Messam ‘arriving’ after an outstanding season
“You can go out there and play fast and confident.”
Worth mentioning, though, is the ripple he created in Week 1.
Messam, in that 20-18 loss to the Leos, got only seven carries, only 16 yards — and made one telling in-game comment (that was picked up by TSN’s live mike).
“None of this QB-sneak (crap) — just gotta run the ball.”
Is it any wonder then that when No. 33 speaks of the Stamps as an unstoppable force, his reference point isn’t the year’s opening night?
“Honestly, from the second game of the season, it’s been on my mind, thinking, ‘We have a great team,’ ” says Messam, who, not coincidentally, rumbled for 137 yards in Week 2. “I’ve told guys that no one should stop us for the rest of the way out. It’s been a vision of mine since back then. I just can’t wait to get out there on Sunday.”
For Messam, this represents his first shot at a title … well, since when? Loud sigh. “Wow,” he mutters. “Last championship game?” Long pause. “I think it was in college — junior college, my bowl game,” says Messam, referring to his two years at the North Dakota State College of Science. “It was good. We won.”
How about the last time he chased glory in Toronto? That’s easier to answer, because his years at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in Brampton, Ont., had been outstanding.
“Undefeated for two years,” he says. “Go Knights.”
And even if the Stamps are no less dominant than his high school outfit, even if his role is every bit as prominent, these stakes are decidedly different.
Especially given his twisting path to this point.
“I know when we get out there on Sunday, it’s going to be just a feeling of me arriving,” says Messam. “I’m trying to keep my emotions at bay right now. I’m super excited — this is my first Grey Cup.”
The locker-room is well aware of Messam’s cause. Unprompted, Rob Cote brings up his backfield buddy’s situation.
“He’s had a pretty nice career, but this is his first one,” says Cote. “For guys like that, I’m excited to go out there and show them what this is about. It’s a big week. It’s bigger than you. It’s bigger than football.
“It all comes down to one game and what you do in those days leading up to it — preparing, working, getting ready to go out and win one football game that leaves a legacy.”