Tuesday’s travels and, in some cases, travails: Anatomy of a road trip …
11:55 a.m.: Thomas Judek, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Communications Co-ordinator, arrives at my non-palatial residence. Thomas is driving us to Saskatoon, where rookie camp commences on Wednesday morning. It is an emotional time for my wife, Chryssoula, who has requested anonymity. As I depart, gracefully blowing her a kiss, she coos something that could be interpreted as “second chance at life,” whereupon she books an orchestra and finalizes plans to move to Parts Unknown with the dog.
11:59 a.m.: The Thomas-mobile is overloaded with my bulky baggage. One giant suitcase. One gym bag. Four shopping bags. And that is just for my medication.
12:03 p.m.: We are on our way. I am overcome with nostalgia. After all, it has been 50 years since I first attended a Roughriders training camp. Back then, twice-daily workouts were held at the University of Regina, where some aspiring CFLers fell into cavernous gopher holes and were never seen again. I remember marvelling at my proximity to Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Bill Baker, Alan Ford, et al. Very quickly, as a nine-year-old sapling, I realized that newcomer Rick Eber would be one of Ronnie’s preferred targets. Young Robert was correct. Seven of the 46 passes Eber caught in 1973 produced a touchdown. Then he was off to the fledgling World Football League, and eventually to the Shreveport Steamer — presumably with far less baggage than I am taking to Saskatoon.
12:16 p.m.: Thomas begins to hear all about my previous training-camp excursions to Saskatoon — each of which was abbreviated and is distant.
12:17 p.m.: “Are we there yet?” That has to be the only question percolating inside Thomas’s mind. Wait until he hears about the Shreveport Steamer! This young man, a recent and eminently worthy co-recipient of our inter-office Nicest Person award, might very well be utterly unapproachable and irreparably radioactive by the time we reach Saskatoon. Or even Lumsden.
12:18 p.m.: More nostalgia. It was only 43 years ago when I first embarked for Saskatoon and a springtime Roughriders function. Training camp was based in Regina that year, but the controlled scrimmage was held at Griffiths Stadium. Mom hated highway driving — to which Thomas was not averse until 15 minutes ago — so we boarded a Saskatoon-bound Saskatchewan Transportation Company bus on a Saturday, stayed at the downtown Holiday Inn, and attended the scrimmage on Sunday. John Hufnagel, the Roughriders’ major off-season addition in 1980, threw three touchdown passes. Two of them were caught by Kerry Smith, who had just been acquired by trade. Dave Petzke, who had looked like a combination of Rick Eber and Rhett Dawson during training-camp sessions at the U of R, had an atypically quiet day during the scrimmage. I will always believe that Petzke could have been a great one. I mean, his name rhymes with Gretzky, right?
12:43 p.m.: Should I tell Thomas this story? He is already pondering litigation or the impulsive purchase of an ejector seat. Should I tell you this story? Ahhh, what the heck … here’s another one from the 1980 training camp. I used to attend every late-afternoon workout with my prized hound, Snowball. One fine day, my next-door neighbour and great friend Tom Fuzesy rode his bike to the U of R, where we met up. Snowball saw and soon targeted Tom’s bike tire … and the spokes … and my left pant leg, which was drenched. Uh, we left camp early that day.
1:07 p.m.: I am also reminded of one-day, there-and-back trips to Saskatoon for scrimmages in 1982, 1985 and 2000 — plus a pre-season game, versus the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in 1988. Right then and there, it was evident that 1988 second-overall draft choice Jeff Fairholm would be a star. Memories from 1982: Joey Walters making leaping grabs in traffic and getting absolutely clobbered, leading me to fear that my all-time favourite athlete would not make it out of an intra-squad game. As for 1985, I got to meet then-Roughriders quarterback Joe Paopao (what a pleasure!) and also had a nice chat with receiver Tyron Gray, who shook my hand and told me that I was “very kind” to appraise the impressive manner in which he had performed during the scrimmage. He looked very much like the game-breaker who had made 63 receptions for 1,428 yards — an average of 22.7 yards per catch! — for the B.C. Lions in 1981. To my chagrin, Gray was released the day after the 1985 controlled scrimmage. But, some 38 years later, I still recall how nice he was to me that day. Everyone should strive to be remembered so fondly, for so long. Quick snapshot from the 2000 scrimmage: It was part of Henry Burris’s first training camp with the Roughriders. Smilin’ Hank! Need we say more?
1:08 p.m.: Thomas has to be thinking, “No! Pleeeeeeaasse don’t say more. I assembled a jazz/rap playlist for this trip for a reason.”
