WILLIE PILE
For any sports fanatic, this month has to be the most exciting time of the year. With playoff-positioning games in the CFL joining the regular season NFL, NBA and NHL games, NCAA and CIS Football, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer playoffs, and The President’s Cup in golf, it almost feels like Christmas has come early for us sports fans.
After a quick glance at the calendar, Canadian-style, I realize that a favourite holiday of mine has come early, and that holiday is Thanksgiving. Celebrating the true harvest of crops, this great country of Canada observed Thanksgiving this past weekend, bringing to mind all the things we can and should be thankful for.
Unlike Christmas, where the birth of Jesus and the giving/receiving of gifts are the primary sources of gratefulness, Thanksgiving provides an opportunity for a soul-searching thought process as to why we are thankful. Growing up, my family would sit around the table and before we blessed the food, we would go around the table and share aloud a few reasons why we were thankful.
So please consider this blog space our dinner table, spread with smoked turkey, stove top stuffing, cranberry sauce, candied yams, macaroni and cheese, fried corn, dinner rolls and sweet potato pie. However, before we dine, let’s virtually hold hands as a family and allow me a moment to share why I am thankful this year.
I’m most thankful for my family and our collective health. A source of inspiration, I’m glad I get to see them every day and talk to them on the phone often. I’m thankful to the CFL and the Argonauts organization for providing me an opportunity to continue my goal of playing professional football and providing for my family. I’m also thankful for the CFL.ca website for allowing me to share my thoughts with our fans every other week.
Now that I can hear your stomach growling as I continue to share my extended thank you list, let me also say that in the midst of the adversity that this season has brought, I can truly be thankful for our fans and my teammates. I’m thankful for the fan support that we’ve received, even though we haven’t repaid their faithfulness in us with as many wins as we would like. They continue to write encouraging letters and seek autographed pictures, and cheer their hearts out at our home games. We as an Argos organization can’t thank you enough for your unfailing support and we truly appreciate you all.
Last but not least, I’m thankful for all of my teammates. These men continually come to meetings and practice with a focus and intensity like no other. We challenge each other in practice and compete every day like our jobs depend on it. Although our practice habits have not translated into victories on the field, I know that foundation is being laid for our future both on the field and more importantly, off the field.
I believe it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” If our record was the reverse of 3-11, it would be easy to come to work and give everything we have with visions of hosting a playoff game and a trip to Calgary for the Grey Cup. But to give everything we have when the playoff light at the end of the tunnel is pretty dim, lets me know that when I look around our locker room after each passing game and practice, I can honestly say that the 2009 Toronto Argonauts would measure pretty high according to Dr. King’s quote.
With four regular season games left on the schedule, and hopefully more if we can secure a playoff spot, we realize that this exact team will never be together again. So it’s our collective goal to give one another a thank-you performance in every game, letting our teammates know how much we appreciate and care for each other. The first opportunity to do so will occur at home on Friday night against an Edmonton Eskimos team also fighting for their playoff lives. In what should be an exciting game, I’m thankful for the chance to once again take the field with my teammates.
I thank you for your patience as I know you’re probably starving by now. So with that in mind and because I’ve shared everything that I’m thankful for, let’s feast!