I was sleepless in Saskatchewan leading up to the 101st Grey Cup Game.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders were poised to play for a championship — at home, yet — so the anticipation led to endless tossing and turning in the wee hours of Nov. 24, 2013.
This nocturnal creature finally lapsed into unconsciousness around 5 a.m., a mere four hours before the phone unexpectedly rang.
It was a well-placed source, offering a tip.
“Tom Hanks is flying into Regina,” it was whispered, “and he will be at the game.”
Just another ordinary day in the Queen City …
In my capacity as the Regina Leader-Post’s Sports Editor, I quickly made some follow-up calls.
After weeks upon weeks of planning our Grey Cup coverage, we had not expected or accounted for the presence of a Hollywood legend.
What to do?
Plans were quickly formulated for a stake-out of historic Mosaic Stadium.
We theorized that Hanks — the star of Sleepless in Seattle, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and, once upon a time, a sitcom named Bosom Buddies — would likely be sitting in one of the stadium’s east-side suites.
Considering that the only convenient or semi-practical path to the upper east side was via The Slowest Elevator Ever Manufactured, we decided that a reporter/videographer would be stationed at that spot.
Our photographers (Don Healy and Bryan Schlosser) were duly alerted, as was videographer Rachel Psutka.
Then I went back to sleeeeeee…..
Early in the afternoon, my snoring was interrupted by the necessity of making my way to the stadium.
It was to be an earlier-than-usual arrival, because I was to appear on TSN’s pre-game show, alongside the inimitable Brian Williams.
So there I sat, waiting to destroy TSN’s ratings, when Brian leaned over during a commercial break and confided: “Tom Hanks, Martin Short and their sons are on their way here from the airport. They’re going to come up to the booth as soon as they get here.”
At that point, I realized that: (a) TSN’s ratings were indeed salvageable; (b) Our early-morning planning was for naught, because I was sitting on the very same panel that would soon be occupied by Hanks, Short and offspring.
Milliseconds before the commercial ended, I explained the L-P’s frantically conceived plan to Brian and asked if it would be possible to stick around after my segment with the aspiration of perhaps landing the coveted interview with Hanks.
“No problem,” said Brian, bless his heart.
Our nationally televised segment proceeded without embarrassment or litigation, whereupon I made my way to a corner of the TSN booth and awaited a brush with greatness.
As if on cue, the Hankses (Tom and Colin) and Shorts (Martin and Oliver) entered the premises and were whisked on to the set.
At that point, the only word dancing around in my little mind was “interception.”
Where should I optimally position myself in order to stop Hanks in his tracks and, perchance, interview him once the TSN appearance was over?
I decided to stand near the door through which he had entered the booth. How ingenious.
Sure enough, Hanks made his way toward the west side of the soon-to-be-demolished structure, high atop Pilsner Place, after appearing on TSN.
Gradually, he made his way toward me, stopping to affably interact with fans and take selfies.
The Grand Plan was working! He was getting closer, step by step, selfie by selfie.
There was only one snag: Due to my utter absorption with logistics and positioning, I hadn’t given any consideration to one not-inconsiderable matter: Um, what do I ask Tom Hanks?
And there he was — Tom Hanks! — only a few feet away.
Seizing the opportunity, I shakily asked him for an interview. He cheerfully consented, I spluttered out a question, and we got this: WATCH THE YOUTUBE CLIP
The brief, glorious interaction had been recorded on an eminently discardable video camera that, post-Hanks, was never again used by this scribbler — or by any living soul, for that matter.
As he walked away, I quickly checked the device to ensure that the interview had, in fact, been recorded.
Whew!
My career was saved.
It was then that another logistical issue arose: How to get the camera to Leader-Post World Headquarters?
Technology at the time did not allow for the now-rudimentary transmission of video from Point A (Mosaic Stadium) to Point B (1964 Park Street).
Hence the need for good, old-fashioned shoe leather and determined driving.
A call (my 114th of the day) was placed to a genial genius, Juris Graney, who was informed that we had TOM HANKS (!!!) on video. The L-P’s online editor of the day promptly dispatched our fine colleague, Mark Melnychuk, to the stadium.
Perhaps 15 minutes later, I spotted an approaching Mr. Melnychuk, to whom I tossed the camera over a fence.
Off he went to the newsroom.
Up I went to the press box.
I sat down at the appointed perch, confident that the chaos had abated, and popped open my laptop.
The battery power was low.
It was a sure sign that the brain power was low.
You see, the power cord was nowhere to be found — unless you happened to be at the L-P.
Yes, I had left the cord at my desk.
Cue another call to the newroom.
“Er,” I spluttered, “could someone, er, please bring my — I am so sorry about this — power cord to the (gulp) stadium?”
I once again descended the west-side ramps and made my way to the exterior of the stadium, feeling suitably sheepish.
