Now, at this point in my life in the thick of it when I was battling to be better than Hiller I had the chance to do a lot of growing up. My time at Western was extremely humbling and I would never change it if I could. I had one of two choices when I was not starting and not contributing on Saturday’s, I could hang my head and claim “woe is me” placing myself in a state of victim hood and bringing others down with me. Or I could see this as a great opportunity to put the team before myself and strive to do anything I possibly could to make the Broncos a better team. These things consisted of giving the best possible look in scout team, or being a second set of eyes on game day for Hiller in identifying coverage and defensive tendencies. I also took great pride in my role as a host when recruits came in. I pretty much had every recruit that was issued to me commit because I gave them the truth and sold them on what a great place Western Michigan University was.

I loved my coaches and was so grateful that they gave me the opportuity to be a part of an amazing team. For me to be bitter and complain about my situation would have been completely disgusting and a shot in the face to those who gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. So whenever I give young athletes advice I always tell them never to fall into the trap of blaming others or claiming the old cliche, ” It was all politics.” Bullshit, take responsibility for yourself and do everything you can with the opportuinties and situations that God puts you in. Think of others before yourself and always be conscious of how your attitudes and actions affect your teamates.

Now having graduated from Western Michigan University and being in a position to get my graduate degree and play more football and Simon Fraser University I believe that I have something to prove to myself. I have somthing to prove on the field and I am excited to bring all my humbling experiences with me as I embark on this new Journey.

Go Broncos, Go Clan

As a Canadian, getting noticed, especially as a quarterback is pretty rare. I played at a school that had no water on campus, it had to be trucked in. Due to this we did not have a home field to practice on or play our games. We instead practiced at a local middle school a few miles away. Instead of a locker room we rented a large semi truck trailer and screwed bag hooks evenly along the inside walls for the players gear. In Canada this only worked for me until the first week of October, after that, when we showed up to practice all our gear was frozen inside our bags. I decided to bring my pads home with me every day and bring them to practice after school. On staff we had three coaches, one was a knowledgeable O-line coach from the States, one had little experience and he coached the defence, and our head coach was so busy that making it to every game was a stretch. All three coaches I respected and appreciated the time that they did give, the reality was simply that this was no way to run a team. Our home games were played at our cross-town ricals field which was pretty demoralizing and when we finally did host our first ever truw home game the score clock was made out of a dry erase board. All this considered, two of my best friends and I decided to take things into our own hands. We basically ran practice, and during games in the huddle I would often times draw up plays that consisted of Bryce or Zach beeting someone on a deep post or fly. Our pass protections were called regular and max. The only differnece between the two was that when I called max they tried extra hard. During my freshman season we didn’t have enough helmets so I shared with one of our db’s so when I ran out of the game on third down I would throw him my helmet so he could go out for punt.  Despite all of this we were actually a pretty skilled team on offense, we ended up winning two provincial championships (the only two in school history) and set all sorts of rockyview records for passing.

During the summer going into my last season in high school I attended the Jim Barker school of football. There we would lift, run and work on our position specific fundamentals. Jim Barker got me in contact with a head coach in the States and to me it seemed like an impossibility ever getting down there. Over the next couple months however I saved up some cash to buy a video camera and at games we either rented a bucket lift truck or had my dad get as high in the small bleachers as he could to film the games. The footage was shaky and inconsistent but you could make out what type of  player I was and where the skill level was at. A few weeks into the last semester of highschool I was called down to the principles office where there was a phone call waiting for me. It was Coach Cubit of the Western Michigan Broncos asking me if I would be interested in coming down to Kalamazoo, Michigan on a recruiting trip. I couldn’t believe it, the next day I was on a plane excited as hell. After taking the tour of the campus and meeting some of the guys I was offered a full scholatship to play there. I accepted immediately.

