DAYTONA HOMES MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

AN EVENING WITH GEROY SIMON

Star Roughrider receiver and CFL great Geroy Simon was the keynote speaker at Saturday Night’s Don Narcisse All-Star Gala at the Delta Hotel.  Don was nice enough to have me there as the Master of Ceremonies.  Geroy delivered a very funny, engaging 30-minute address.  Here are the highlights:

– I never saw myself in Regina, Saskatchewan being a Saskatchewan Roughrider.  I was like, “How in the heck did I ever become a Roughrider?”

– I’m from Johnston, PA which is famous for three things: 1) two movies were filmed there: All The Right Moves and Slapshot, 2) our crime rate and 3) we produce professional athletes.

– Every single one of my friends that I grew up with has been in jail.  That’s pretty sad.  But I made it out.

– In my family alone there are four pro athletes.  There’s nothing else to do in Johnstown besides sports.  We want to get out of there.  Johnstown is a great place to be from.

– That’s Steeler Country and I grew up watching the Steel Curtain and watching them win championships every year.  So I wanted to be a pro athlete but I just didn’t know which sport.  I played football, basketball, baseball and ran track.  I excelled at all of them.  I was the man.  I was Geroy.

– I was 17 when I left home to go to the University of Maryland and I was scared to death.  I played four years there, was a four year starter, I was the man.  I was a young, brash, cocky kid.  I thought the world revolved around me.  I was going to the NFL.  I was projected to be a first round draft pick.  But I didn’t get drafted.

– I signed with the Bengals as a street free agent but that sucked.  It sucked because I signed as a street free agent, and secondly, the Bengals were the worst team in NFL history.  But I really believed I was the best player in the world and would start in six weeks.  Coach Bruce Coslet wanted me to make tackles on special teams.  I told him ‘I’m Geroy! I don’t make tackles!’  So they released me.

– So I went to the Philadelphia Eagles.  And they released me.  I go to my favourite team in the whole world, the Pittsburgh Steelers.  But coach Cowher released me.  I go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the great Tony Dungy, and they released me twice in two weeks.

– I got released all because of one thing; my attitude.  I had the skill and ability but I just didn’t show it.

– After ’98 I said I’m through with football.  But I loved the game.  In 1999 I had the choice of two teams: the Detroit Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.  My dumb ass chose the Bombers.

– I had two great years in Winnipeg and got a chance to get back to the NFL.  I signed with the K.C. Chiefs and do you remember Dick Vermeil?  The guy that cries all the time?  He wanted me to cover on special teams and I said, “Don’t you see I’m Geroy?  I need to be a star and be catching touchdowns on Sportscenter!”  So I didn’t do it and they released me.   All because of my attitude.  I had a terrible attitude.

– This time I was done with football and was gonna finish my degree and work for a small company called Under Armor.  My college teammate started that company.  But it was September and I couldn’t get into school and really didn’t want to work for Under Armor.  So I prayed to God because I had a gift and I said if I get one more shot, I’m going to do everything I can to make it last.

– The B.C. Lions called and gave me an opportunity to play for them.  I was (ticked) because I wasn’t in the NFL and the Lions only offered me $500 to be on their practice roster but I said I’d make the best of it.

– I signed on a Wednesday and started on the Friday.  You guys know what happened after that.

– It’s like rolling a snowball down a hill.  It grows and grows so big that it can’t be stopped or controlled.  When I signed in B.C. I said I’m going to put everyone else before me.  I don’t care about personal success.  Well, I do, but that’ll come because I’m Geroy.

– I said I’ll cover punts, return punts, make tackles, whatever.  If you want me to catch touchdowns at Taylor Field with one minute left to win the game, I’ll do that!  I had to slide that one in there.

– We had some crazy games with Saskatchewan.  I would come here and say there’s no way I’d play for the Riders.  The thing I remember the most is old ladies screaming things at me that I’d never heard before in my life.  I’m like, “Are you kidding me? Did she just say that to me?”  You guys kind of hated me.  But guess what?  The feeling was mutual.

