Just A Little Wager

Just a Little Wager

So as most of you know, I’m in my 6th year as president/governor/general do-it-all type guy for the Etobicoke Eagles.

On the field, I work primarily with the Varsity Eagles. Off the field, I work with a small group of dedicated volunteers to try to do our best to provide kids with a great football experience.

On Sunday, July 11, we line up at all 3 OVFL levels with our HATED in-town rivals, the Metro Toronto Wildcats.

Or so reading the various football gossip/internet forums would have you believe.

Here’s the thing – we’ve been in the playoffs at Varsity every year since we joined the OVFL, and we’ve had tough battles with several opponents. Upon our arrival in the OV, we were bitter rivals with the Mississauga Warriors. Several of our coaches, administrators and a LOT of our original OVFL/COMFL players came from Mississauga – it was a natural. Heck, I played for the Warriors from 96 to 98 – it was the ONLY game in my end of the city back in the Great Lakes Football League days.

After we beat the Warriors in a classic OVFL conference final in 2006, we were placed in the other conference, and we’ve only played them once since, and the rivalry just wasn’t, and isn’t, the same, as most of the ties to the Warriors have dissolved with time.

Our new/old rivalries now were mainly Toronto based – we play the Toronto (Scarboro) Thunder and Metro Wildcats every year, at least once, and the games are ALWAYS tough.

This year was no exception when we played Thunder, and will be no exception this weekend when we head to Metro.

What I hope the players and people who are relatively new to the OVFL and ‘club’ football scene can understand is that regardless of our teams’ competitive nature, the adults that work behind the scenes to put these teams on the field generally get along quite well. Sure, sometimes coaches, or administrators, are not the ‘best of friends’, and most of us don’t hang out socially, but for the most part we all can put aside what’s gone on on the gridiron, and work together during the offseason to help build and promote our leagues, and the game in general.

Chuck Richardson is my ‘presidential’ counterpart with the Metro Wildcats. Chuck was one of the first people that introduced himself and lent a hand with some administrative stuff when I became Eagles president in 2005/2006. Sure, players have crossed back and forth between the ‘Cats and Eagles. Heck, even coaches and assorted volunteers have crossed that Green/Gold colour line. But through all that sort of thing, Chuck and I have managed to maintain a ‘big picture’ view of our programs, and work together to keep kids ON the field, even if the kids, or adults, involved had occasionally made it difficult to do so.

What I hope ‘outsiders’ can see is that the OVFL, and really ALL the summer/fall club football programs, are meant to help kids. At the end of the day, we won’t be able to help ALL kids, but even if we help one or two to overcome adversity and reach their goals in life, we’ll all have succeeded – regardless of what team he played with. Sure, 2007 QB #1 or 2010 RB #5 might be the ones who we focus on during the week leading up to our big rivalry games, but when it’s all said and done, we look at all the kids we’ve seen go through our systems, and can hopefully reflect on the positives.
A great example this Spring was the 2010 CFL Draftees. EE alumni Taureen Allen and MTW Alumni J’Michael Deane both ended up with the Calgary Stampeders. Not only did Chuck email me for some info about Taureen for an OVFL website front page post, but he was the one that provided the write-up, noting how much of a big game performer Taureen was (and still is, we hope!).

But despite all this ‘touchy feely’ stuff – we all know that rivalry sells. No one would like or dislike LeBron any more or less if he had stayed with the Cavs last week – but now, a whole lot more people dislike or like him and his Heat, no question.

So tomorrow, Sunday July 11, Chuck and I have come up with a little ‘wager’ for our Varsity game, to make things more….interesting.

The losing President will have to wear the winning team’s jersey, and take a picture with the winning team, for posting on the OVFL website. We’re going to take this VERY seriously, right through the 8pm kickoff to the 11pm-ish final whistle. But Chuck and I both know, when that picture is taken, whoever has to don the opposition’s colours, is going to be a good sport about it.
We won’t like it, but we both hope it will show that ALL of us, players, coaches, managers, volunteers, and even presidents, are here to HAVE FUN.

Just as long as I don’t have to put on that ‘Cats jersey, of course