The Mighty USA

It was good to see team USA in St Jean. The usual suspects were present; Jim Zimolka, James Mayo and Jim Wilson, just to name a few. Aside from the nine-man exhibition, the boys in red, white and blue were out of their element in Richelieu.

Jim Wilson was quoted in flagmag.com as saying, “the Game was played on a non traditional flag football field, 55 wide yard fields with 20 yard end zones, which made the defense nonexistent. The Bigger field makes teams play man to man, its almost soccer and not football”.

Trust me brother, I can relate with your disposition. When I first stepped into the 9-man, I felt like I was playing virtual foosball, talk about congestion! Although our fields are plenty larger and the game is offensively oriented, defenses certainly aren’t nonexistent. Our All Star white squad didn’t have much trouble stopping your team in the semi’s after all;), although man-to-man is essential at some point, we tend to play just as much zone. As you get used to our style, you’ll be doing the same thing. It’s these differences that make these tournaments such a blast. Regardless of what style we’re used to playing, we’re all here to celebrate our love for football. Besides, I thought the 7-man was a good vehicle for displaying some of the ludicrous talent on the U.S. men’s team, including yourself, Jim. The last time I saw him and his U.S. squad was at the World Cup at the Bahamas in 2003, where I was quoted as calling Jim a “gritty utility player”. I should have written gifted instead. Whether he's running crisp routes, playing solid “D”, or laying bone-crunching pops in the contact styles, it’s very clear as to why this "gifted" player has been the U.S. captain for the last five years.

Jim Wilson

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our neighbours south of us for traveling to our Country. We all hope that you enjoyed your stay as much as we enjoyed having you. Hell, James Mayo is worth the price of admission himself. I can’t recall playing with or against anyone as animated and talented as him. He had some competition in the animation and talent department, however, in Toronto Jet and Canadian All Star Delroy George. Watching those two athletes “go at it” in the 9-man made an otherwise uneventful game exciting to watch, and play in. Both athletes exchanged a fair share of comical phrases and notable athletic performances.

Delroy George & James Mayo

A game like this really shows some of the cultural differences between our two nations. Americans, it seems, can be loud and boisterous people during sporting competitions. Canadians, on the other hand, seem to be a little more reserved, initially that is. Once our spark is ignited, however, we can lay the smack, both physically and verbally, with the best of them. Americans tend to bring out the best/worst of Canadians in sports--such a good rivalry! One thing we do have in common though, is that when it’s all over with, it’s left on the field, and drinks are shared by all. Despite the fact that there were a few negative comments exchanged afterwards, they didn’t reflect the mood of the majority. There were more smiles and handshakes than anything. As always, it was a pleasure playing against the mighty USA.

Although the nine man was a sloppy affair as a whole, the exhibition certainly offered some memorable moments. I look at the big pop that Jim Wilson laid on Spartan DB Dave Missions as one of them. Despite the fact that Jim laid a textbook pop, Dave displayed textbook heart, jumping immediately to his feet to snag the flag. That was a great sequence from two great ballers. Of course, Delroy’s 60-yard interception return for a touchdown was the biggest highlight for our squad. FlagMag had that play written down as 30 yards, but I seem to recall differently, perhaps I’m being biased??? :-)

An International Affair

St. Jean didn’t just feature the mighty U.S. men's squad, other teams from their great nation, or just our Canadian All Star squads. The ever-talented ladies from Mexico were in attendance (have lost count on how many World Cups they’ve won), along with a handful of talented teams from Quebec and Ontario. I made a collage gallery of some of these teams, which you can view here. Included in this collage are the www.Dawksports.com All-Stars. These guys were the biggest godsends of the tournament. They would lend a few bodies to our depleted squads before our merger into two teams. This talented grouping would go on to win their division in an exciting fashion. Below you can see a picture of (qb) Keith Palmer taking an interception return to the house, sealing their title.

Highlights

Some of my personal highlights would have to include playing with Spartan qb Rob Houston. It’s now clear to me why the Burlington Spartans have such a tight band of loyal footballers. Whether he’s making you laugh, or wowing you with his qb skills, one thing is certain, Rob always brings out the best in his players. He and "Big, Bad Don Gerry" (TFO executive, Team Canada coach & Spartan half back) had me in stitches most of the weekend. Someone compared the two of them to the muppets in the balcony. After seeing this picture and hearing them all weekend, I couldn't agree more.