1:25 p.m.: We are somewhere between Davidson and Bladworth. What makes this noteworthy? Former Roughriders linebackers Wayne and Cliff Shaw were born in this area. Wayne and Cliff both helped Saskatchewan defeat the Ottawa Rough Riders 29-14 in the Grey Cup game of Nov. 26, 1966. The Shaws’ father, Ed, watched the game from the stands at Empire Stadium. The first plane ride of Ed Shaw’s life was to Vancouver for that game.
1:26 p.m.: Reading the mind of Thomas Judek: “Why didn’t I just fly to Saskatoon? I’m so sick of this guy! The only thing that would make this worse is if he started talking about how much he misses his dog.”
1:27 p.m.: “Thomas, I miss my dog.”
1:27 p.m.: Reading the mind of Thomas Judek: “Snowball had the right idea.”
2:11 p.m.: Arrival in Saskatoon.
2:22 p.m.: Arrival at the University of Saskatchewan dorms. We are on the fourth floor, overlooking Griffiths Stadium. This is really happening! Never before have I written about a Roughriders training camp, from beginning to end. That has always been the domain of the Regina Leader-Post’s Roughriders beat reporter. I always read the stories Darrell Davis and Murray McCormick filed from Saskatoon. Now it is my turn to immerse myself in training camp, for Riderville.com, and it is truly an honour.
3:08 p.m.: I join Thomas and the Roughriders’ Director of Communications, Arielle Zerr, for a tour of the facilities. They certainly are impressive. We are staying perhaps 50 yards away from the stadium. No more early-morning, Lewvan-construction-induced traffic congestion!
3:20 p.m.: We visit equipment manager Gordon Gilroy and his assistant, Ty Robinson, to say hello. While we are there, the nicest person enters the doorway. His name: Kalija Lipscomb. His number: 86. A rookie with the Roughriders, Kalija introduces himself to all five of us in the room before politely asking Gordie for a pair of gloves. Kalija then apologizes, unnecessarily but sincerely, for interrupting our conversation. It wasn’t an interruption at all, actually. It was wonderful to meet him. I hope Kalija is the 2023 version of Rick Eber.
3:30 p.m.: Off to the Roughriders’ locker room, in which quarterbacks Trevor Harris, Mason Fine and Shea Patterson can be found after an informal afternoon on-field session. Here we are, one day before rookie camp, and the quarterbacks are already immersed in the routine. These guys mean business.
3:35 p.m.: We are in the weight room, where quarterback Jake Dolegala is doing some crunches. He tells us the tale of driving 25 hours to Saskatoon from his home base of Buffalo. (Reading the mind of Thomas Judek: “Regina to Saskatoon felt like 25 hours today.”)
3:38 p.m.: Newly hired athletic therapist Greg Mayer is providing tutelage to the fine people who will assist him during camp. One of them is Brooke Schaeffer, to whom I was introduced in 2017 when she was a lifeguard at Wascana Pool and I was a regular attendee. On many an occasion, we have chatted about her passion for athletic therapy — and for helping people in general. With Brooke at camp, and with the array of medications that shoe-horned into the trunk and back seat of the Judek-mobile, I am confident that I will be alive to experience the opening of main training camp on Sunday.
4:02 p.m.: We run into Tyler Daku, the Roughriders’ brilliant Social Lead. Tyler is responsible for posting stories (such as this one) and virtually everything else on our website. Arielle mentions something to Tyler about running from Regina to Lumsden. I chortle. Arielle corrects me: “No, he actually did run from Regina to Lumsden.” And then he ran halfway back to Regina! Having lit up the highways to the tune of roughly 45 kilometres, Tyler decided that it was time to head to Saskatoon. I presume that he drove to Saskatoon, and that he did not run, but you can never be too certain.
4:03 p.m.: I look at a Subway, roughly 300 metres away from my dorm, and think: “Gee, that’s a long way to go.” And then I am reminded: “Tyler Daku ran to Lumsden.” It is very humbling. Maybe I will call Uber. In 1973, I was calling “Eber!”
4:04 p.m.: Thomas and Arielle suggest that we meet for dinner at 5:30. I decide to defer a very late lunch in order to rationalize the absolute crushing of a supper-hour buffet. I will combine supper and lunch into … what should we call this? … slunch! The 86-minute interval between now and dinner will provide me with nearly enough time to unload all the medication. (True story: The last thing that I jammed in my suitcase before leaving Regina, and my dog, was a pill-cutter. It could be mistaken for a pair of shears.)
5:25 p.m.: My roommate has returned. Welcome back, Mr. Judek. And fear not, Thomas! You only have to put up with me for 26 more days …
