Community Corner: Championship Promise Kept

JASON COLERO – TORONTO ARGONAUTS DIRECTOR, EDUCATION PROGRAMS & ARGOS FOUNDATION

TORONTO – It’s been a while since I returned to the Community Corner but no better return than to journal the Grey Cup visits to all of our Huddle Up Bullying Prevention schools.

On November 25, 2012, as the game clock counted down to zeros, many people in the Argonauts family reflected on what made the win that much more special. For many on the 2012 team, it would be their first Grey Cup. For others, like Equipment Manager Danny Webb and myself, it was our fifth. For me, there were some things that made this special other than the fact that it was the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto.

I knew that, finally, I would be able to fulfill a promise made to the Huddle Up program school partners that when we win the Grey Cup they would get to see it in their school as a way to thank them for their dedication in making their school and community safe. I can recall Huddle Up speaker, and offensive lineman, Joe Eppele proclaim shortly after the win, “Jason, it’s going to be quite busy now!” From the very moment that I told our office staff and upper management that I made such a promise there was no hesitation that this is one promise we would keep. This was fitting as it was the same management that saw the importance of our message and demonstrated their understanding by inviting youth to a “free game” during pre-season to ensure they were able to receive the bullying prevention in a larger forum.

The celebration began at Rogers Centre as the clock ran down and even as staff began preparing for the parade, planning also began for what would not only be an exciting journey for the kids, but also an educational one for me and the players who participated in the Huddle Up Grey Cup tour.

Here are some of the highlights of our journey.

Day 1, DB Matt Black, December 14, 2012:

The win was still fresh and this would be our first trip and the beginning of fulfilling our promise. Our main travels for this day took us to Toronto schools. We visited four elementary schools and a secondary school in the morning, and two secondary schools in the afternoon. The excitement peaked by the time we reached our third stop at G.B. Little Public School.  Every school made a point to demonstrate their dedication to standing up to bullying. Whether it was through a cheer or a chant, they gave us satisfaction by making that promise a year ago. The schools made pledges to keep their school bully free. I have to admit the excitement that was shown when I introduced Matt to the school was something that will stand out in my memories for a long time. The youth in the schools we visited that day were talking about the Argos throughout the season and were behind us every step of the way. The day wound down at a high school in Toronto where our journey had begun and, for the most part, students couldn’t believe we were back with the Cup.

Day 2, SB Andre Durie, January 8, 2013:

“8 Schools on January 8^th with Andre Durie.” We highlighted students’ return from the winter holidays with the Grey Cup attending schools as their newest student. We visited three secondary schools and five elementary schools by the time the day was finished; starting in Mississauga and finishing in Toronto. The best part of this day was when we visited a school attended by the children of the person that stood up for me when I was being bullied as a youth. The person who inspired me to start the Huddle Up program 12 years ago. He had reached out to me to tell me this and asked if I could just say ‘hi’. I did this without any hesitation, after all if it wasn’t for him this journey for me would not be a possibility. For many we visited that day their 2013 was off to a great start as we came through on our promise.  Andre Durie had been glad that he made the trip so he could see just how many students the Huddle Up program impacted in just one year. Andre saw the signs they had made from the year before and experienced the excitement.

Day 3, DL David Lee, January 15, 2013:

“Welcome to the Team, David Lee.” This day was a longer journey, to say the least, as David Lee and I made our way to schools in York Region.  Schools had prepared celebrations for our brief stays at each of these schools. David witnessed the true excitement when we finished our journey at Markham District High School where the student body prepared a pep rally to welcome the Grey Cup to their school. They were thrilled to have the Cup make its way to a stage where they treated this celebration as though it were the Grey Cup celebration at City Hall. David and I got a chance to once again see the joy in the faces of the students when they saw the oldest professional trophy in North America.  At the end of the day, I brought the trophy with me to my Parent Bullying Information Session and the parents, administrators and area dignitaries got a chance to experience what kids already had the previous few weeks.

Day 4, OL Andrew Jones, January 23, 2013:

Andrew Jones and I began our day at a school in Burlington where a relative of Ticats alumnus, Richard Nurse taught (I know, I know, but just because they’re in Ticats country doesn’t mean they can’t use the positive messaging around Bullying Prevention). He claimed how, when we won it, he was with mixed emotions because of his allegiance to his Ticats, but he knew that our victory meant that his students would get to see the Grey Cup. Andrew was quite impressed on this day to see that every school we went to not only had excitement for the Cup but actually remembered our slogan and our bullying prevention message.

Day 5, Jason and the Cup, January 29, 2013:

On this day, I took the Cup to the schools on my own and was able to visit five elementary schools. These schools made me realize just how important it was to keep the promise. The teachers of the schools that day made a point to tell me how impressed they were that we came through on our promise. In fact, one principal had told me that the minute we won the Grey Cup the students and staff were extremely excited and students had asked when they would get to see the Cup. He tried to figure a way to explain that we may have too many other commitments for the trophy. So when we followed through on the promise it demonstrated to the students just how important our word was to strengthen the bullying prevention messaging.

Day 6, Jason and the Cup part 2, February 7, 2013:

It was early to rise for the final visits. The Grey Cup made its way to Bowmanville, Ontario, but not before I stopped by Durham Radio stations 94.9FM The Rock, KX96 Country and CKDO Durham’s Classic Hits for their morning shows. I started in Oshawa, Ontario where the radio stations would be sure to not only mention that the Grey Cup was in-studio and heading to schools, but why it was doing so. The students were so thrilled to see us when we finally arrived around 10:00 a.m. that morning.

At the end of the last day of Grey Cup visits, I would have fulfilled a promise to all of the students that were part of Huddle Up. 40 schools and approximately 35,000 students would not only see the Grey Cup but realize how truly serious we are about bullying prevention.  I also realized that students of all ages tuned in to the game on November  25th just to feel like they were a part of the Argos team when it came to their school. It’s kind of ironic because we did the opposite of what someone who bullies someone might do. We included these students in our celebration and success by bringing the Cup to their schools. As I told many students at each of these assemblies, there are many people who don’t get a chance to celebrate because they are scared to turn on their computer or walk down a hall. There is hope that there will be that bystander that doesn’t allow someone to feel excluded, alone or a non-factor in their school, or that there is a bystander that with 10 seconds of their day can change a lifetime. I know because it happened to me and I got a chance to take the 100th Grey Cup to students across the GTA.

Jason Colero

Toronto Argonauts Director, Education Programs & Argos Foundation

“Make your passion your life and no one can take that away.”