Mike Abou-Mechrek
Riderville.com
I hope that you, the reader of Now You Know, are starting to get the feel of what needs to go on for a football team to have success-and I haven’t yet gotten to Special Teams, Defense, the receivers or the head office – which is probably where I should have begun this cosmic journey to Lord Grey’s Promised Land…but I kinda did. Two weeks ago I started with the Offensive Line and the Riders have one of Regina’s finest and most dedicated offensive linemen making the ‘big’ decisions. That isn’t a reference to Jim Hopson’s stature, but as I’ve said before: once an o-lineman, always an o-lineman. What I mean by that is an O-lineman can be good alone but great if he works as a team. And in my opinion, next to Ol 52’s passion, business acumen, and in inert need to care, this is his strongest trait-trusting his team. He is able to make personnel decisions- in hindsight, not always the right one, but always a good one- and then let that person do what he hired them to do- their job. Whether it be throwing the football, rushing the passer, developing a marketing strategy, administering tickets or any of the other 8,423 duties involved in a football club, people are free to do their jobs.
From my perspective, there is no micro managing. Everyone in professional sports knows how fragile their job is and if they do not perform they will be gone before the sun sets. We don’t need constant reminders that “Big Brother” is watching at all times, and our big O-Line Brother only makes people, in and outside of the organization, feel like family; like they are the most important star in his universe because ultimately he (with help from Rider Nation and the Board of Directors) is the one responsible for most of this astrological alignment.
I may be biased because he drafted me and gave me my first shot in the CFL with the Bombers, but Brendan Taman is as good at identifying football talent and potential as there is in this country. Having signed three contracts with BT over my 10-year career I always wished he’d shell out some more dough but he always got me, and he paid what he needed to – not more (or less!). I’d go through the roster of guys that he and assistant GM Jeremy O’Day are responsible for bringing to Riderville but you can just click on ROSTER and voilia! Draft Picks Sam hurl, Patrick Neufeld, Ben Heenan and Craig Butler were major contributors in their 1st season removed from the CIS, and that wasn’t by accident. It wasn’t by accident that last season saw the Riders clean house of many of our 30+ year old stars and went with a (very good) young line up. These players got experience that is coming in quite useful during this 7-1 season. (this is what we sometimes call “rebuilding”- but don’t tell anyone)
It is also not by accident that one of the youngest teams in the CFL in 2012 spent some of BT’s well guarded coin on some veteran stars in key positions in 2013. Weldon Brown, Dwight Alexander, Ricky Foley and John Chick (stars that I will discuss further in weeks to come) but also a 37-year old superhero who is the greatest, and only 16,000 yard receiver in CFL history, Geroy Simon.
The best thing I can say about Geroy (and there are many) is that he used to drive me home from practice during our rookie season in the ‘peg (yes, BT was also the first to identify Clark Kent). If Geroy never caught a pass for the Riders what he, and the new additions to Mike McCullough’s 30+ Club, bring to the locker room is what may have been missing from last year’s slide from 3-?????? Guys who have ‘been there before.’ Whether leading by 30 points, or trailing by 30, winning 3 games in a row, or losing 3 straight; guys who have been on both sides of the ledger and found a way to win. Guys who don’t panic and realize that a game has 60 minutes and a season has 18 games and have learned not to get too high or too low. I am talking about Locker room presence, huddle presence and sideline presence. These are not things that can come from the coaching staff; it needs to come from a teammate who is going through the same struggles as you are. Guys who set the tone; and this comes from the top down; from the President, down to the Marketing and Sales team, down to the GM and coaches, and then into the locker room and on to the field.
I won’t name names (but I have mentioned where I spent most of my CFL career) but the freedom to do what you do best without Big Brother watching over your shoulder does not exist on many teams. This freedom to ‘let it all hang out’ allowed me to push the envelope on how good I could be without worrying about ‘what if I don’t succeed’, what if I miss this block, what will I do if I get cut. Removing all the negative thoughts can only help the player (office staff, coaches, etc) stretch the boundaries of how good they can be and ascend to an even higher level of accomplishment…if they don’t know what’s on the line they shouldn’t be in pro sports.
Thank you Jim, Brendan and the whole Rider culture for providing a great environment for me, and our other players, to excel. With this leadership in place the sky is the limit.
(I value your feedback at Mike.Abou-Mechrek@InvestorsGroup.com)
