DON LANDRY
Argonauts.ca
An avid Argos supporter and season ticket holder, Don Landry has covered almost every type of news from sports to music to talk radio in his 25 years of broadcasting and has conducted over 10,000 interviews with the likes of Prime Ministers, Premiers, sports legends, showbiz stars, power brokers and many more. Follow Don on Twitter @donlandrymedia or visit his website at donlandry.com.
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MISSISSAUGA — Calgary. Winnipeg. Montreal. It was a whirlwind tour of three cities in three weeks. You’re either an Argo or a Canadian Idol judge.
After ping-ponging back and forth for three road games to open the season, the Argos come home. Not a moment too soon, for some. Mostly because they miss you. The home crowd seems to be the number one reason most players give for wanting to play at the dome.
“I think the only difference is not having the fan support,” says cornerback Byron Parker. Other than that, “it is what it is and you line up and play football.”
Running Back Jeff Johnson looks forward to a kind of invisible fan support that you don’t get on the road. “It’ll be nice to come home to our crowd and not have to deal with some noise, offensively, that may have presented some challenges early in the season.” Got it. Quiet, please, offence at work.
While the players don’t mind the actual playing of the game on enemy fields, time spent getting to kick off can wreak havoc with your routine.
Look at it this way; I’m sure you don’t mind watching a game at a friend’s house (especially if they know how to barbecue). However, it isn’t quite the same as your place, is it? Your TV, your recliner, your…everything.
The comforts of home extend to a pro football team, too.
Punter/kicker Noel Prefontaine says there is one thing he definitely can’t do on the road, that he can do at home.
“Enjoy my time in the locker room. Because we visit some places with pretty weak accommodations for the visiting team.”
Diplomatically said, Mr. Prefontaine. I’ve been in some of those visitors’ locker rooms. You half expect to see the Man In The Iron Mask shackled in one of the corners.
After a lengthy road trip, the Boatmen are finally returning to Toronto to host their 2011 home opener. Argos TV spoke with WR/KR Chad Owens, P/K Noel Prefontaine and Jim Barker about the comfort of playing in their own building and in front of their own fans. CLICK HERE to watch video.
For some players, life on the road can be particularly taxing. Or, perhaps, taxi-ing. Take offensive lineman Taylor Robertson.
“Being on the road costs me a lot of money in cab fare.”
That’s because Robertson likes to be at the stadium a good four and a half to five hours before a game – long before the team bus arrives. “I get too antsy sitting at home (or at the hotel) watching the clock. I hate that feeling. So, I go to the stadium. It’s just more comfortable for me there.”
Both Johnson and Robertson find the road can cramp their style when it comes to pre-game meals, too.”I’m a pretty fussy eater,” says Robertson.
“To try and find a good breakfast and lunch and not have it cost you 50 or 60 bucks for a salad at a hotel is kinda tough sometimes. The biggest challenge on the road, for me, is eating.”
Johnson agrees, preferring the ease and comfort of his own kitchen. “You basically don’t have to worry about bringing things with you if there’s certain things you like to have before a game. When you’re on the road you’re looking for a good place that you can have a pre-game meal.”
All seem to agree that it’s not the road games, themselves, that are a burden. It’s the actual travel.
“Travelling back (from a game) always sucks,” says Parker. “Win or lose, especially if you’re taking the red-eye…that’s always hard on the body.”
Johnson is not thrilled with the travel, either, depending on the seating arrangements. “You don’t want to sit beside any linemen,” he told me, with a laugh. “I want to be by the window, with somebody small in the middle.
If there’s a lineman on the aisle, that’s okay. When I was a rookie, I was between two linemen and hooo! You don’t want to be there.”
Robertson is more of a train than plane guy. “A lot of guys can sleep on the plane, but I’m sitting there scared outta my mind that we’re gonna crash. So, I don’t get any rest on the plane. I’m a little more tired than most.”
Coach Jim Barker told me after practice, Tuesday, that, “If you don’t think all that travelling takes something out of you, watch this weekend. You’ll see a different team.” But coach, we love these guys. Oh, wait. I get it.
THE EXTRA POINT
While talking with Byron Parker about the chore of playing road games, I wondered if the actual playing fields feel all that different, from stadium to stadium. He assured me that they do and ranked Edmonton’s as probably the best.
He then told me something surprising: Depending on how they “comb” the playing surface before a game, he can end up with, “A jock full of rubber pellets.”
Umm, a what?
“A jock full of rubber pellets,” he repeated.
Oh, right. Those new-fangled artificial turfs (turves?!) are laden with rubber pellets, usually recycled from old tires, to help give the field a little cushion, a little bounce.
Okay…uhh, rubber pellets in the jock. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’m not a pro football player, so, what do I know?
“It definitely doesn’t feel good. It’s definitely not a good thing,” Parker concluded.
Standing nearby, Jeff Johnson got a kick out of that. “Has not happened to me. My pants are tight.”
Noel Prefontaine has never experienced it, either. I have to say, he was thoughtful about it, though. He paused a good 3 or 4 seconds before uttering a very matter-of-fact and definitively:
“No. I don’t think my jock has ever been filled with pellets.”
He believes, like Johnson, that it is a waistband issue. So, there’s your solution, Byron. You lost all that weight and now your pants are just too loose. You need to go down a size or two or belt up a bit.