– But through the years we had that hate, but it grew into respect between the two teams.  I started to think this could be a place I’d like to play.

– September 29, 2012 I tore my hamstring while blocking.  That was the day that led me to come to the Riders because I was hurt for the first time.  You guys know Wally – when you get hurt he starts to think, “I need to re-evaluate things”.  At my year end meeting I asked him what we’re going to do and he said, “I don’t know”.  That’s when I realized this is a business.

– I wanted to play somewhere where football was king.  All these years and Grey Cups and division championships in Vancouver and the Lions were still #2 behind the Canucks.  The Canucks have never won anything!

– So January 24, 2013 I got to traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.  The fans at an autograph signing said, “We hope we can win with you”.  I said, “What?  You got Geroy here!  We are gonna win!”  From that day on my goal was to change the attitude starting with the locker room, to the fans to the whole province.  We have the best players, coaches and the best organization.  We were gonna win!  

– I thought I was gonna be a 1500, 1600 or 1700 yard receiver.  But that wasn’t my role.  My role was to help the young guys.  Well, Kory Sheets isn’t young but … he acts young.  My goal was to help Sheets, and help Darian become an elite quarterback, and help Getzlaf and Taj Smith to take their game to another level.  They were all stars but I wanted to make them immortals.  It’s all mental.

– We hit that bump in the road and I had to assure everyone that we were still the best team in the league.  We got over it, met B.C. in the playoffs, and sent their ass packing.  The funny thing is after we beat B.C. we knew we were going to win the Grey Cup.  It was just a matter of by how much.

– We were beating our heads against the wall trying to figure out how to beat Calgary but we realized all we had to do was play our best football.  And we beat their ass too.

– Hamilton wasn’t going to be a problem.  All we had to do was go back and look at the two regular season games against them.  We beat the hell out of them.  We just had to go in, take care of  business, and hoist that Cup.  That’s what we did.

– People ask why I came here and it’s because I came here to help this franchise get what they deserve; a Grey Cup.

– I’m not sure what the future holds but for me coming here, it was redemption for me.  They said I couldn’t do this, or do that but I scored two TDs in the Grey Cup and got it done.

– I want to thank you guys for welcoming me with open arms because I was a heated rival.  It was only right for me to come in and give you everything I have.

– So thanks for having me!

—

15 MONDAY ONE-TIMERS

1 – The hockey season lives on in Saskatchewan!!  It’s been quite some time since a Saskatchewan team has played this long into May (last year’s Saskatoon Blades don’t count) but the Yorkton Terriers have earned a berth into the Royal Bank Cup in Vernon, BC after winning the Western Canada Cup regional tournament in Dauphin on the weekend.  Congratulations to Terriers coach Trent Cassan and GM Don Chesney!  We’ll have to get them on the SportsCage this week.

2 – My rooting interest in the Stanley Cup Playoffs took a severe hit when the Colorado Avalanche lost Game 7 of their first round series with Minnesota.  10 of my 11 players were from the Avalanche.  On the Fan 960 in Calgary last August with Eric Francis and Kelly Kirch, I predicted that Colorado would be the bust out team to watch in the 2013-14 season.  Lo and behold they went from having the #1 overall draft pick to having 52 wins and collecting a division title.  So what happened?  Too young?  Not battle-tested?  Who knows.  But they’ll be back.  However my draft is up in smoke and Curtis Hunt appears to be the favourite to win it.

3 –  Do the Montreal Canadiens have any players besides P.K. Subban?  He’s the only one the cameras follow and he’s the only one I hear on the radio, see on the highlight shows, or see interviewed in between periods.  I get he’s a great hockey player but C’MON!  I’d like to hear from Brendan Gallagher or Carey Price.  Or Swift Current’s Travis Moen.

4 – Interesting to see San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson is recommending that coach Todd McLellan be brought back for 2014-15.  Good for Todd.  But recommending to whom?  It should be Wilson’s job to make on the call on that.

