Gordon Gilroy and Ty Robinson can finally savour a rare respite once it is confirmed, with certainty, that everything is up in the air.
All the jerseys, pants and cleats.
All the helmets, decals and face masks.
All the shoulder pads and assorted CFL game gear.
All the equipment trunks.
All the bags, some of which contain more bags.
Everything — and we mean everything — that must be airborne when the Saskatchewan Roughriders travel for a road game, as is the case today.
Every possibility is accounted for when Gilroy — the Roughriders’ Equipment Manager since 2009 — and his fifth-year assistant, Robinson, immerse themselves in the fine art of packing, packing, packing.
Earlier this week, for example, the long-term forecast indicated the possibility of rain on Saturday in Hamilton, where the Tiger-Cats will play host to the Roughriders.
The mere prospect of inclement conditions means the list of items, to occupy the cargo bay of a WestJet charter, can grow on a just-in-case basis.
“I don’t think people realize how much work goes into one road trip,” Gilroy said.
He and Robinson spent much of Thursday morning getting ready for a Friday afternoon departure and a Saturday evening return flight.
Yet, there is only so much that can be done when the team still has one more full practice before everything can be packed away and readied for the flight.
Once the week’s final full-scale workout was completed early Thursday afternoon, Gilroy and Robinson began collecting an equipment bag from each of the 45 players who will make the trip.
Those bags, which occupy three carrying cases, are then wheeled to a truck that will eventually carry everything to Regina International Airport … and back to the stadium … and back to the terminal.
A trip typically includes the packing of 75 to 80 bags, counting those that are required by Head Athletic Therapist Greg Mayer and his colleagues.
The athletic therapists also travel with five trunks. Factor in the equipment and the trunk total swells to 13 to 14, depending on the specific requirements for that journey.
Gilroy and Robinson accompanied the mass of trucked luggage to the airport on Thursday night. Everything was then weighed, so the airline knew how much will be on the flight. A typical weight is in the range of 7,500 to 8,000 pounds but, understandably, there is the need for specific figures when there is so much luggage on board.
Once the tonnage was confirmed, everything returned to the stadium for an overnight stay. It is back to the airport today, once the plane arrives.
If this sounds like a lot — and it is — keep in mind that we have outlined a tiny fraction of what happens and what must accompany the team.
“It’s quite the process to load an airplane,” Gilroy noted.
Those words are uttered without the slightest evidence of complaint.
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it,” said a smiling Gilroy, who recently celebrated his 20-year anniversary with the Roughriders.
He spent four seasons assisting Norm Fong before succeeding the veteran equipment manager 15 calendar years ago. Fong was inducted into the SaskTel Plaza of Honour in 2009.
Robinson, it seems, was predestined to work with sporting teams. His father, Colin, was an athletic therapist in the Western Hockey League for 29 years.
Nicknamed “Toledo,” the elder Robinson worked with the Swift Current Broncos (1995-2001), Vancouver Giants (2001-05) and Kamloops Blazers (2005-24).
As a youngster, Ty was a stick boy for the Blazers. That was his formal designation, anyway. He helped out in myriad ways that extended far beyond the purview of his job description.
“Everything I’ve done in this business is because of my dad,” Robinson said. “That’s what got me started.
“From the age of six or seven, I would help my dad prepare for road trips and games. In the summertime, when the tape and sticks would come in, I’d help him unpack them.”
There is, indeed, a lot to unpack.
As busy as it is for Robinson and Gilroy, the “labour of love” label is entirely applicable here.
“This is what you sign up for,” Robinson said. “For me, growing up in hockey locker rooms, I knew what I was getting into.
“I’ll take this over riding the bus any day.”
Once everything is on the plane, Gilroy and Robinson can kick back for a little while at 38,000 feet. But when the plane lands, there is another destination — Hamilton Stadium, per this weekend’s agenda.
The objective following touchdown on the tarmac and the loading of equipment on another truck is to make the visitors’ locker room look and feel like home. Accordingly, players’ name plates are packed.
The equipment staff will carefully outfit each player’s stall while most of the team travels by bus from the airport to the hotel.
Gilroy makes a point of polishing every helmet and ensuring that the decals, showcasing the iconic Roughriders logo, are just right.
No detail is too small to be a big deal.
By game day, the visitors’ quarters are, if you will, a green space.
With the game in progress, Gilroy and Robinson tend to any issue that arises, such as a broken helmet, a footwear matter … you name it.
They have packed, remember, with every possibility in mind.
“These guys are outstanding,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “You’re just super grateful that you have people like that in the organization.
“It’s selfless, truthfully. It needs to be done, but not a lot of people are going to raise their hands to help. It’s awesome that they take it so seriously.
“To adapt on the fly when things happen, they’ve got to be the first ones to move. We can’t start certain things without the things they do.
“Nothing but love for those guys.”
The same guys for whom a term such as “unsung hero” is ideally suited.
“When I was a young player, those are things you kind of don’t think about,” Mace said. “But when you’re around for a few years, you realize what’s happening.”
Part of what happens depends on the location.
When the Roughriders visit the Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks or Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the equipment travels to and from Regina by truck.
For all other excursions, this week’s routine is the rule.
In all cases, the firm of Gilroy and Robinson begins its preparations for a road game on the day of the first practice of the week. It all leads up to a day such as Thursday, which Gilroy referred to as “hectic.”
The time frame, which always necessitates brisk and unerring work, is tightened considerably following a game.
With a Regina-bound plane waiting on the tarmac, Gilroy and Robinson can have everything packed and destined for the airport 45 to 60 minutes after the final play.
It is organized craziness, but there is always time for a careful triple-check to ensure that everything has been packed.
Once the team returns home, the mass of equipment is back on a truck — and back to Mosaic Stadium, where the unloading process begins.
By now, it is all second nature to Gilroy and Robinson.
“It used to feel enormous,” Gilroy said, “but now doesn’t seem like that big of a project, simply because I’ve been doing it for so long.”
For anyone unaccustomed to or unfamiliar with everything that goes into transporting a professional football team and all its necessities, it feels like a gargantuan undertaking.
And even with all the efficiency and expertise that accompany experience, there is rarely an opportunity to rest for Gilroy and Robinson when football season is in full swing.
That is especially true next week.
On Thursday, the Roughriders depart for Toronto.
