“You can’t wait until everything’s perfect”: Rider fan Dwayne Bzdel’s inspiring story
SASKATOON — Training camp isn’t just a gruelling exercise for the players.
Consider the compelling case of Dwayne Bzdel.
A fixture in Griffiths Stadium’s Row 1 at Coors Light Training Camp, the 58-year-old Saskatoon resident walks 4.7 kilometres each way, each day, to watch his beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders practise.
“This,” he says with the friendliest smile, “was on my bucket list.”
Life’s goals were revised in August of 2021, after Bzdel suffered a brain injury.
“I was at work,” he recalls. “I fell off the back of a delivery truck at a job site. The boys said, ‘The back of your head is all blood,’ but I figured I had just banged my head and rolled the marbles around a bit, so I kept working.”
Initially, the injury seemed to be superficial, but it soon worsened to the point where Bzdel could not take more than two steps.
“The next morning, I ended up in hospital,” he says. “I fell flat on my face overnight.”
A CT scan revealed the blood was pooling in the back of his head, near the cerebellum — which controls motor movement, balance and speech.
“The surgeon said it was too risky to do anything,” Bzdel says.
He was diagnosed with encephalomalacia, which is defined informally as a softening of the brain tissue that can be caused by trauma.
Since then, Bzdel has had to manage issues relating to memory, sight, speech, balance and organization. He is prone to tremors that can last from a few seconds to several hours.
“And there is a constant ringing in my ears,” he adds, “every waking minute.”
But here’s the thing: He isn’t complaining — not for “a waking minute,” as he would say.
“You can’t wait until everything’s perfect,” he states. “You just have to live.
“There is not one aspect of my day that isn’t affected in some way by what I’m living through. You can cry about it or you can do something.”
Looking at him, listening to him, you would not guess what he has had to contend with and overcome in nearly four years.
The initial and enduring impression is of a Roughriders fan of considerable devotion and, yes, bravery. Throughout one Roughriders practice, he cheerily sat in the stands without a coat, proudly sporting a green T-shirt. Everyone else was bundled up, but shivering nonetheless.
Bzdel? He was just happy to be there, soaking it all in during what were, for him, shirtsleeve conditions.
“I’ve always been a Rider fan,” he says, “and I have proof!
“Growing up back on the farm near Elfros, the Labour Day game would always be around harvest. My dad could tell how the Riders were doing based on how many new dents there were on the roof of his truck.”
However, recollections of names and games from his formative years as a fan are often elusive since the accident.
“There are glimpses of football-related memories,” Bzdel says. “There will be some memories of Ronnie (Lancaster) … I remember the name J.J. Barnagel (a hybrid of early-1980s quarterbacking cohorts Joe Barnes and John Hufnagel) for some reason.
“My first jersey had Bobby Jurasin’s number (71) on it. A lot of my other jerseys had 33 but I couldn’t remember why until someone said ‘Chris Szarka.’
“When you don’t have memories, you grab hold of things you can recall. Every day, I hope there’s a little crack in the concrete wall. I hope I can get a little bit back.”
While doing his best to look back, he keeps moving forward.
Last year, Bzdel logged 8.5 million steps, averaging 15.5 kilometres per day with the assistance of his walking stick.
“It’s part of my cognitive work every day,” he says. “When I’m walking, I try to count my steps by twos … by threes … by fives … by sevens.”
Shawn Bane Jr. and Kian Schaffer-Baker are especially big on the sevens — converted touchdowns!
Both Roughriders receivers have befriended Bzdel and helped to boost his spirits and his recovery.
“Kian Schaffer-Baker exudes what it is to be a great person and an awesome player,” Bzdel says. “He speaks with the fans and makes them feel important. He remembers me because of my ‘magical staph.’
“Last year at training camp, I had very little memory of anybody, but I looked at Shawn Bane Jr. and knew exactly who he was. I have no doubt that it was divine intervention that allowed me to know who he was.”
Bzdel’s appreciation is underlined by his purchases of items from the Bane’s World clothing line.
It isn’t uncommon for Bane Jr. to check out the latest sales and exclaim, ‘Oh my goodness … Dwayne got another shirt!’ ” the third-year Roughriders receiver said. “That is super dope.
“He’s an awesome guy.”
With the encouragement of Bane Jr. and Schaffer-Baker, Bzdel has attended an increasing number of Roughriders home games in recent years. He travels to and from Regina on a fan bus.
None of this would be possible without his wife, Dorothy.
“She has been my biggest supporter,” Bzdel says. “She does all the driving duties. I’m on permanent WCB (workers’ compensation) and she’s still working.
“She’s amazing.”
The same can be said of her husband, who has joined the ranks of the Roughriders’ season-ticket members for 2025.
“That’s part of my bucket list,” Bzdel says. “I want to make it to every game, partially because of the encouragement from Mr. Schaffer-Baker and Mr. Bane.
“The other part of my bucket list is to make it to every day of training camp.”
Mission accomplished. He has yet to miss an 8:30 a.m. workout at Griffiths Stadium, where the Saskatoon portion of training camp is to conclude on Friday morning.
“I’m blessed,” Bzdel says with a trademark smile.
“I get here at 8 o’clock and I’ve already had three hours of cognitive work.
“I love being around people and talking with fans of the Riders.”
