Als’ rookie Wieneke had family support all season
CFL award nominee loved having parents along for the ride during inaugural season
On the day Jake Wieneke made the Montreal Alouettes’ season opening roster, his parents Eric and Susan celebrated their son’s achievement by purchasing a 2011 Toyota Sienna.
The van had 160,000 miles on it, which wasn’t the attraction. The Wienekes liked the fact they could stow the back seats and have plenty of room to throw down an air mattress.
And before your minds go careening into the ditch, know that the Wienekes were looking ahead to a summer and fall on the highways and byways. They followed through, travelling from their home in Maple Grove, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis, to all 18 of Jake’s regular season games and the East semifinal tilt against the Edmonton Eskimos.
They put 46,000 miles on their silver Sienna. Happily.
“Oh yeah. No big deal,” said Eric, a high school teacher.
“We wanted to support him, especially when he’s so far away. He knows we might not be there for all of them next year, but we wanted to do it for his rookie year, for sure. We asked Jake, ‘Do you like it when we’re there?’ He said ‘Yep, I love it.’ That’s all we needed to hear.”
What the Wienekes witnessed up close and personal was an impressive CFL debut, as Jake is the East nominee for most outstanding rookie. Eight of his 41 catches went for touchdowns. And they saw all of them live.
They drove to the Atlantic
Bowl in Moncton, N.B., a 25-hour journey east. They drove to Edmonton, Regina, Calgary and Winnipeg. Because of time constraints, they flew to Seattle, then drove a rental car up to Vancouver for the Alouettes’ game in B.C. Place Stadium against the Lions. They drove to Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton. And they came to Montreal again and again for home games.
They would build in golf games, camping and extended sightseeing trips, but the focus was on family and football, as it always has been. The family Suburban has 300,000 miles on it. Their Sonata, the one they used to attend most of Jake’s South Dakota State games in Iowa, Indiana, North and South
Dakota, has 180,000 miles on its odometer.
It’s what they do. Jake’s brother Clark made it to a lot of the Alouettes’ games, too.
Jake’s uncle flew into Minneapolis from Louisville, Ky., jumped in the van with Eric and Susan, who sells life insurance, and trekked north to Calgary.
But before they arrived, they golfed twice and camped in a couple of national parks, winding up in Banff the day before the game. And as soon as the Als’ 40-34 overtime win was in the books at Mcmahon Stadium, the Wienekes were back on the road.
“I can’t remember a game they weren’t at,” said Jake, 25. “They would watch my younger brother’s high school game, then drive through the night to come see me play in college.
“They’re road warriors. One of them sleeps in the back, one of them drives through the night. During the school year, they leave right when my dad gets done with school. Drive straight to my game, see my game, say hello, give ’em a hug, and they take off back home.”
It’s a massive time commitment and not a small expense. But time with the kids is precious, and it means a lot to Jake and his siblings.
“I remember one game towards the end of year. It was during warm-ups. I looked up and I saw my dad in the stands and I started crying a little bit, just realizing how much he cares about me, to come to every game. All he’s done for me my whole life. It was pretty amazing.”
The same can be said for his rookie season. After being cut by the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings, and then by the Alliance of American Football’s Salt Lake City franchise, Wieneke wasn’t sure how his football career was going to move forward. But it didn’t take long to find out. He signed on with the Alouettes on Dec. 31, 2018. He didn’t know much about the CFL, but his dad coached him up.
“He taught me a lot. My dad loves football. He started telling me about the different rules of the CFL game. He was on top of it. He even sent me some film to look at.”
By the time Jake hit training camp, he had a sense of the CFL game. He learned the intricacies from receivers B.J. Cunningham, Devier Posey and Eugene Lewis and from head coach Khari Jones and quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.
“I enjoyed every second of the season,” said Jake.
So did his parents.
We asked Jake, ‘Do you like it when we’re there?’ He said ‘Yep, I love it.’ That’s all we needed to hear.