Two players I’ve always enjoyed flipping the finger to, and or saying hello to on the field, would have to be Garth Bell and Delroy George. It was nice being on the same team with both of these great players, although that didn’t stop Garth from flipping me the bird a few times anyways… ASSHOLE!!:)

Getting the opportunity to throw in our semifinal game was also special. Rob Houston hung up his cleats after putting together another flawless drive, although I don’t think he realized how much time was left on the clock when he did. This left me to seal the game (good thing I was in bed early the night before;). While the Maroons offered some strong opposition, they had their hands full trying to defend the “sick” talent I had in front of me. Looking across the line in my huddle before calling my first play, I couldn’t help but be dumfounded by the options that I had. Whether I was going to call Giz, Rodney, Rick, Jamie or Phil on a pattern, I knew I could count on any of them to be open, and or catch the ball. Needless to say, we scored on the drive and I was then able to join Robby in the beer tent--things get a little foggy from there….:) Speaking of playing the Maroons, it was fantastic having the opportunity to play against their half/quarterback, Chad Byers. My father played many memorable games against his legendary father--the great Howie Byers. Howie used to pivot the Montreal Panthers in the eighties, a team that earned five consecutive National Championships. I’ve no doubt that your father looks down on you with absolute pride Chad.

Gordie Laverty & Chad Byers

The biggest highlight of this weekend was being around the elite players from the Trillium Tour in a teammate fashion. Whether it was playing with Pat Miller, Wayne Mckoy (how fast is he btw??) Rob Uddenburg, or chearing on Kelly Roulston, Bino Cesario and Glen Cooper, I can honestly say that this was one of the greatest football experience of my life (if not the greatest)!

Regrets

While there weren't many, I must say that I do have a few regrets from this weekend. I would have enjoyed seeing more of our Ottawa Canadians at the tournament. I was really looking forward to playing alongside their talented bunch. Also, notably absent was the deep pool of athletes from our Burlington Piranhas. Pretty much any member of that squad is Team Canada material. There were a few other players from our Provincial tour that I would have greatly enjoyed playing alongside, namely Trojan’s Kevin Charles and Jeremy Mussche, as well as Mustang stand outs, Dan Mann and Chris Evraire. As well, I can't fail to mention the man with thighs larger then my torso, Toronto Jet Tex Thomas. With family, work, and a handful of provincial tournaments to shuffle, it’s understandable why so many could not attend. Being the first All Star showcase, I doubt this will be my last opportunity to play with some of the above-mentioned talent.

Other regrets would have to be my inability to see more of our Shock/Lancer ladies squads. "Very lovely" and "extremely talented" are words that I would use to describe these two crews. The Lancers would win their pool and the Shock would lose in the finals to the mighty Team Mexico. (pictures of both teams can be seen by clicking here). Also on my wish list was seeing more of the other women’s teams in this tournament. Until I shuffled through www.flagMag.com's gallery of pictures, I hadn’t realized how many women’s teams were actually participating. I’m very upset that I didn’t get to see the lovely women’s team USA and the other participating women's teams up close. Thankfully, I was able to snap some pictures of team Mexico (who's that #17 btw??:), the Fleurs De Lys (Shameful that I missed ya Audrey), and a few other competing squads from Quebec. Regardless, I shall do a much better job of reporting at the next international event!!

Regarding participation, I regret not getting to play in the huddle of Ottawa Canadian quarterback Rodney Moors. Getting to see he and Toronto Jet, and former teammate, Paul Shorten, hook up again made that regret disappear. Like Gretzky and Kurri being reunited in the allstar game one year after the blockbuster trade in “88”, Rod and “Shorty” hadn’t lost any chemistry. They have to be considered among the best one-two-punchers in TFO history. Speaking of Rod, Giz and I were watching him throw against the Americans in the semi’s. We compared him to a skilled surgeon, or even a mad scientist, as he dissected their defense in an almost malicious fashion. He’s deadly when he’s on his game, and Rod was “on” in that one!

Canadian All Star MVP

With so many exceptional athletes displaying their incredible athletic abilities, you would think that picking an mvp would be a difficult task. Before the tournament started, I would have thought the same thing. However, Montreal Monster utility player, J.F. Leclair, would quickly change my thinking. Stepping into any role asked of him, J.F. was the difference maker at almost every occasion. Making spectacular catches, playing solid defense, and making clutch throws from the halfback position, are just some of the examples that allowed J.F. to stand out from the rest of us. Honorable mentions go to the other 30 plus all-stars in attendance. It was the kind of tournament where everyone did something magical. I don’t believe that there is enough webspace in the world to document all of the extraordinary things that our players pulled off in St Jean.

J.F. Leclair MVP

In Closing

Although I can go on and on about how much fun I had that weekend, I will close this recap by saying this: However this All Star team, this Canadian Challenge tournament, and the rest of International Football continues to evolve, they are in the best of hands at the moment. With Fred Lachance, Mike Cuscuna, Jim Zimolka, Russ Henderson, Don Gerry, Ed Laverty and the rest of the uncountable volunteers working towards bringing the football communities of the world together, we, the players, coaches and fans, are in for a sweet ride:)