My time down there was one of the best periods in my life, I met so many awesome people and got to travel the U.S playing in front of thousands of crazy fans. I was on a team that played teams like Florida State, Nebraska, and Illinois among others. These schools I had grown up watching and to be on the same field with them was mind blowing. I recently graduated from Western with a BBA in advertising and promotion and am pursuing graduate studies at Simon Fraser University where I have also accpeted a scholarship to play football. The game of  football has been such an amazing vehicle for me to experience my dreams firsthand. I am so appreciateive of Barker and Coach Cubit, all my high school coaches and the guys on my highschool team that decided to take it seriously and turn Bow Valley into a real high school football program.

Stay tuned for my next blog post describing what life was like as a backup QB.

What makes Canada great cannot be defined by only a few small things. It is the collective elements of politics, multiculturalism, pride, humanitarianism and a geographical beauty that cannot be described.

The following represents how I view and cherish the greatest Country in the world. The pride I hold in Canada was heightened by my stint in College in Michigan.

Let’s begin simply. When driving, we crush kilometers like the rest of the world not miles, we fill our gas tanks up by the litre not by the gallon. thats right the ‘e’ in litre is correct, and green is not my favorite color it is my favorite colour. We determine how hot or cold it is outside properly, by celcius, it just makes more sense. We have provinces not states and we hold two official languages. We study other countries in school, not simply our own. Canada is proud of its multiculturalism and it is important to us to understand more of the world, and to see where we can help by diplomacy not fear by gunpoint.

Yes we have coins called loonies and toonies, so what. It is true we have colour coordianted notes and its not because we are goofy we just like to be efficinet at the grocery store counter. Our national animal is the beaver and we love chasing it. We do infact reside in houses not igloos and our national sport is actually lacrosse.

Canada has the most beautiful scenery in the World. It is diverse and plentiful ranging from the rocky mountains the great plains, to lakes, oceans, rivers and bluffs. This country is beautiful! I Recently made a road trip from Michigan to Kelowna. B.C. It took 40 hours and we decided to drive mainly through the states so that we could see some places we had never seen before. Out of the 40 hour drive the only thing we saw in the states worth mentioning was Mount Rushmore. the last 7 hours of the trip were through the rocky mountains of Canada and was hands down the most beautiful part of the drive. Below are a few pictures highlighting some of Canada’s beauty from West to East.

Vancouver, British Columbia

Moraine Lake, Alberta Cochrane, Alberta

Saskatchewan

Niagra Falls, Ontario

Quebec

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

St.Johns, Newfoundland

 You most likely are Canadian if;

1. You refuse to bring a case of light beer to a party
2. You buy a new pair of skates instead of a mit and baseball bat. 
3. You sing the anthem louder than the singer at the game.
4. You worship Flutie

 Everyday Americans make fun of Canadians, falling back on old cliches. “We could conquer you over night because you have no military.” Or how apparently we say “eh” after every sentence, we only drink Labatt beer and everyone is from Toronto and cheers for the Leafs. I don’t want to get into any silly arguments because there are many things about the States that I really like. Many of my best friends are Americans. But the main reason I don’t want to get into a debate is because everytime I do it seems that a logical, non-ignorant response is impossible to get out of them. We do infact have a military and we are actually aiding American efforts in Iraq. While we may not be rolling into cities on tanks destroying everything in our paths because we feel that our diplomatic measures actually work more effectively. So call us weak and make fun of us for various other reasons but until you can locate a city other than  Toronto on the map, or until you can locate a city on your own map other than your own, hold onto some of your comments. We are Partners and allies, we need each other equally, so please lose the attitude, put down your defence and try to understand Canada a little more so you can see just how amazing the country actually is.

So again, I’m not picking a fight but just take er’ easy on the sweets, buy a map, study it, learn a few things about the world.  Lower the ignorance level and try not to make too many enemies along the way. You have the most power in the world there is no doubting that, but with power comes responsibility. These responsibilities include not messing up the whole world economically which you have effectively done. Thank you for that. They also include representing North America in a peaceful, democratically centered fashion so that the rest of the world does not hate us. If you simply accept that even the most powerful nation needs help and that Canada is more than simply a mockery nation than you will begin to see that the world may be willing to give you a chance.

