Stampeders players prefer Grey Cup over U.S. turkey day
Preparing for CFL championship means missing Thanksgiving dinner
Home for the holidays. Oh, what a lovely thought.
Family and fun — a lot of food on the table, a lot of football on the television.
For Americans, there’s nothing quite like Thanksgiving. Unless you’re a CFL player. Who didn’t qualify for the Grey Cup.
In that case, there’s not enough gravy in the world to make up for that disappointment.
“I’m sick if I’m home on Thanksgiving,” says Joshua Bell, “because with my job, I want to be here.”
A year ago, Bell was back in Dallas — the Calgary Stampeders’ championship defence had been abruptly halted by the Edmonton Eskimos in the West Division Final — so he was in no mood for anything festive. “I was a grumpy mess,” says Bell. “My wife had to deal with me. I was on edge. I didn’t want to be around anybody. I’m not supposed to be home. I’m almost embarrassed or ashamed to be home.”
This time, however, the Stamps made good on their push for the league’s crown. Meaning their work schedule carries them straight through the holidays.
“This is the price you pay for being a pro athlete,” says Derek Dennis. “We understand that to live our dreams, we’ve got to make certain sacrifices that may not make us happy, but it’s important. Us being up here, we’re taking care of our families by making our money to make sure that we can go home to take care of them.
“I’m happy to be here, to be playing for a pro championship, with the guys I’ve spent the last six months with. These guys are my family as well. It’s bittersweet, but I’d rather be here playing for a championship than at home enjoying some turkey.”
Nevertheless, as celebrations go, this is one of the biggies in the United States.
And being stuck in Canada knocks the fun out of it.
“Of course,” says Randy Richards. “It’s one of those things. Yeah, we’re out here, we’ve got business to take care of, but in the back of your mind, you’re thinking about your family and all the good times you had growing up at that time of year.”
Players do what they can to offset their absences.
Micah Johnson knows how he’s going to start his Thursday.
“FaceTime all morning,” says Johnson. “Skype my mom (in Virginia). Skype my family. Skype everybody. A lot of time, us being on the road on a holiday, us being away from our family, everybody kind of clings to their phones.” Warm and fuzzy stuff. Kin comes first, of course. But the spread? It rules. “That meal? It’s awesome,” says Johnson. “Our family always eats early. By 1 o’clock., we’ve already started that first meal — and we eat till 8. You eat once, fall asleep, take a nap, wake up, eat some more, watch some football.
“Macaroni and cheese, and the dressing, man, are two of my favourite things. I’m not that big on turkey. Turkey’s cool, but it’s all the other stuff. I mean, it never stops.”
At the Richards’ family home in West Palm Beach, Fla., there’s a Caribbean flavour to the feast.
“We do the deep-fried turkey, but I’m Jamaican, so we might do the jerk turkey as well,” says Richards. “And you definitely have your traditional Jamaican dishes. Oxtail. Curry goat. There’ll be some mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, but we’re not too big on stuffing and cranberry sauce and all that.”
But if players are missing the grub, it can mean only one thing — the season has gone extraordinarily well.
“Exactly. That’s the perfect way to look at it,” says Richards. “This is my first time being in a position to win a championship, so this is the best feeling ever. I know there will be a time again when I’m spending Thanksgiving with my family, but I don’t know the next time I’m coming to play for a championship.
“So you’re definitely going to appreciate this a little more than Thanksgiving.”