5 – Singer Serena Ryder sure is getting a lot of mileage (and $$$$$) out of her hit song What I Wouldn’t Do.  Not only was it the Roughriders’ theme song in 2013 but now we’re hearing it endlessly in TV ads during the playoffs for Scotiabank and Ford.  Ka-ching.  Nicely done for a Canadian singer.

6 – The search for the next GM of the Saskatoon Blades is unbelievably quiet.  The only name I’ve heard connected to the job is Portland Winterhawks Assistant GM Matt Bardsley and frankly I’d be stunned if the American national is hired for the position.  From what I’m told candidates aren’t exactly beating the door down at Credit Union Centre because of the bizarre tales we’re hearing about the ownership/management structure.  Oh well, they’ll hire someone eventually.

7 – The new ownership group of the Regina Pats is holding a news conference this afternoon at 3:00 which can be heard live on 620 CKRM.  The event will be held right at ice level of the Brandt Centre.  Be sure to tune in for that!

8 – Bumped into Pats President Todd Lumbard and co-owner Anthony Marquart at a fundraiser Friday evening and we had a great visit.  However “Lumby” wanted to point something out about that 100 foot goal he let in against the Calgary Wranglers in the 1983 playoffs in Exhibition Stadium.  “It was tipped off Gary Leeman’s stick!” Lumbard huffed.  Todd didn’t seem fond of discussing the goal but it was fantastic to see the hockey fire still burns in him.  I don’t know … I was there and saw it but I was only 10 years old.  Maybe my memory’s a little fuzzy.

9 – You think these guys are connected in the hockey world?  Anthony Marquart was amazed to see Red Deer Rebels owner/GM Brent Sutter walk up to Lumbard from behind and start squeezing his shoulders at last week’s draft.  “Lumby!” Sutter shouted.  It turns out they were teammates on the New York Islanders.  The hockey family is a tremendous one.

10 – Interesting to know it was the Moose Jaw Warriors who put the first motion forward to approve the sale of the Pats to the Queen City Sports & Entertainment Group.  I learned that last week from Warriors Governor Chad Taylor.

11 – The Monday Morning Goalie predicts the Regina Pats will be the next Saskatchewan team to win a WHL championship.  The last was the Swift Current Broncos in 1993.

12 – CKRM football analyst Carm Carteri is predicting at least a one week delay in CFL training camps this week due to the ongoing labour dispute.  That’s what he’s hearing and he reported it on Friday’s SportsCage.  If that’s the case, this year’s training camp in Saskatoon would likely be scrapped.  This is brutal.

13 – Finally got around to listening to the Donald Sterling tape on Saturday morning.  That was painful to listen to, particularly because his girlfriend goaded him into making the comments!  It’s clear he’s a racist old codger but he didn’t want to say what he said.  She drew it out of him for the purposes of putting it on tape and bringing him down.  I only listened to the first few minutes and they were bad enough.  Perhaps it got worse later on in the recording.  When NBA owners had to vote on a lifetime ban for Sterling I wonder how many other old codgers were squirming in their seats because they hold the same prejudiced views?  I also think expropriating a franchise is a very dangerous road to go down.  What a weird story.

14 – Speaking of the NBA, Sunday’s Game 7 between the Raptors and Nets was fascinating to watch but holy smokes were the Raptors announcers tough on the officiating.  How do they get away with that on a national network broadcast?  We get roasted for saying the same types of things.

15 – Two thumbs up from the MMG for the movies Draft Day and Non-Stop, both of which we’ve watched in the past week.  Draft Day isn’t the best sports movie of all time but it’s certainly not the worst and I’m a big Kevin Costner fan (although not as a singer).  I bumped into him in the Toronto airport one time and was astounded at the size of the man.  I’d recommend both movies.

—

THAT’S ALL! SEE YOU IN THE CAGE AT 4 PM
RP
@sportscage