This section is for the Canadians reading, we know that America has some problems getting along. We know that they have had a very narrowminded, and self absorbed vision of themselves for a very long time. But, I have seen alot of arrogance coming from Canadians  in their attempts to tell Americans why they are so messed up I include myself in this statement. Don’t get so involved in the debates that you, in turn forfeit what it is to be Canadian. Just answer all of their jabs with facts and evidence, prove to them through your mature responses that our education system is high (although there still are many flaws). Let’s take the high road with all of this and continue to live and conduct ourselves in ways that shine light upon our Country’s name. If the U.S wants to continue down the road they are going, drunk with power than we have to let them. Just continue to be friends to them because we all know that we need them too and want to be strong allies.

To wrap up my ranting I will once again state that many of the nicest people and my best friends are American. Also not all Canadians are top notch people either. People are people wherever you go, you will see some good and bad but just try to be respectful.

Here are a few great videos describing Canada and it’s people.

                    <— WOW!

For some other Great Canadian Commercials see a great blog —-> krisky16.wordpress.com

 I am so fortunate to live in a country where I have the freedom to speak my mind, to vote, to worship God and to be treated as an individual granted rights that many around the world could only dream of. I am proud that despite all of this we seek to help other countries in need and remain committed to encouraging democratic values overseas.

Let me take you back to the first day, it was the third of August, 2005 and I had no idea what to expect as I pulled up to the Stadium. I remember the first person I met was Londen Fryar, son of NFL great Irving Fryar. He was #6 and I was #7 so naturally our lockers were right next to eachother. after a completely akward white guy’s atempt at recieving a little hand slap, slide, shake and snap chest bump routine I realized I had alot of adjusting to do.

What I am going to do for you is break it down by area and region, try to excuse my generalizations I mean absolutely no disrespect by anything I say, these guys are my boys so no disrespect.

Lets start with the locals, the guys from the great state of Michigan. Now being a Michigan school, naturally there are a majority of players from inside the state (32% last season). Many of these players are walk-ons and Western Michigan was the best fit for them because it was close to home and not as expensive as some of the bigger schools. I also heard that the University puts a little bit of pressure on the program to recruit from inside the state, that might be a crock of @#$% though. It’s hilarious, these are the guys who cheer for anyhthing to do with Michigan Sports, but you will only see them represent when things are going well. Big bandwagoners. I usually had a good time making fun of the Lions, Pistons or the Tigers in front of them. Ask them where in Michigan they are from they will put up their right hand to emulate what the state looks like and points out where approximately they reign from. They don’t know of course that no one else knows where the hell they are pointing too. If they arent wearing abercrombie with the collar flipped up they are wearing huniting camo gear. They’re strength off the field comes in their numbers because let’s be real nobody really wants to be from Michigan. All joking aside everyone I have met from Michigan are good guys you kinda feel bad making fun of them because its hard enough being from the most dissapointing state in recent American history. They love listening to Dave Matthews band and O.A.R and for some reason never find them annoying, they can listen to every song on repeat for the whole year and get really pumped up about it. And please tell me why they feel that Panama is the greatest place on earth to go for spring break. Why once they are there do they feel it absolutely necessary to claim to the world that they represent Michigan. You don’t hear me running around screaming, “ALBERTA Whoop whoop”! I will give it to the boys from Michigan though, they are tough asses, may not be pretty all the time but a majority of them will leave everything they got out on the field. One example, my boy Dan Krasinski, he played on all the special teams and at Linebacker for us, rarely did you ever see Danny without something busted up on his mangled face. Beauty from Michigan.

