Mike Abou-Mechrek: Now You Know
Only looking back on a 20 year football career (10Pro) can I start to see all the stars that needed to align perfectly to get me to where I am today. Like in 1999 two weeks after I got cut by the Bombers when o-lineman Sandy Annunziata showed up to practice in street clothes in protest to being demoted from starter to Injured Reserve. Coach Dave Ritchie cut him on the spot and minutes later GM Brendan Taman was calling my number. Or in 2006 when the Riders hired the only other GM I ever had, Eric Tillman, just before Labour Day. And in passing conversation during pre-pre game warm up of the Classic asked if his wife Francine’s friend Katie (A-M) ever considered moving to Saskatchewan…no tampering here!! And we all know how the rest of my football story goes but I don’t know what I did to deserve such a story book career because it took me a long time to get even average.
Growing up I was never the best player on my team like most pros were. I’ve never even been the best lineman on my team, but one thing that I did bring to the table is Passion.
But being passionate doesn’t make you a good football player just the same as footballers who have perfect practice technique don’t last long either. It’s a balance between the two. You have to care about what you put out there more than your coach, or the fans do. It’s not about succeeding, or wanting to have success- it’s more of a need. Even if the outcome isn’t favorable the feeling remains. This results in a huge disappointment when you don’t do, or get, what you’ve already set your mind and body on. It is a feeling of loss. That’s why you see 300 pound he-men crying after a loss.
As I’ve already noted, passion wasn’t my problem. But passion is a dangerous thing…not so much the passion, but being able to harness it. That’s probably why I am most remembered as a Rider for being thrown out of a game in Hamilton in 2007, and it has cost me more than a few bucks in fines over my career. But it was this same passion that made Brendan Taman call a confused, over weight kid from Toronto that July afternoon in 1999, and I am sure that Coach Ritchie and GM Brendan Taman were willing to gamble that they could help me manage my emotions- the same kid that everyone laughed at on the first day of Bomber Training Camp when I was asked to get into my 3 point stance (it wasn’t very technically sound).
It was a gamble because the good passion always trumps the bad passion until you can get it under control- and there was a lot of bad before the good. So they let me work on the Practice Roster, learning the ropes of a Professional Offensive Lineman from wiley vets like Brett MacNeil, Dave Vankoughnett and Moe Elewonibi- things that I tried to pass on to my rookies –like Dom Picard and Chris Best- and hopefully to some degree contribute to the o-line culture that Gene Makowski, Jeremy O’Day, Andrew Green, Roger Aldag, Bob Poley…et al built in the locker room for guys coming up like Dan Clark, Ben Heenan and Patrick Neufeld (even though he’s now a Bomber). Canadian kids who care, are always willing to learn more, and who are physically gifted/fat enough, and if you ever question their passion they will show you it with either a big bear hug (my favorite) or a nice new shiner.
I won’t speak for anyone else but looking back on what now seems to be someone else’s life I know that it was this passion that allowed me the opportunity to fine tune my football skills and grow into a good football player.
Surprisingly, in this growth I learned that contrary to what most fans believe when it is done right football is not a passionate sport. It is very systematic and repetitious-almost scientific. And emotions often get in the way (kind of like life).
Each player-even the QB- is just one cog in the machine. Everyone must do their job-and only their job- for things to run smoothly. I found that when my emotions ran too high (or low) I would try to do too much and my technique failed. I was too concentrated on “killing him” that I forgot to “sit back in my saddle with my shoulders and head back and my palms ready to strike”- once I got a hold of him I could allow myself to ‘release the beast’…and then turn it right off once the whistle blew, yet while my victim still had their hands in my face or was punching me in the solar plex.
TWEETT! Stop. Easier said than done, but that’s what makes a Pro. Because a Pro is at work and needs to get his butt back to the huddle to focus on the next play and not “killing him” or winning the game- only about “getting his feet on the ground as quickly as possible, driving the knee of his third step through the defenders inseam and deliver a blow with the base of his palms, with his elbows tucked in, that will lift the 310lbs defender off his feet, and then snap your hips through and maul him”…and then calmly walk back to the huddle for the next assignment after the TWEETT.
As tough as it is for me to say that when it is done right there is no passion in the game I firmly believe it to be true…but who wants to watch, or play in a game void of emotion? Isn’t that what life is all about- feeling?
What I miss most about the game has little to do with the game at all- it’s the feelings. Definitely the feeling after winning, but also the feelings after a loss. It is a horrible feeling but what comes with it is the knowledge that you did everything you could possibly do for yourself and your teammates because you needed to win, you didn’t just want to…and that’s when the waterworks fly. When you feel like your best effort was not good enough and you’ve let down your teammates, your friends, family and your city….or you’ve put your heart out on the line with other individuals and accomplished what may once have seemed like an impossible feat to those on the outside, but one that your teammates knew you had in you. The highs and lows, and the bonds that can only be formed with others by going through adversity and enjoying the fruits of your collective labours. Even if it’s only a game, the feelings of gain and loss are similar to life.
I am not sure if I could have played out my career (or my life) with less passion or emotion, even though maybe I should have, but Brendan (and Eric Tillman) knew what they were getting into when they signed their names to my CFL contracts a combined 6 times, and who am I to argue with them?
I am not sure of how the stars need to align in terms of passion and skill within a player but I do know that they need to be present.
I am not sure of a lot of things, but I am pretty sure that if I say there is no passion in football one more time I might introduce myself to one of those shiners we were talking about.
(I value your feedback at Mike.Abou-Mechrek@InvestorsGroup.com)
