Lions take in Ottawa’s sights after Redblacks tilt
A different kind of road trip for the B.C. Lions began with a “jet sweep” over TD Place Stadium by Canadian Forces CF-18s, an offer of free game tickets to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a morning, game-after swim at the team’s hotel.
Under normal procedures, the Lions would be flying home directly after Thursday’s 29-23 Canadian Football League win against the Ottawa Redblacks by charter aircraft, or awaken bleary-eyed and sore from an early-morning wakeup call if going commercial.
But with another game in Toronto scheduled just six days later, the decision was made to lay over in Ottawa for four more nights, before the team departs for Wednesday’s game. The only downside of a nine-night hotel adventure: Extra laundry services could cut into $115 per diems.
For curious and adventurous types, such as Marco Iannuzzi and Jason Arakgi, who planned a tour of Parliament Hill Friday, it’s an opportunity to play tourist that they wouldn’t normally get with a quick in-and-out business trip.
Iannuzzi admits to revelling in the company of mayors and government leaders — he and late Toronto mayor Rob Ford became dining buddies on a Lions’ road trip there two years ago.
So, this week, he reached out to Trudeau, by Twitter, sending a di- rect message to the PM with the offer of free tickets to Thursday’s game. The Lions also had a No. 23 jersey made up to present to Canada’s chief executive (Trudeau is Canada’s 23rd prime minister). But he was engaged in another photo-op in Saguenay, Que., kayaking with members of the national caucus.
“We’re also going to check out the History Museum,” Iannuzzi said. “Hopefully, Justin Trudeau is back in town in a couple of days. Maybe I can have lunch with him. I have a tendency to meet with these guys involved in politics. I try to meet the mayor in every city I go to. It’s important to find good restaurants and keep our nutrition up. Good nutrition and good times. We don’t often get a chance like this. So, why not check out the city?”
At the inaugural Boring Awards three years ago in Toronto, Ottawa was voted most boring city in Canada, which could be why the stopover made sense in a place long on politicians and museums but short on fun places and temptations.
But there are also the bonding and team-melding aspects to consider between practices and meetings.
“It’s kind of cool. It’s different,” said quarterback Jonathon Jennings. “It wouldn’t have been cool if we’d lost. But we won. It’s a good experience for the guys just to be out here, chilling, and not in a rush to get back home.”
Sacked six times by the Redblacks, tackled for a loss on nine other occasions, Thursday’s game seemed like just another day at the beach for Jennings. Attired in a Tshirt, fluorescent orange athletic shorts, and with a towel wrapped around his neck, he was headed to the hotel pool for a water workout Friday morning, in lieu of the usual post-game rundown.
“They’re unweighting their bodies, essentially,” said head therapist Tristan Sandhu. “They’re tight, they’re sore. It’s a way to recover without putting too much strain on the body. But you don’t need much treatment for Jonathon. He’s low maintenance. He seems to get knocked down, then he gets right back up. That breeds a lot of confidence in his teammates.”
For men who play professional football, pain, strain, wincing and hobbling are normal after 60 minutes of joint-banging, nerve-numbing exercise. Yet, Jennings, whose cognitive abilities seem to be growing by the week, showed little evidence of physical abuse in leading the Lions to a 6-3 mark at the halfway point of the season.
“If you watch him, on film, he’s probably gotten out of 15-plus sacks, just by using his legs,” said linebacker Adam Bighill. “He is an elusive quarterback. I think any defender, who tries to square up on him, is going to have a tough go.”
“He’s got a young body,” explains 33-year-old halfback Ryan Phillips. “Jon is a competitor. He scrambled for some first downs. He didn’t slide. He took a shot or two, where I’m thinking, ‘Oooh, that hurt.’ But he’s willing to make the sacrifices to put our team in a position to win. He definitely took some big shots early. But he stayed in the pocket, showing his poise to get some balls off. The best is yet to come for him. And he’s still a kid.”
In his 15th regular-season start, Jennings put together another late, fourth-quarter drive for the winning touchdown, cool as could be. The only blemish on his road record are the two late-game interceptions he threw against the Calgary Stampeders on July 29 — one of them in overtime — the kind of mistakes that inexperienced quarterbacks normally make. Otherwise, instead of being 4-1, the Lions could be 5-0 away from B.C. Place.
“I’m not sure of the answer to that,” Jennings said of the team’s road prowess.
Next week, it’s the Argonauts’ turn to come up with one.