Now Illinois, I have spent alot of time over the past four years visiting Illinois because some of my best friends on the team are from there. I probably have gotten to know this state the best other than Michigan. Lets start off by saying that people from the Chicago area are extremely proud of where they come from and they should be, it’s amazing. Players from Illinois always say they are from Chicago, some of them may in fact be but the majority of them are damn liars. Just because you live near Chicago doesn’t mean you are from there, the majority are actually from the suburbs. Players from Chicago somehow know everything about other football players that played in their area, they know exactly where they went to play, how they have done and what they are up to. Now I know that many who will argue with me will say that any of that stuff can be found on the internet or ofcourse they are going to know things about people that grew up in their own town. But it is almost like the Illinois players know what happens to who the minute it happens, and its not only from their own suburb either its from all of Chicago and area as well. Illinois players walk around in the locker room like they are part of a club and everyone else wishes they were in that club. And ofcourse there are the battles between the Sox and Cubs that never dies. Before I get to wordy Im just gonna wrap it up on the Illinois crew. I don’t want to pull the race card out but as I got to know alot of the guys and saw where they lived I met so many people that had some harsh shit to say about mexicans and blacks. At firts I was blown away and felt kind of akward. Don’t get me wrong I think racism is some stupid stuff but as I went to the Chicago area more often I saw that it was such a way of life for so many people, it is normal to make snide comments. I feel so ashamed at times that I played along but it was contagious. We got to change this, I know there will always be generalizations but we need to be careful. Another thing you will notice from players in Illinois is that they are so damn competitive, I love it. Because Chicagoland has such a strong sports heritage, athletes from that area have such a competitive drive instilled within them. I will give it up to the guys from Illinois though, they know they are from a pretty sweet area of the country but they don’t run around flaunting it as much as those Michiganders.

The third most percentage of players on the team are from Florida, now believe me these dudes are a different breed and I have seen some pretty hilarious stuff over the last few years. Let’s start off by saying the Floridians are full of life, must be something in that deep south water but they never run out of energy. There is never a dull moment in the locker room when you see a bunch of guys dancing, rapping, jumping, and screaming. BET is always on because apparently that was the only channel in their home state on T.V. If you can figure out what half of the guys are saying it is actually pretty hilarious, they love making fun of the locals and are always so anxious to get out of Kalamazoo and back to the “crib.” turn your head for a second and you will miss an epic Wu-tang performance or a scenario that invloves doing summersaults with toy choppers and taping up someone else’s entire locker. Oh yah, and I would hate to be the only one from Miami with an excursion truck, I have never seen so many peopel packed into one vehicle at the same time if anything i guess it’s effiecient. Enough with the joking though, I have never seen a bunch of guys that stick together like more of a family, they are always looking out for one another and there is no such thing as being selfish with material things. I really like that whole aspect, always about community and always about sharing. Many guys from Florida didn’t come from very good situations, so I am so happy to see how thankful they are for the opportunity they have been given. White or black it doesn’t matter about race at all if your are from “the crib” you are part of the secret society that is being from Florida. I have also never seen beter athletes in my life, which is why I am so glad that Coach recruits so hard from down there. heir level of play I feel is due to the great weather allowing them to train and play football all year long plus the competitive pressure that is placed on them.

Here are a few more differences and generalizations I had noticed;

Ohio- They think they are god’s gift to earth

Wisconsin- Hope you play either TE or OL cause seems like that state just has games with those two positions playing. Plus apparently you got to like fishing and hunting and fixing shit.

Georgia – Wish they were from Florida

Kansas- …….

New Jersey – Coach is sure going to love you to death

Canada – Goofy ass Canadians eh!

I want to end this little post with a few very important things.

1. I am not someone who likes to make generalizations and I did not mean any offence by anything I said, it is all in good fun and you would understand it all if you were in the locker room, you all know its true.

2. The reason I wrote this was to highlight how people come from all over the U.S and Canada to form a team and there are such huge differences between each of the regions. Despite these differences once you strap the pads on and it is the middle of August in the brutal summer heat everyone is from the same area, everyone is from the same family. How interesting is it to have people so different from one another partly because of where they come from form a team together and interact so well with one another.

3. There is no better feeling in life to be part of a team with people from all over. There is no better feeling than having 99 other guys looking out for you on and off the field and who are willing to bust their ass with you all year long.

4. I want to encourage anyone who reads this to join in on the fun and post some of the funnt differences between guys from the different states. Don’t worry you won’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Feel free to tell me when I am dead wrong and have no idea what I am talking about, I would love to start a debate battle with yah.

5. Everyone take care and keep checking the blog for other updates.