Former Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver\u00a0Steve Mazurak explained\u00a0his\u00a0criteria for what it takes to earn a place\u00a0in\u00a0the Plaza of Honour.<\/p>\n
“The athletic prowess on the field,\u00a0they like to look at how long you played, your achievements in your particular position, some of the awards and accolades that may have been received\u00a0and digging a little bit deeper into the community. It’s not\u00a0what they’ve done on the field, but it’s what they’ve done in the community,” Mazurak said on\u00a0the 620 CKRM Rider\u00a0Broadcast Network.<\/p>\n
“A good example of that is Alex Smith\u00a0this year. When I was at the Plaza of Honour dinner to\u00a0listen to him talk through his coaching experience and all the head coaches he survived,\u00a0you watch the film clips of him on the sideline and in the face of the head coaches, be it Ken Miller or Ken Austin\u00a0listening and paying attention, and that Alex is a very bright, brilliant football man. He’d have suggestions, he’d have ideas,\u00a0it’s all of the above.\u00a0There are so many with wonderful records and backgrounds in the sport that we\u00a0tick off the boxes.”<\/p>\n
For Mazurak himself, he was inducted into the Plaza of Honour in 2004 and provided details on why some of this year’s inductees were chosen.<\/p>\n
“So once a year, we have a great lunch at the Roughrider office.\u00a0We sit down and go through a long list of wonderful Roughriders, deserving builders,\u00a0we go through a process\u00a0and it’s a lot of fun,” Mazurak said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There are so many that are so deserving,\u00a0more often than not, it’s not so much who they are and what they did. It’s timing because when you look at the list, you’re going to be like, man, they’re all going in at some point in time. It was an honour for us this year\u00a0to honour one, if not two, unsung heroes. Alex Smith [Sr.]\u00a0for instance\u00a0is the first assistant coach to be inducted into the Plaza. Steve Molnar, a teammate of mine, his son got up and spoke about him being an unsung hero.\u00a0This was a Plaza you’ll build around and in, showing that it’s not\u00a0the heroes but sometimes it’s the unsung heroes that have a place and should be in a place with the Plaza of Honour.”<\/p>\n
The selection\u00a0committee is formed by\u00a0Mazurak,\u00a0Alan Ford, Cleveland Vann, Wes Cates, Don Hewitt, Terri Strunk, Barry Clarke and Rob Vanstone. This year’s inductees for the Plaza of Honour <\/a>included Chris Best, Steve Molnar, and Alex Smith Sr.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mazurak’s playing career with the Riders spanned from 1973 through 1981. He\u00a0transitioned over to working for the CFLPA as their executive director from 1980 through 1986. After some time away from the CFL, working in either Sask sports or at CKCK Radio, plus\u00a0a stint in the telecommunications industry, he returned to work with the Riders in 2005 as their new director of sales and marketing. That\u00a0job with the Green and White lasted until 2018 when he retired. He received\u00a0rings when Saskatchewan won the Grey Cup in 2007 and 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n