Sometimes your best ability is simply your availability. As Jovan Olafioye was officially enshrined into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as part of this weekend’s festivities in Hamilton, it’s hard to pinpoint his greatest accomplishment from a brilliant career in black and orange.
He was a West Division All-Star in each of his first seven seasons with the franchise and a CFL All-Star selection in all but one of those years. There was the unforgettable run to the 2011 Grey Cup championship and a few other big victories along the way.
He can also lay claim to being the only BC Lion in any category to be a team finalist for a league award in seven straight seasons; the CFL’s Most Outstanding Lineman, which he claimed in 2012 and was also the Western nominee in 2011 and 2015.
Most of this was done thanks in large part to his durability: the fact that Olafioye didn’t miss a single game for the Lions, regular season or playoffs, from 2010-16. 135 straight starts. That’s damn hard to top in all of his accomplishments. To do that requires pure grit and toughness.
Not a bad resume for a guy who was signed following a Florida free agent camp ahead of the 2010 season.
If you ask the man himself, it’s hard to top reaching the mountain peak in 2011, especially after all that the team overcame to make it happen.
“I would say, of course, winning the Grey Cup, that was amazing,” said Olafioye to bclions.com on his best accomplishments.
“My Mom was there; may her soul rest in peace. We had a great team and many talented individuals, including some exceptional coaches. I get emotional just thinking about it. It was a great season. Most Outstanding Lineman was a great award as well; it was something I strived for and worked hard for. Those two moments were probably the best of my career.”
And as the induction ceremonies were continuing throughout the weekend, even a big man like Jovan was struggling to contain the emotions of it all.
“It’s a great honour. I think it’s the best type of honour you can get in professional sports,” added Olafioye.
“I started hearing the whispers after like year six, year seven, ‘you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re going to become a Hall of Famer.’ I was hearing those whispers, but it was just in the back of my head. I just knew I had to keep playing as hard as I could, as long as I could and just play my heart out.”
It was his former head coach, the legend Wally Buono, who called to give him the news that he was joining him in the Hall of Fame earlier this year.
“The greatest phone call of my life,” Olafioye said on Saturday.
Buono’s impact on Jovan’s career goes without saying, but it was a special bond with the late Dan Dorazio, his offensive line coach for all but one season with the Lions, who deserves the most credit for moulding him into the dominant force he became for the better part of a decade.
It was Dorazio who gave him the nickname ‘Sugar Bear.’ Anyone who has spent any time around Jovan would understand that description perfectly. A gentle giant off the field, but someone you wouldn’t want to line up against in the heat of battle.
“Dan was great, man. A great coach, a great man, a great father,” Olafioye added in an interview with the CFL on TSN panel before Saturday’s Hall of Fame Game.
“He put in a lot of time with me, before practice, at practice, after practice. He just believed in me, believed in my talent, believed in everything I had going on and just poured it into me. He’s another reason why I’m here today, standing before you guys. A strong and humble man.”
That’s a statement echoed by many of the guys Dorazio coached in his brilliant career. For Olafioye, entering the Hall is a tribute to his hard work, professionalism and durability. All of the attributes you want in an offensive lineman.