ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
CALGARY – Rarely seen in the CFL, this past week the Toronto Argonauts elected to not fly home following their win against Calgary on Saturday night. Instead, the club elected to stay in Calgary for week 14, before travelling to Edmonton for their Saturday night showdown with the 3-9 Eskimos.
As a result, this has afforded the team a chance for some road trip bonding. We present Exhibit A, Exhibit B and Exhibit C.
“It’s a little different being on the road versus being at home” said John Chiles, the first year wide receiver with eight touchdowns in his first nine CFL games.
“Just being in the hotel. It’s been fun, see the city a little a bit. They’ve got a nice steakhouse out here I enjoy.”
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Related: Argos @ Esks |
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VIDEO: Previewing Argos vs. Esks VIDEO: Milanovich From Calgary |
However, it’s not ALL fun and games being on the road for 10 days. There are newly afforded opportunities to focus on football without the distraction of home life. LB Marcus Ball specifically stressed the ability to always be in his play book.
“A lot more team bonding, a lot more studying then the usual. Being in the hotel and the rooms all day. Coaches are always available so a lot more studying.”
There is the flip side of course.
“It’s good, I miss my family back home but here with my family on the Argonauts for the full week, it’s not too bad” said CFL YAC leader Andre Durie. “We’ve been able to get out together and focus mainly on football so it’s been pretty good.”
Though as many of you may know, getting a group of guys together to so much as go for a dinner can be a little eventful, let alone organizing a hike into the wilderness.
“We’ll it’s all men so there’s a lot of egos you got to deal with” Durie added with a laugh. “It’s fun, its great and the guys are well behaved and were looking forward to getting some road wins.”
The Argonauts have channeled this time together and adopted a “Road Warrior” mentality (no, not THIS Road Warrior, or even THIS one… maybe THESE GUYS though).
“I think we’ve grown quite a bit in the last few weeks playing on the road and coming from behind with a relatively young team can do that for you” said Argos Head Coach Scott Milanovich on a conference call from Calgary.
“I think its kind of helped our locker room, the adversity of being on the road and playing against hostile environments I think have been really good for us.”
And the Argonauts have played in some hostile environments. Last week against Calgary and the week before in vaunted Mosaic against Saskatchewan, but the players enjoy the experience and get a special kind of pride when they silence a rowdy CFL crowd.
“You definitely bond as a team going into those hostile environments. It definitely brings you closer and definitely makes you a tighter group” Chiles said when asked about playing on the road in the CFL, a new experience for him.
Durie echoed Chiles’ sentiment, but added there is something special about silencing a rowdy home crowd. One can imagine, playing under the lights, crowd going wild and then with one play, everything changes.
“Having a bunch of fans out and seeing their team that’s losing, it goes real quiet. It kind of ads that extra advantage to us.”
The Argos are hoping this road warrior mentality can continue on into this week’s showdown with the Eskimos where they have a chance to clinch a playoff berth and then begin the hunt for East Division supremacy and a first round bye.
“I think everybody has been buying into the system. I think the defence is getting us a lot of turnovers and offence has just been focused one executing thought the stretch and into the fourth quarter we’re coming together” Chiles added when asked about why the team is playing so well right now.
“I think the main thing is everyone is staying positive no matter what. We’re not really focusing on the scoreboard; we’re just taking it one snap at a time.”
It is clear a mentality has spread across the Argos locker room, and it’s contagious.