WILLIE PILE
Every year around the eighth or ninth game of the season, the CFL schedule provides a break for its players and coaches. This break is known as the bye week. During the bye week, we’re allowed five days off to get completely away from the game of football.
For many players and coaches, specifically non-Canadians, it’s a chance to return home and spend quality time with their spouses/significant others, children, extended family and friends. These visits serve as key morale boosters before returning to Canada for work, as being away from loved ones can be very difficult for an athlete.
“Feeling refreshed and recharged from the bye week, I am excited about the remainder of the season and the direction we are heading in as a team.” – Argos LB Willie Pile
The coaches that I’ve played for often correlated an athlete’s life off the field with their life on the field by saying if things are positive and going well away from football, there’s a better chance that the athlete’s heart and mind will be free to pursue excellence on the field. If the reverse is true, there’s a greater chance that football won’t be the top priority in the athlete’s life and lead to poor decisions on and off the field.
That is why the bye week is so important. Being a pro athlete can consume a lot of time with practices, meetings and other off-field preparations, often leaving loved ones feeling neglected during the season. The bye week provides an opportunity to do the little things to keep a happy home, thus giving the athletes peace of mind to do their job undistracted.
As for me, I was able to take my wife and son to Niagara Falls for a few days and enjoy one of the world’s top tourism spots. With a video camera in hand and fanny pack on my waist, we visited every attraction (except the casinos) in that area and had a great time. I can definitely see why so many people visit Niagara Falls with all the flashing lights, restaurants and gaming facilities, but with a toddler in tow, we could only do two days there.
Since my family is with me for the entire season, the rest of the bye week was spent here at our place in Mississauga. We relaxed primarily, and I got to visit a town called Bradford, ON for an event known as the Carrot Fest. The town blocked off its main streets and over 20,000 people walked the streets listening to music, watching the firefighter demonstrations and visiting the vendor booths where items were being sold, including carrot cakes and carrot candy. The town even held a WWE-style wrestling match on the main street intersection inside a wrestling ring. My son and I, along with two of our Argos Cheerleaders had a great time meeting and spending time with good people who also happen to be fans of the Argos.
Feeling refreshed and recharged from the bye week, I am excited about the remainder of the season and the direction we are heading in as a team. We are inching closer to the identity we want to establish and as a frame of reference, I thought back to my first season with the Argos in 2007 where we started 2-6 and went on a roll, winning 9 out of the last 10 games, finishing first in the East Division. The point of revisiting that part of Argos history is that it can be done. At 2-5 and the defending Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders coming into our building on Friday night, it has to be done … and it has to start now!