WEDNESDAY CAT COUNTRY COMMENTARY – THE ESKIMO WAY?
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary at 9:50 am and 5:20 pm on Cat Country 98 FM)
COVID GOT ANOTHER ONE.
THE CFL WORLD IS REELING WITH TUESDAY’S NEWS THAT 49-YEAR EDMONTON ESKIMOS EQUIPMENT MANAGER DWAYNE MANDRUSIAK HAS BEEN LET GO AMID A WAVE OF CUTS.
I USE THE TERM “ESKIMOS” BECAUSE ALL OF DWAYNE’S 49 SEASONS WERE WITH THE TEAM WHO BORE THAT NAME.
THE CLUB WON’T CONFIRM IT SAYING THE SITUATION IS OF A SENSITIVE, PRIVATE NATURE BUT THAT THEY’VE BEEN FORCED INTO TOUGH DECISIONS DUE TO COVID-19. HOWEVER MANDRUSIAK ADMITTED HIS TERMINATION TO THE MEDIA AND CO-WORKERS.
IT’S TRIGGERED OUTRAGE ACROSS THE EDMONTON SPORTS COMMUNITY AND AMONG THE ESKIMO ALUMNI AND MEDIA.
SOME HAVE WRITTEN ME AND SAID “ROD, THIS ISN’T THE ESKIMO WAY” TO WHICH I HAD TO RESPOND THAT THERE’S NO SUCH THING ANYMORE.
I’VE GOT TO INJECT MY OWN RELATIONSHIP WITH DWAYNE WHICH IS EVERYTIME I STOPPED IN THE ESKS’ LOCKER ROOM, HE GREETED ME WITH A SMILE AND THAT EVER-PRESENT TWINKLE IN HIS EYE. HIS DARK, WAVY HAIR AND YOUTHFUL GRIN ALWAYS HAD US GUESSING HIS AGE, WHICH HE NEVER REVEALED.
IN TIME, IF HE’S WILLING, DWAYNE WILL BE HONOURED AT A FUTURE EDMONTON FOOTBALL GAME. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, HE’S BEEN DENIED A LANDMARK 50TH SEASON AND THE CHANCE TO GO OUT ON HIS OWN TERMS.
TO ME THIS HAS SIGNALED THE REST OF THE CFL THAT IF MANDRUSIAK CAN BE LET GO, ANYBODY CAN. AND SADLY, THIS IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
WHEN THE CFL COMES BACK, IT’S GOING TO BE UNRECOGNIZABLE FROM WHAT YOU AND I REMEMBER.
AND THERE’S GOING TO BE COUNTLESS PAIN AND HEARTACHE ALONG THE WAY.
THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY ON CAT COUNTRY 98.
