same time on TV, and in the stadium where he played his high school championship games, he saw the same scholarship and attitude in the coach of the Calgary Stampeders.
“It was about winning — tradition,” said the B.C. Lions’ fullback. “It was about winning Grey Cups. And who was their leader? Wally Buono. You always admired what he was doing. He always had that aura about him.”
The Browns are the Stampeders of Alberta high school football, having won five provincial and 38 city titles. And they push the same pillars that Buono embraced when winning three Grey Cups as head coach in Calgary, and two more with B.C.
So when the Lions took Lumbala with the first pick in the second round of the 2008 CFL draft, he knew he was, in a sense, going home.
“The transition was easy, because that’s what it was in high school, too. Blue collar, work hard,” said Lumbala. “The first thing people said when I got drafted was ‘man, you get to play for Wally?’ It’s been pretty cool.
“Eleven years later, I’m very fortunate to be in the position, to have spent 11 years with him on the front row. I’ve been like a sponge, listening to everything he’s been telling us, and trying to lead the right way.”
Buono took the lessons Lumbala learned on the football field and expanded them beyond the confines of his position, his job, to encompass more. Much more.
“Wally is … Wally,” said the longest-serving Lion. “He expects accountability and hard work. Do what’s demanded of you, and be a pro. It’s something I took from him. Be prepared, watch film, take care of your body and compete.
“(He taught me) that you have to show up every day, on and off the field. Your family doesn’t care that you’re sore or you’re tired. You still have to get things done around the house, and do your errands.
“It’s the same for here,” he said Friday morning at B.C. Place, gesturing around the empty stadium.
“Fans don’t care that you have issues off the field, they want you to perform on the field. Being able to manage those things, those pressures, those demands, and trust in your preparation. If you’re not prepared, you’re going to get your butt kicked. So be ready, and respect the game.”
And as Buono prepared to coach his final game Saturday at B.C. Place — against the same franchise he established as a CFL superpower — Lumbala wanted to make it a perfect ending. Well, a perfect ending would be an appearance in the Grey Cup in Edmonton, but a win over the Stampeders would be a good start.
With the regular season now over, the impending retirement ceases to be an intellectual exercise and becomes reality for the franchise.
“It’s going to be weird — eerie, a little bit,” said Lumbala. “But at the same time, he’s left such a big imprint across the league. He has such a large coaching tree, he’s signed so many players.
“... Like any good thing, it ended. And he gave us so many years of his life. That’s all we could ask for, and we thank him for that. I hope he goes on an island somewhere, sits back, relaxes and enjoys his grandkids and family.”
Buono’s CFL legacy is unmatched. He’ll end his career with the most Grey Cups by a coach (currently his total stands at five), with two more as a player. He’s already in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and could have made it on his Calgary resume alone: eight first-place finishes in 13 seasons, only finishing lower than second once — a fifthplace finish in his final year there — and making six Grey Cup appearances, winning three.
But his legacy is greater than that, says Lumbala.
“He’s the best. He’s the best — on and off the field — he’s the best. Period.”
GRID BITS — The Lions will play in Hamilton on Remembrance Day (10 a.m.) in the East Semifinal, having earned the CFL’s crossover playoff berth. The winner advances to Ottawa for the East Final on Nov. 18. The 106th Grey Cup is Nov. 25 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
Be prepared, watch film, take care of your body and compete.” Rolly Lumbala