Head Tale

Everyone else is sharing their memories of Taylor Field today so I thought I’d share a few of mine…

• I have no memory of my first game but I have two aunts who’ve had season tickets since forever so as a kid, we’d occasionally be given their tickets and I’d get to go to a game or two every year with my dad (or sometimes our whole family.)
• I don’t remember the exact details but there was a game in the early to mid-1990’s that was probably the most memorable I ever attended.  The Riders were up by three touchdowns and I should’ve known better but decided to leave with five minutes left.  I heard boos before I left the stadium and just knew the opponents (maybe the Ottawa Rough Riders?) had scored a touchdown.  Then, I got to my car (I always parked in the Superstore parking lot back in those days) and turned on the radio to hear Ottawa had scored another touchdown.  Then, driving home with very little time left in the game, I heard that the opponents had scored one last touchdown and I think ended up winning the game too.  I learned a valuable lesson about not leaving games early that day which would serve me well in the future.
• For the past few years, courtesy of a friend I worked with on the Ryan Meili leadership campaign, I was able to go the Father’s Day pre-season game with Pace (which reminds me, I still owe said friend some beers!)  Pace isn’t a huge football fan but he likes the mini-donuts and the loud music and it’s cool to take my son the way my dad used to take me.
• I was living in England in 1995 when the Riders first hosted the Grey Cup and in Calgary when they hosted in 2003 but was pretty happy to take in some of the festivities (though not the big game itself) in 2013.
• My biggest regret is that I didn’t try harder to get tickets to the 2013 Grey Cup game – seeing the Riders win it at home would’ve been amazing.  But with a six month old at home and not knowing what the weather would be like, I probably made the right choice in the end – at least in terms of long-term marriage harmony! 😉
• I got to practice on Taylor Field once – I basically got roped into playing high school football by my friends who joined in Grade 9 and needed extra players once some of the older kids moved on.  I joined in Grade 11 and was fortunate to go to a training camp for high school players which included working with one of my all-time favourite Riders, Bobby Jurasin.
• Hmm, good idea for a list come to think of it…
  My Favourite Riders of All-Time (obviously heavily influenced by two eras I followed most closely – my high school years and the Riders’ recent resurgence) 
  1. Kent Austin
  2. Weston Dressler
  3. Bobby Jurasin
  4. Darian Durant
  5. Joey Walters
  6. Dave Ridgway
  7. Kory Sheets
  8. Chris DeFrance
  9. Bob Poley
  10. Andy Fantuz