Behold a tall tale that is 100-per-cent true.
We take you back to Sunday evening at 8:09. The Saskatchewan Roughriders had just registered a 32-30 CFL overtime victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 58th Labour Day Classic and, amid the pandemonium, TSN sideline reporter Brit Dort was seeking a quick post-game interview with the victorious quarterback.
Dolegala stands 6-foot-7. Dort? She’s 5-foot-4.
With that serving as all the background that you need for the moment, roll ’em!
“It was a huge win and everybody ran out on to the field,” Dort recalls. “I was out on the field looking for Jake, because I had my producer in my ear going, ‘We need Jake! We want Jake live!’
“So I’m running toward him. I finally get to him and he’s bent and crouched over. I was just like, ‘What a game! What a win!’
“Then I literally joked. I said, ‘Thanks for getting down to my level,’ because I just assumed he was bent over, catching his breath, before we started the interview. Then he said, ‘No, I have to go down this low. I can’t hear anything,’ so I laughed.
“I expected him to at one point stand up during the interview, but he just stayed down there the entire time.
“I didn’t expect it to blow up or anything. Afterward, I clicked on Twitter — on X — just to see what was going on online. I was tagged in a post by a TSN producer, so I replied to his post and it just kind of went from there.”
Oh, did it ever.
Sundry social-media types seized the opportunity to share — or “retweet,” using pre-X parlance — the interview. From there, Dort received a steady stream of feedback.
“There were a lot of people asking how short I am,” Dort, who works full-time for CTV Regina, says with a chuckle.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize how tall Jake is. Yes, he looks tall, but 6-7 is actually very tall. I’m 5-4, which I think is fairly average for a woman.
“So I got a lot of comments like ‘did she dig a hole in the ground?’ and ‘somebody get that girl a stepladder.’
“I don’t tend to go on social media too much post-game, or even the following day, because it’s not always a great place. I almost didn’t really realize the extent of it until a couple of days went by. Then I thought, ‘Oh, this is interesting …’
“Then somebody messaged me and said, ‘Did you see that the CFL changed its cover photo on X (to the hunched-over interview)?’
“I was thinking, ‘Some intern must have accidentally done that,’ but we just checked and it’s still there.
“I’m sure it’ll blow over by tomorrow or the next day or after the next big thing, but I appreciated that the CFL gave us some love, too.”
Dort was also appreciative of a nice note she received from Ottawa-based TSN reporter Claire Hanna, whose varied sporting resume includes time spent with CTV Regina and as a member of the national women’s volleyball team.
“When I heard from Claire, I thought, ‘That is hilarious,’ ” Dort says. “I said to her, ‘You’re going to have to come back to Saskatchewan if they’re going to keep winning, because we need your height in there to talk to Jake.’ ”
The CFL community is talking about Dolegala after he has guided the Roughriders to victory in both of his starts this season.
On Aug. 20, he threw three touchdown passes as Saskatchewan defeated the visiting B.C. Lions 34-29. The Lions had entered that game with a 7-2 record.
Following a bye week, the Roughriders returned to action and knocked off the West Division-leading Bombers, who carry a 9-3 slate into Saturday’s rematch at IG Field (2 p.m., TSN, CKRM).
Dolegala threw for 312 yards during the Labour Day Classic, which was followed by some appropriately classic television.
“I couldn’t hear, so (bending over) was the first natural thing to do, I guess,” Dolegala says.
“Brit’s always talking in here (in other interview situations), and I swear she’s whispering but I know she’s not. It was right after the game and it was really loud.
“Anyway … sorry, Brit. But I thought it was pretty funny, too.”
