The Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Calgary Stampeders CFL action on June 10th, 2017 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, SK. Liam Richards/Electric Umbrella
Josh Bartel offered some words to live by Wednesday.
They were uttered as the 31-year-old product of Kiewa, Australia was discussing his status as one of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ funniest players.
“Back home when I was playing sports, I was always the one who liked to have fun, crack jokes and make the locker room feel at ease,” Bartel said. Then he added this gem with a smile: “I’m serious when I have to be, but having fun is a lot more fun than not.”
That outlook explains the veteran punter’s stated goal of keeping his teammates loose during a CFL regular season that stretches from late May to late November.
“Especially over the last couple of years we’ve had, I feel like you’ve got to get a few laughs in the locker room,” said Bartel, looking back to seasons in which Saskatchewan went 3-15-0 and 5-13-0. “It’s natural for me. That’s the way I am and that’s the way I’m going to be forever.”
Roughriders long-snapper Jorgen Hus suggested that Bartel is “probably the funniest guy I’ve played with.” The sayings and phrases he brought with him from Australia continually crack up Hus — and the long-snapper appreciates the diversion.
“With specialists, it’s a lot like golf; it’s easy to overthink and take things too seriously sometimes,” Hus said. “It helps you to be loose and comfortable. When you’re operating like that, you often do better. It’s a good mix.”
It’s not just what Bartel says but how he says it. He admitted he goes out of his way to play up his Australian accent and the way he pronounces words, all in the hope of getting some laughs.
“A lot of the boys get a crack-up whenever I talk,” Bartel said. “I try to do a bit of rap with them and sing with them and they just end up laughing.
“I know they’re going to laugh at me, so it doesn’t bother me. I like to be the joke.”
The fifth-year CFLer has been anything but a laughingstock this season.
Bartel had his finest game of the season Sunday, when he averaged 48.7 yards on nine punts in Saskatchewan’s 15-9 loss to the visiting Calgary Stampeders.
His directional punting was spot on, forcing Calgary’s Roy Finch to field the ball near the sidelines. That allowed the Roughriders’ cover team to hold Finch — the CFL’s leading returner — to just 55 yards on eight returns.
Bartel’s net average of 42.6 yards was his highest in a game this season and was nearly five yards better than that recorded by Calgary’s Rob Maver (37.8).
Bartel goes into Friday’s game against the host Ottawa Redblacks with seven punts this season that have forced opponents to start possessions inside their 10-yard line. Maver leads the league with nine such punts.
Bartel’s days as an athlete began in Kiewa, a small dairy town between Melbourne and Sydney. He started out in cricket and Australian Rules football, a game he says his countrymen start playing “as soon as we start walking.”
Bartel’s attention eventually turned to the North American version of football, thanks to some trailblazers.
“There were a couple of Australian guys who played Aussie Rules, who could kick the ball a fair way and who created a pathway into the NFL,” Bartel recalled.
“Darren Bennett was the first guy — he was the pioneer — and then Mat McBriar. They were getting recognition for what they could do and I thought, ‘I might as well give it a go and see what happens.’
“If I didn’t try, I probably would have regretted it for the rest of my life. The timing was right where I could take a crack at it. Nothing was holding me back, so everything just lined up.”
After Bartel’s mom Googled a kicking coach in Australia, Josh visited him for a workout. It went pretty well — for the most part.
“The first time I kicked (a football), I thought, ‘What the hell do I have in my hands? It’s meant to go over there?’ ” he recalled. “But I don’t mind trying new sports. I’m a little bit competitive when it comes to sports anyway, so it was a bit of fun.”
Bartel’s coach knew Hamilton Tiger-Cats executive Drew Allemang and sent him a video of Bartel’s workout. In May of 2012, the Tiger-Cats signed the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder as a free agent and made him their punter.
His cause was aided by the fact he’s classified as a national by the CFL.
“At training camp, I didn’t say a word for probably the first week and a half — which is very unusual for me,” Bartel said with a grin. “It was pretty daunting. I had never been in that atmosphere or environment before and I was a little bit taken aback.
“But I was lucky that I had good people there like (Tiger-Cats kicking coach) Paul Osbaldiston, (kicker) Luca Congi and (long-snapper) Kevin Scott to take me under their wing.”
Bartel responded by earning spots on East Division all-star teams in 2012 and ’13. He was traded to the Roughriders in February of 2014 and played that season with them.
He didn’t play in the CFL in 2015 but re-signed with Saskatchewan in 2016 — and averaged a career-high 45.1 yards. His 44.1-yard average this season would be the second-best of his career if he maintains it.
“I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done, especially considering that my first pre-season game of gridiron at Hamilton was the first time I had ever played a game,” he said.
“To come from a little country town and to come all the way over here and play professionally in the CFL, that’s something I’m very proud of. My friends and family are proud of that as well.”
When it was pointed out that that comment was pretty serious for a self-proclaimed funny guy, Bartel replied: “I didn’t get a joke in there, did I? Maybe put ‘LOL’ at the end of it or something.”
LOL.
