WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY – NO LION DOWN

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

TRIPS DOWN MEMORY LANE ARE ALWAYS FUN.

IT SEEMED LIKE WE TOOK A LOT OF THEM IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE PANDEMIC, WHEN THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO DO.

BUT THANKFULLY THEY DIDN’T END THERE. IT WAS A TREAT TO GUEST ON THE BC LIONS OFFICIAL TEAM PODCAST TUESDAY NIGHT IN ADVANCE OF FRIDAY’S RIDERS-LIONS GAME IN VANCOUVER WITH HOSTS MATT BAKER AND NIK KOWALSKI.

OF COURSE WE TOUCHED ON THE UNFORTUNATE INJURY TO STAR BC PIVOT NATHAN ROURKE AND HOW HIS ABSENCE WILL AFFECT FRIDAY’S GAME.

BUT THEY WERE JUST AS EAGER TO TALK ABOUT RIDERS/LIONS BATTLES FROM DAYS GONE BY AND LET ME TELL YOU, THOSE PLAYOFF WARS OF THE 2000’S WEREN’T FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

IT WAS ROY SHIVERS’ AND DANNY BARRETT’S ROUGHRIDERS UP AGAINST WALLY BUONO’S LIONS YEAR AFTER YEAR AND CROWDS UPWARDS OF 55-THOUSAND AT BC PLACE WERE COMMON.

THE HEROES AND VILLAINS OF THOSE GAMES WERE DAVE DICKENSON, GEROY SIMON, HENRY BURRIS, KERRY JOSEPH, JASON CLERMONT AND PAUL MCCALLUM.

MAN, WAS THAT A DIFFERENT TIME.

THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY WAS DIFFERENT TOO, AND THE PAPERS WERE FILLED BACK THEN WITH ALL KINDS OF TRASH TALK BETWEEN SHIVERS AND LIONS LINEBACKER CARL KIDD IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE GAMES.

THAT SOLD TICKETS MORE THAN ANYTHING.

AND WHO CAN FORGET WALLY BUONO’S PREGAME NEWS CONFERENCE BEFORE THE 2007 WEST FINAL WHEN HE CALLED OUT RIDER RADIO COLOUR MAN CARM CARTERI? TSN AIRED THE ENTIRE 14-MINUTE EXCHANGE ON SPORTSCENTRE THE NIGHT BEFORE THE GAME.

THAT’S HOW RIVALRIES ARE BORN; THROUGH PLAYOFF WARS. SOMETIMES THEY WON, AND SOMETIMES WE DID.

SOME SAY CROWDS OF THAT SIZE FOR FOOTBALL GAMES IN VANCOUVER WILL NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN, BUT I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT.

WHAT’S BEEN CREATED CAN BE RECREATED.

THERAPISTS WILL TELL YOU IT’S OKAY TO THINK ABOUT THE PAST BUT IT’S NOT OKAY TO LIVE THERE.

IN THIS CASE, I BELIEVE IT’S NOT SO BAD TO LONG FOR YESTERYEAR.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET & 10 pm PT on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider to order. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)