ONE-ON-ONE WITH CFL COMMISSIONER
Randy Ambrosie gets the CFL — he was one of the guys.
For nine seasons, he played in the trenches as an offensive lineman with the Toronto Argonauts, Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos, with whom he won a Grey Cup in 1993. The second-overall pick of the Stampeders in 1985, out of the University of Manitoba, the 54-year-old Winnipegger later became the CFLPA secretary. He then turned a business background into jobs as manager, president and CEO in a hugely successful post-football career. Now he’s back. Two weeks ago, Ambrosie became the 14th commissioner of the CFL. Here’s what he had to say in a one-onone interview earlier this week:
Q Ottawa is in the middle of a stretch of three games in 11 days. In your opinion, is that dangerous?
A I can say, as a player I would have struggled with three games in 11 days. Now, I’m looking at it through a lens of the last four or five years of my career and you’re a little beat up. I think it’s too much football in 11 days. It’s hard to recover. This isn’t hockey, this isn’t baseball. I spent some time with Coach (Rick) Campbell earlier today and he raised the issue. I said, “Coach, I think it’s too much.” I know it’s also a very complicated issue around stadium availability and travel. But if I was asked, I would do everything in my power to avoid these kind of scenarios where the teams are playing too many games in too tight a schedule.
Q As a former player and fan, what was it about the CFL that appealed to you?
A It was just what we grew up with. From the earliest days — Don Jonas, Mack Herron — my brothers and I were Bombers fans. I remember going to Bombers practices as a kid because it was so
cool to watch these larger-thanlife guys. They were our heroes, they were stars. We were CFL fans, we were Bombers fans and that’s just the way it was — it’s been part of my life from the very beginning.
Q Were there things that you looked at from afar and thought, “If I were ever in charge, this is what I would fix?”
A The players are so fantastic, I’d like to celebrate these amazing athletes more than I think we do. In typical Canadian fashion, we undervalue them. One of the things I’m most proud of is that CFL players do as well or better than any players in the world — they’re so eager and willing to go into the community and lend a helping hand. Again, that’s something I wish we’d celebrate.
Q Officiating has been an issue early this season, is that on the to-do list to evaluate?
A I’ve made a habit of yelling at refs in all sports. I yell at the umpires in baseball, I yell at the referees in hockey, I yell at the referees in football — I basically like to have a good yell at the referees as a fan of all sports. When you separate yourself from that, we have a great group of officials, we should be doing everything we can to help train and develop those officials to maximize the opportunity for them to be as good as they possibly can be. But we’re talking about gigantic human beings playing at speeds, like really fast. In a blink of an eye, things are happening. To expect these guys to be perfect is not a realistic expectation. In some ways, it’s the imperfections that make the game so special. It’s human beings, we’re all flawed, we all make mistakes. In one sense, what I fear is that we use technology to try and make something perfect that’s not.
Three people to take on a dinner date: Who do you choose?
Winston Churchill has always made that list when I’ve thought about it. Martin Luther King, I’d like to sit with Dr. King and have some time to see through his eyes the vision he had for this harmonious society he talked about. I think it’d also be cool to sit down with Sir John A. Macdonald, at that moment where Canada was on the doorstep of becoming Canada, and have a chance to hear what he was thinking of the dawning of this country. Wouldn’t that be interesting to actually ask him what that moment was like when you actually created a nation, then have him look through a lens of the last 150 years of what we’ve become based on that vision?
Q Any memories for you of playing against the Ottawa Rough Riders?
A I was playing for the Toronto Argonauts in 1987 and I got five holding penalties here. Jake Ireland was the head referee and I think it was Loyd Lewis playing defensive tackle for the Rough Riders. I was playing for Coach (Bob) O’Billovich. If you remember, his voice was very distinctive. The whole strategy was, if you had a bad game, you stayed with the guys; you didn’t get separated from the herd. We were in the O-line meeting the next day, doing the film, and I had to go to the bathroom. I got to the bathroom, I opened the door and looked out and all was clear. I’m walking back to the O-line meeting room and I hear this, “Raaaaaaaandy!” It was Bob and he yelled at me. I saw him several weeks ago and I said, “Coach, do you remember yelling at me when I got five holding penalties?” He said, “Well, we should have cut you.” I thought he was going to show some contrition. None, not at all. He was hard on me. But … five holding penalties here in Ottawa, that will always stand out.