Mitchell Blair
Many popular players have gone through the Saskatchewan Roughriders dressing room over the years, but perhaps none more popular than Mike McCullough. Drafted with the 23rd overall pick in the 2003 draft, the linebacker spent 11 solid seasons with the green and white capping it off with a Grey Cup championship last year. On Friday afternoon, McCullough didn’t surprise anyone when he announced his days as a football player had come to an end. McCullough was always a guy who was quick with a quote and he was quick to thank many people when making his announcement including the people most close to him.
“I want to thank my wife Laura and my kids because without them it wouldn’t be much fun.” McCullough said with a smile. “They are everything to me. They keep me humble when my head gets too big and they pump my tires when I needed a confidence boost. I also need to thank the organization. I think back to my first day 11 years ago which was May 20, 2003 and it was the scariest day of my life. I almost ran out of the locker-room my first day because I was so nervous, but they stayed with me for 11 years and I thank them for that.”
McCullough also took time out to salute the Rider Nation for being with him through tough times.
“The fans throughout the province and the country supported me as a football player and more importantly as a person and a father and a husband. “McCullough said. “When my son Cole had health issues, the whole province just rallied around us and that was very special. We always appreciated that and its one of the main reasons why we decided to stay in Regina and Saskatchewan. We love it here and we love our life and a lot of it is because of the support I received so thank you to all of the fans.”
In his 11 years, McCullough was never flashy, but he was solid in getting the job done. He is someone who definitely earned the respect of former teammate and now assistant general manager Jeremy O’Day.
“If you want to picture what a Saskatchewan Roughrider is like, you don’t look any further than Mike. “ O’Day commented. “He’s the guy. He’s a true leader on the field and off of it as well. Everyone knows what he meant to the locker room and it didn’t take long for him to earn the respect of players whether they were rookies or vets coming in here from somewhere else. His community work is untouched as well. “
When McCullough looks back at his career, he says there is no doubt the highlight was his last game. That game was the 2013 Grey Cup game in which the Riders beat Hamilton at Mosaic Stadium to win the 4th CFL championship in team history. It’s a game that capped off a season he predicted would happen almost a year ago.
“I don’t think I would be sitting here if we didn’t win, but I knew last year was going to be the year. I just truly felt we were going to win at the start of the year because of the talent this team formed. “McCullough confessed. “When I heard about the guys we had gotten in the off-season and then we added big John Chick right as training camp started, I just knew we were going to win it all. Winning it all was home was the icing on the cake. The only thing that could have made it better is if I scored the winning touchdown, but we knew that wasn’t going to happen. “
The 34 year old leaves the game having totalled 187 defensive tackles, 113 special teams tackles, 11 quarterback sacks, and one interception.
At the conclusion of the 2010 season, McCullough received the inaugural Jake Gaudaur Veterans Award recognizing the CFL player that best demonstrates the attributes of Canada’s Veterans. He was also the recipient of the Mosaic Community Award in 2008 and 2009 which is presented annually to the Rider player who contributes the most to his community.
