SASKATOON — As a representative of Upper Deck recorded a video, Saskatchewan Roughriders teammates Jameer Thurman and Shawn Bane Jr. sifted through packages of CFL cards.
The timing could not have been better.
Bane Jr. opened the first package and was soon the proud owner of a Thurman card. How convenient!
To celebrate, the speedy Roughriders receiver asked Thurman to autograph the collectible. The veteran CFL linebacker cheerfully complied.
Bane Jr. then dug into a second pack and, sure enough, he pulled another Thurman card.
Shortly after the wrapping was removed from the next package, a third Thurman card was found.
The Thurman three-for-three was quite a conclusion to last week’s signing session at Coors Light Training Camp.
For part of the afternoon, select members of the Roughriders visited a second-floor room at the University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ football clubhouse and scribbled their signatures a few hundred times. The autographs will adorn Upper Deck’s next set of CFL cards.
“I enjoy this every year,” said offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, who is entering his 10th season of Canadian professional football. “You always know the season is getting close when it’s time to sign the cards.
“My kids always look forward to the cards. They like to collect them and show them to their friends.
“When I get the cards, I always give half of them to my wife and the other half to my mom.”
Now a seasoned signer, Brett Lauther understands the other half of the equation — a time in his career when he was a longshot to ever appear on a football card, let alone autograph one.
After appearing in four games with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2013, Lauther bounced around the league until becoming the Roughriders’ regular placekicker five years after his CFL debut.
“It’s a little bit surreal,” he marvelled. “When I was out of football, there weren’t really cards of backup kickers.
“To have yourself on cards now and to see them on eBay or to sign them across the province in Saskatchewan while doing a school visit, it is pretty cool. It’s something I won’t ever take for granted.”
Lauther — a Roughriders player representative and the CFL Players’ Association’s First Vice-President — understands the wide-ranging benefits of the arrangement with the sports collectibles giant.
“It’s a lot of fun and a great partnership with the CFLPA and Upper Deck,” he said. “It has been growing and we’re trying to grow it more and more every year. It has been growing.
“For us, any money that comes in with this goes to the Academy.”
The CFLPA Academy provides support to players’ association members and their families in the areas of education, employment and wellness.
“It’s extremely important, because football’s not going to last forever for us,” Lauther noted.
“For up to three years after we’re done playing in the CFL, you can go through the Academy and they’ll help you out, whether it’s going back to school or if you want to be a firefighter or, really, with anything.”
Bane Jr. was especially fired up to sign the cards.
“I’ve actually been told by vets that I should just put SBJ when I sign, but it’s my first time!” he said with a smile. “The least I can do is give them Shawn Bane Jr.”
And it’s about time.
“I’ve been practising for this since the seventh grade,” he continued, “although there has definitely been some fine tuning over the years.
“There would be the Valentine’s Day cards you make personally for your parents, or I’d be doodling in class. We didn’t know what would come of it, but the goal was to hopefully be worth something.”
Bane Jr. broke into the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders in 2021 but did not become a regular with the Roughriders until last year when, at 28, he enjoyed a 93-catch, 1,104-yard breakout season.
“One organization believes in you and in everything I’ve trusted in myself and it’s amazing,” he said. “It’s super-humbling. I can’t even express how it makes me feel, because it’s like, ‘Me …?’ ”
Yes, you!
“I can’t believe it … I can’t believe it … I don’t know the words,” he said. “There’s gratitude and extreeeeeeeme happiness.”
Especially when the time comes to look for teammates in packages of Upper Deck cards.
The Thurman hat trick was impressive, beyond a doubt, but one more surprise awaited — a Trevor Harris jersey card.
Upon finding that treasure, which included a small patch of the Roughriders quarterback’s jersey, Bane Jr. rushed downstairs in the hope that Harris would still be on the premises.
Success!
Just like that, Bane Jr. was the proud owner of one more autographed card.