A few minutes later, I met up with L-P colleague Tim Switzer, who had expertly and expeditiously navigated the pre-Grey Cup traffic snarl.
Tim handed me the power cord as I extended my profuse thanks.
Up I went, again, to the press box.
By that point, I was wa-a-a-a-a-ay behind.
My last pre-game responsibility was to provide to Postmedia and L-P headquarters a pre-game story list, which included an assignment of various articles to specific pages.
Local editors were curious as to the status of the story list.
National editors were howling for the story list.
Frantically, I assembled the much-anticipated list — pausing only to stand for the national anthem — and emailed it to Regina, Hamilton and, for all I knew, parts unknown.
Only then could I sit back, breathe a sigh of relief, and immerse myself in the game … which had already started.
Amid the craziness, I had missed the first few milliseconds of the opening kickoff of the Roughriders’ first (and heretofore only) home-field Grey Cup appearance.
It was then the Tiger-Cats’ turn to be subjected to a whirlwind.
By the time intermission arrived, the visitors were trailing 31-6.
I decided to take advantage of an extended halftime show by beginning a column on what would assuredly be a Roughriders victory.
By the time the ball was kicked off to begin the second half, some 800 words had been composed. All that remained, really, was to include the final score.
Given such a head-start, I could simply sit back and enjoy the rest of the show, write? … I mean, right?
Silly me.
Just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter, Hamilton’s Luca Congi kicked a 33-yard field goal to pare Saskatchewan’s lead to 31-16.
At that moment, it occurred to me that the Montreal Alouettes had overcome a slightly larger deficit (16 points) in the waning minutes of the 2009 Grey Cup en route to rallying for a 28-27 victory over Saskatchewan.
I recalled the time, just four years earlier, when I had started to compose a “Roughriders win Grey Cup!” column after Congi’s convert of a Darian Durant TD run had given Saskatchewan a 27-11 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining.
SLAM!
The computer, fully electrified, was suddenly shut.
This couldn’t be happening again … could it?
And it couldn’t be happening at home … could it?
Nope.
Everyone could breathe a lot easier when Kory Sheets ran for 21 yards on second-and-19 to extend a Roughriders drive and burn valuable time off the clock.
(Kudos to Taj Smith for a key block that enabled Sheets to gain the final few yards.)
The outcome was a certainty by the time Durant found Weston Dressler for a gorgeous, 26-yard touchdown pass with just 4:09 left.
By that time, the laptop had been reopened, and my phone — a BlackBerry, if you can believe that! — was burning up.
Friends and loved ones were texting me from various locations in the stands, emoting about what it meant to them to watch the Roughriders win a Grey Cup, live and in person, in a stadium that was a second home for so many of us.
Once the clock hit 0:00, I dove into the column once more and polished up many of the paragraphs that had been written at halftime.
I used every second of the 45 minutes that remained until deadline, recognizing that I was documenting a landmark in Saskatchewan sports history for what would surely be a keeper edition of my favourite newspaper.
In so doing, I missed the presentation of the Grey Cup.
I missed the sight of Durant holding the trophy above his head.
I missed everything except, well, the deadline.
After filing the column, I looked around and saw a few lonely figures walking around the playing surface, over which green and white confetti was strewn.
Only then did the full gravity of the occasion hit home.
Once upon a time, the notion of a Regina-based Grey Cup Festival was utterly incomprehensible.
Growing up, the notion of a Roughriders Grey Cup victory, period, was impossible to imagine.
I was only two when Saskatchewan captured its first championship. I was 25, and in the stands at SkyDome (now Rogers Centre), when the Roughriders won it all for the second time.
A third title followed in 2007, again in Toronto, when I had another brush with greatness.
Leaving the press box at Rogers Centre, I nearly ran over the actor who played Julian in Trailer Park Boys.
That helped to prepare me for the events of Nov. 24, 2013, when I was introduced to someone who was a really Big deal.
Thank you, Tom Hanks, for demonstrating that the on-screen nice-guy persona isn’t just an act.
Thank you, Tim Switzer and Mark Melnychuk, for the uncompensated, unheralded courier services.
And thank you, Kory Sheets, for the (whew!) 21-yard run.
ROLL CREDITS …
• Nice people who deserve a plug: Tom Hanks, Tim Switzer, Mark Melnychuk, Juris Graney, Brian Williams, Madeleine Tell, Nicholas Tell, Donna Kabaluk, Wayne Hellquist, Peter Berce, Murray Giesbrecht, Stefani Langenegger, Joelle Seal, Sam Berg, Larry Moleski, Trevor Harris, Laura Steadman, Erica Steadman, Abby Steadman, Dr. Kobus de Witt, Darrell Romuld, Dick White, Rod Fink, Tyler McMurchy, Dante De Caria, Kelly Remple and Colleen Gust.
