Mitchell Blair
David Lee had no idea what type of firestorm he was about to start when he recovered a Drew Willy fumble in Winnipeg and scored a touchdown that helped the Riders to a 23-17 win earlier this season and frankly he doesn’t care.
Lee’s first professional touchdown was a special moment and not only did it garner his wife Elizabeth, 15 minutes of fame as her screams of joy were captured on YouTube, but it also has sparked more talk than any touchdown the Riders have scored this year including Dan Clark’s circus catch for a major last week in B.C.
Lee wasn’t allowed to keep the ball because of an obscure CFL rule in which each team can use balls that their quarterback and the league approves of during a game and taking a ball would reduce that inventory. Its not as if the 24 year old didn’t try though.
“We did try! “Lee proclaimed. “Ricky grabbed the ball, but the new league rule meant we couldn’t keep it so someone from the Bombers came and took it back. I lobbied a little bit for it, but that didn’t work.”
What did work for Lee though was an appearance at a charity golf tournament. Someone else at that tournament was a huge Rider fan and is someone with a little bit of pull—Premier Brad Wall. Lee says a conversation with Saskatchewan’s leader started a campaign to get the ball into the hands of its rightful owner.
“I had never met the Premier before, but we had a short conversation at the tournament. He asked me if I got to keep the ball and when I said no, he said I’ll take care of this.” Lee said. “I didn’t really know what he had up his sleeve.”
What Wall had up his sleeve was a social media campaign. Using his Twitter account, Wall used the hashtag “FreeDavid’sBall” and let people know that Lee didn’t have the ball. It spread like wildfire. Its something that caught the Western Ontario grad off guard.
“When someone like him just comes along and says that, it takes you back a little bit.” Lee said with a laugh. “I guess that’s a politician for you. He’s working for the common man and that’s what I love to see.”
Lee says the actions of Premier Wall also symbolized to him what the Rider Nation was all about.
“This is my first year out here and to see how Rider fans jump on board with anything that supports the team is absolutely amazing.” Lee admitted. “To see the support, to see the retweets and to hear the talk was a great feeling. I love the community here and so does my wife. We didn’t know what to expect when we came out here, but we’ve learned Saskatchewan has committed crazy fans and we both love it here.”
The Bombers have said they are going to bring the ball with them when they come to Regina for Sunday’s Labour Day Classic. One might argue the Bombers could just throw any ball into the equipment bag and give it to Lee and that the ball he gets isn’t necessarily going to be the ball he had. He says he will know if it’s the right ball as soon as he gets it even though its not marked up in any way.
“I’ll know,” Lee insists. “I’m going to know because the moment I feel that football I will know. It doesn’t have any markings on it. But the second I get it, I will feel it and I will know. I will know!”
Lee, who says the ball will go in a case and put on his mantle as a keepsake, says he isn’t making any apologies for wanting the ball even though CFL rules dictate he shouldn’t have it. In fact, he is hoping to be a trailblazer when it comes to this issue.
“I know what’s going on and that’s sort of an added goal. “ Lee said. “I think defensive players across the league should be able to keep the football if they make a big touchdown, have a milestone or something else. I’m hoping this overturns that a little bit and we make an exception here or there.”
