Richie Hall originally didn’t want to write a book. Guy Scholz, Hall’s co-author and long-time friend, had been trying to persuade him to write it for about a decade. Finally convincing him, the two worked together to make Smoke and Mirrors: Life in the CFL with Richie Hall.
“I just thought there were a lot of good stories about the CFL. Richie, to me, is like a Yoda, like a philosopher when you really get to know him. There are all of these life lessons coming out from football or his life.”
While Hall was reluctant and didn’t see himself as the subject of a book, it was Scholz’ persistence that convinced him the book would be something of value. Once he was on board, he was all in, giving Scholz 60-70 people to interview, from family to fellow players and coaches to close friends, which Scholz thought gave the book more flavour.
The process of writing a book began before Hall was convinced, just because of Scholz’ nature. He was writing notes before Hall agreed and in the past couple of years Hall decided he would make himself available so they could get a book finished.
“Every time we would get together, he’s always jotting down notes. He journals a lot, he’s always jotting down notes and asking questions,” Hall said.
Beyond Hall, Scholz also had full access to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers organization. One section of the book, called Bomberville, sees Scholz go behind the scenes, attending players meetings, coaches meetings, and shadowing Hall through his daily life.
“It was fun to get the inner workings of what goes on, it was a week of the life of a football coach with Richie.”
A curler, Scholz notes that what he learned from sport psychology with Hall and the Blue Bombers applies to his own sport and it can apply to many parts of life far beyond football.
Part of the reluctance to write a book on Hall’s part was that he is a very private person and by writing a book he’s showing everything about himself to the world.
“I think it’s kind of scary. One of the things he said, even when we started years ago, is that I have been very consistent about my beliefs and what I feel strongly about. It’s one thing to sit there and go through your own life and have your own ideas, but as I go through this book I see it in print, and that’s kind of scary, at least for myself... You’re exposing yourself.”
Reflecting on over 30 years in the CFL, Hall believes the most important thing was how he learned from his experiences.
“It brought the reality of life into perspective... It’s not the experiences, it’s what you learn from them to make you a better person tomorrow... Winning the Grey Cup, that was great, but also getting cut, or flunking out of school, was bad, but good things came out of them. It’s a matter of how you look at things and what you want to grasp to make yourself better. Do you want to focus on the negative things or do you want to focus on the positive things? You learn from failure more than you do from successes, because you’re looking to draw something to make yourself better.”
The book starts with football but goes beyond it. For Hall, football is a metaphor.
“I think there are two common denominators we can all relate to in this world and sports is one because everybody has participated in some kind of sport... and music. Those are two common denominators, to understand you can learn something about life through that, I think that’s a great way of teaching. I think, and I’m brainwashed, you can solve any problem using sports as a metaphor. It’s football, because that’s my background, but it’s about life.”
Hall is now focused on the upcoming season with the Blue Bombers, and he has an ideal scenario. He wants to see a Grey Cup final with the Blue Bombers facing off against the Roughriders, though in this scenario it’s Saskatchewan that crosses over to the east.
“I had some great years here that will stay with me until the day I die, but right now I’m a Blue Bomber and we’re trying to win a Grey Cup.”
Smoke and Mirrors: Life in the CFL is available at Coles in Yorkton and also available online.
