The stories were flowing on Saturday evening at the Red Wings annual Sports Dinner event, held at the Cugnet Centre.
Some stories couldn’t really be shared in a family newspaper, but there were lots of laughs to be had at the supper, with three fairly well-known names in professional sport: Glen Suitor, a former Roughrider defensive end and currently a broadcaster on TSN; former NHL ref Don Koharski, and former NHLer Jeff Odgers, who was the first team captain of the San Jose Sharks.
They all had lots of stories and yarns, both when they spoke on their own, and in the “hot stove” portion where they took questions from the audience on whatever topic they wanted.
What I found really interesting was that our table enjoyed the company of Glen Suitor, and he really was very gracious and well-spoken as he shared his meal with us..
He played for 11 years with the Green-and-White, and one of his most famous moments was as the ball-holder for legendary kicker Dave Ridgway when he kicked the winning field goal for the 1989 Grey Cup victory over Hamilton.
Hearing some of the stories from those days were really interesting, such as how he made fun of linebackers, then he jokingly asked the crowd not to tell the two famous linebackers who call Weyburn their hometown, Brett Jones and Brendon LaBatte.
At the table, his most interesting stories had to do with his honourary membership with a rescue squadron based out of CFB Cold Lake, Alta.
He spent some time training with them in Florida, where they did exercises doing rescues with a helicopter over the ocean, and Suitor gained a real respect for the jobs that these men and women do and train for.
He noted they asked him for any football stories from his days with the Riders, and he obliged them with various tales from his playing days. In turn, he asked them for stories of what they’ve experienced and come across, and was blown away by stories told about exploits in Afghanistan, and matter-of-fact way they faced real mortal danger.
As Suitor told these men and women, “I don’t have any stories like that”, ones that can compare with what they’ve seen and gone through.
Suitor said he will try and make references to them whenever he can while doing CFL broadcasts, and noted he will do a piece on them to let people know of the work that they do.
I think this is a really valuable aspect of the experiences Suitor was able to have in spending time with this squad, and in taking part in some of their training exercises.
Like his observation about how his stories can hardly stack up to theirs, it puts some perspective on what our armed forces personnel do for us in serving our country.
