Your Very First Argo Game????....

[AngeloV]

Iand there`s Ottawa teams in the OVFL - been meaning to get out to check out one of those games in the summer - that league has produced some very good football players - CFLers and NFLers.

OVFL has some very good players. I saw now 2nd year Guelph QB Jazz Lindsey play last year and was really impressed. I think he will tear up the OUA over the next 3 seasons. The only problem I have with the league is that though they play Canadian rules in every other aspect, they play with 4 downs. Doesn't make sense to me.

[Nob]

I was fortunate enough to coach in the OVFL for 8 years. I coached pros, future pros, CIS, NCAA players and some all around great kids. The league is a great league, and provides excellent coaching and opportunities for players to get additional playing against better teams and players.

Unfortunately moving out west took me out of the coaching gig. I miss it dearly. We had 75 players on our team every year. Great, great young men. I also had 15 coaches on my staff. We all did it for the love of the game.

If you get a chance to catch some OVFL ball it is worth it. There are some very good people associated with the league, and some excellent franchises (London, Essex, Mississauga, Cambridge, Niagara, Ottawa, and the Toronto teams, amongst others).

There are a lot of future Argos, Cats, and others, playing in the OVFL.

[Will]

Has the OVFL always been a prominent league or have they taken it to a new level over the last couple of years? I ask because a strong minor football tradition in the Ottawa market could only be a benefit for the CFL franchise, IMO. I've had several friends end up playing for the Jr. Riders. I think the Gee Gees will send some players down there who need additional seasoning.

[Nob]

87 - I was in the OVFL from 2001 - 2009. It was strong then, and I know that is in pretty good strength right now. Ottawa always had contending teams. They have 2 franchises in Ottawa, and both were always at, or near, the top.

[Nob]

If I'm not mistaken, the Argos first round pick last year, Holmes, played for the Ottawa Myers Riders. We played them inthe 2005 OVFL JVfinals. Holmes played DL for Ottawa. He was a beast then. You could tell he was going to play ball at a higher level.

[1argoholic]

Nob you should get involved with some football in the lower mainland. We go to watch one of our friends boys play for the local Cowichan Valley Bulldogs. They travel to the lower mainland to play against Delta, Abbotsford and a few other teams. One kid I saw play for Victoria a few years back just got a full ride at Arizona St. Tyrell Davis I believe his name is. When I saw him play he never left the field and was great on both sides of the ball and on returns. He's a rb. There is some amazing football talent out here.
The Nanaimo Raiders have been an amazing Jr team for about six years now.
I used to go and watch The Mississauga Raiders back in the 70's. They'd play at Applewood Secondary on Saturdays. They had former Argo and Rider Dwight Edwards who'd seemingly return every ball punted or kicked off to him. The Raider kicked everyones ass back then. At one point they hadn't lost a game in six odd years. I ended up doing landscaping for a couple in Mississauga and the guy played on the D line or linebacker on those teams. He'd tell me stories about how it got a bit boring killing other teams so they'd hold up a receiver or rb so other guys could take shots and pile on into them. Crazy stuff! Oh I remember his name now, Marchetti or something like that.
Wally knows about having strong Jr talent. Andrew Harris was ripping Jr ball out here apart with his amazing running just a few years back with Nanaimo. I think Rob Cote and Jon Conish both played with the Victoria Rebels.

[Nob]

I'd love to coach again, but this thing called "a job" got in the way. Plus, there isn't the same attachment out here as there was in the heartland. I knew the kids from their minor football days (coached there too), and then recruited the same kids when they were in high school. You get to know them, and they get to know you. It was a blast.

Just not the same out here. At least not yet.

[ArgoRavi]

That was the game where Holloway slammed his helmet to bits at the end out of frustration over a third straight close loss, correct?

Yes, it was. The Argos lost their first three games that year by a combined five points and never recovered.

[Will]

Yes, it was. The Argos lost their first three games that year by a combined five points and never recovered.

You could make the argument that the same fate befell last year's team to an extent. They lost a few close games early on and never recovered.

[ArgoRavi]

You could make the argument that the same fate befell last year's team to an extent. They lost a few close games early on and never recovered.

The season seems to take on its own momentum. I know that everyone will forever point to the 2011 B.C. Lions as a team that overcame a poor start to win the Grey Cup (I believe that the '73 Ottawa Rough Riders were the previous example after starting 0-4) but far more often than not when you start off 1-6 or 0-3 or 0-5 you never recover. Those first five or six games of a season are as important as any which is also another reason why I hate the saying that "the season doesn't really begin until Labour Day". Last year's Bombers were the worst team in the league after Labour Day and still made it to the Grey Cup mostly because of their strong start.

[1argoholic]

Nob I can relate. Oct witll be ten years for us living here and it still doesn't feel like home. It's a daily struggle for me and I don't work for anybody. That may have helped me but I've been self employed since 88 working by myself all of those years.
I have to just get along until we move to the Peterborough area. This year after Grey Cup we're renting a car and my wife and I are taking my mom to Pete for three days. She hasn't been there in years but would move back to that area when we move back. She's lived out here since 92 and still isn't thrilled with life here. Oh well one day I'll look back to these days as some sort of adventure/learning experience.