All Aboard: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Seneca

Tickets Please: Part of being a professional athlete is the inevitable interaction we have with our fans. We meet them at events, on the street, and at our games and practices. Most of these exchanges are good, some are bad, and some are neither here nor there. In the category of neither here nor there, a few misconceptions regularly surface. I would like to address these ideas for a few reasons: one, I think they are inaccurate; two, according to my teammates they occur frequently; and three, they are a pet peeve of mine.

The first myth I would like to dispel is the one that causes those not part of the Canadian Football Players fraternity to envy those of us who play because we have 6 months off every year. It is as if people think that once the season is over, players go on an extended vacation until the next year’s training camp. This is certainly not the case. When I first entered the CFL over 14 years ago, off-season preparation was in full swing. The days showing up to training camp to get in shape were long gone. Off-seasons are rife with training and preparing for the next year. I usually take one month off from training and then it is back to the workouts. And once I start it is a 5 or 6 day a week commitment. The training sessions usually end up being at least 2 hours in duration. So, even though it is the “off” season, most CFLers are hard at work. Add to that the fact that many players find a job for the off-season to prepare for their lives after football. For the first 11 years of my football career, I was a substitute teacher in London. Now most of my off-season work centres around speaking and appearances. Many other players fill their out of season time with other work. I doubt there would be many people envious of Brian Ramsay at 6:00 p.m. on a weeknight. Brian would be on the GO train after a day in the office where he works as an accountant. But he wasn’t on his way home to kick off his shoes and put his feet up. He was heading to the training facility to get his workout in. And those workouts are grueling affairs where one pushes oneself to get to a new level of physical readiness. Only after this would Brian head home for a short night’s sleep before doing it all over again the next day. That is one example to show that CFL athletes have an off-season that isn’t very “off”.

The second idea I’d like to scrutinize is one that also comes up frequently in conversations with people who know we play sports professionally. This is not limited to footballers as I have heard similar things from other professional athletes I have met. It usually comes out when in the course of a conversation we hear: “Man, you are lucky to be getting paid to play a game!” Now, I realize that this phrase could mean a few different things. The person speaking could really be meaning to say that they think it is cool that your occupation is a playing a sport. Or they could simply be trying to communicate the idea that they would love to be in your shoes (or cleats, as we call them). I have no problem with those sentiments. But I think some people are saying that they attribute our position as professional athletes to chance or good fortune.  I personally don’t even believe in luck. I’m more likely to attribute things to providence than chance. That being said, if by luck the person is thinking of the aforementioned quote by Seneca, I would accept that. Most professional athletes, of any discipline, have been successful because they have PREPARED themselves. They have worked hard to put themselves in a favourable position for the opportunities that come their way. Luck and chance are not keys to success for athletes. More likely, they have been disciplined, passionate, and indefatigable in the pursuit of their dream. There are some athletes that are so naturally gifted that they do not have to work very hard but for the majority that is not the case. Before you tell a professional athlete how lucky he or she is, be sure to let them know you understand that they have toiled for their chance to do what they are doing.

Let me tell you a quick story that illustrates the final notion that really gets my goat. My second training camp in the CFL saw me at Brock University getting ready to try out for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The day before the training camp started, I was walking across a parking lot heading to the dorms we would be staying in. A black Camaro with heavy metal blaring on the stereo slowly pulled up beside me. Inside the car was a flabby, long-haired stereotypical “rocker” puffing on a cigarette. The individual questioned me: “Do you know if they allow walk-ons at this training camp?” As it turns out, this fellow had played high school football a few years back and was interested in trying his hand at professional football. WOW! I actually come across this quite often. Whether it is the one–time athlete who played football years before or the big man who has never played but towers over the average guy, many people insinuate that they could be playing professional football. “I played football my senior year in high school and I was pretty good. Do you think I should try out?” Sure, if you’d like to spend some time in a hospital or rehab facility. Sometimes I feel like responding with this: “When I was young, I used to pretty good at the Milton Bradley game Operation. Do you think I should become a surgeon?” Now, I do not mean to be arrogant. And certainly there are many great athletes who were overlooked when they were young. If professional football is a dream of yours then, regardless of your gridiron pedigree, I would not dissuade you from your journey. There are guys who have never played football who make it professionally. But understand that these are the exceptions and the fact that they succeed is usually because of their incredible athleticism. Professional athletes are a very select group of individuals who have honed their skills so that they can participate in their sport at a very high level.

            Please do not take these grumblings of this curmudgeon too seriously. I may just have a burr under my shoulder pads. And do not think that athletes critique all the things that get said in conversations with fans. We enjoy the interaction. I encourage you to interact with us as you always have.

            I’m sure that I, and other athletes, say perfectly inane things regularly. Maybe you’d like to tell me about it. Feel free: football@judestjohn.ca.

Last Stop: Another good quote about luck: “Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.”  ~R.E. Shay