The CFL playoffs.<\/p>\n
As the Lions get set to host the Calgary Stampeders this Saturday at BC Place in the Western Division Semi-Final, it\u2019s a tremendous opportunity for all of those involved.<\/p>\n
The career of a football player is short \u2013 averaging usually around three years. For some players, the fact of the matter is that this might be their only shot at a Grey Cup championship.<\/p>\n
If defeat does occur, young players have a tendency to believe that another opportunity will present itself again next season or in the near future.<\/p>\n
A lot of times it doesn\u2019t, but the arrogance of youth doesn\u2019t allow for that.<\/p>\n
Dreams of getting to the Grey Cup game are met with the reality of playing on a team that doesn\u2019t get that opportunity. An even crueller fact is that some individuals may have played in their last football game.<\/p>\n
Remember, we are talking on average a three-year career in the CFL.<\/p>\n
There are the exceptions \u2013 veteran players who know the importance of these opportunities and try to relay that mindset to their younger teammates.<\/p>\n
Players like 37-year-old quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and 36-year-old halfback T.J. Lee know how difficult it is to win a Grey Cup, seeing how neither has been able to hoist the aforementioned trophy during their career and call themselves a champion.<\/p>\n
Between the two, that\u2019s 23 seasons, 293 games and zero rings.<\/p>\n
Even in a nine-team league, it\u2019s tough to win it all.<\/p>\n
Kicker Sean Whyte has been plying his trade since 2009 with only one Grey Cup title to his credit, which was with Edmonton in 2015.<\/p>\n
Besides having the physical talent, you need to have chemistry among your players, which in turn cultivates an ethos that places the team above all else.<\/p>\n
Did we mention that you have to get that lucky bounce, have a certain call go your way and avoid key injuries?<\/p>\n
Winning the Grey Cup is the ultimate challenge for a CFL player and that\u2019s why you see players break down with emotion after achieving their goal of becoming the best.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve reached the pinnacle and they know the cost that was paid to be called a champion.<\/p>\n
The opportunity to call yourself a champion is there.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an opportunity that shouldn\u2019t be taken for granted because you only get so many chances in your career.<\/p>\n
So when you hear a coach talk about \u2018emptying the tank\u2019 or \u2018firing every bullet\u2019, they know if there is one thing that you don\u2019t want to have, it\u2019s regret.<\/p>\n
Things happen during the course of a game. There will be peaks and valleys, but the important thing is that when you look at yourself in the mirror afterwards, you can face yourself knowing that you gave it everything you had.<\/p>\n
I know.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re probably thinking \u2013 \u2018thanks for the newsflash Moj\u2019 \u2013 as common sense will tell you to give it maximum effort with your season on the line, but the human mind loves to deceive you.<\/p>\n
It wilts when fatigue becomes a factor and its faith is tested when adversity hits.<\/p>\n
Subconsciously, your mind will trick you into believing that there is a tomorrow when there isn\u2019t. Even in a locker room, as you try to grasp the reality of a season-ending defeat, your mind is trying to fool you into thinking it\u2019s just another loss, but that isn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n
Reality hits you on the day that you\u2019re supposed to be practicing and preparing for the next playoff game. Instead of being on the field, however, you are cleaning out your locker and getting ready for exit meetings.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when it hits home.<\/p>\n
This group of individuals that became a team has played its final game together.<\/p>\n
You might return the following season, you might not, but one thing is for certain.<\/p>\n
This team \u2013 this group of individuals that started training camp in May and that has bonded into brothers as the season wore on \u2013 won\u2019t be the same next year.<\/p>\n
If there is one constant in pro sports, it is change.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s why you have to take advantage of this opportunity.<\/p>\n
It might not ever present itself to you again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The CFL playoffs. As the Lions get set to host the Calgary Stampeders this Saturday at BC Place…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-248859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}