“Those motherf***ers are trying to knock me out of the game. But I’m not going down. I'm not going anywhere.” – BC Lions quarterback, Buck Pierce, in his inspiring halftime speech last Friday.


Leadership comes in different forms. Some, like hockey’s Joe Sakic, lead by example, playing each and every game at their highest level, moving teammates to follow suit. Some are more vocal and forceful with their words, not accepting mediocrity from teammates and challenging others to step up – Mark Messier was known for his forceful addresses. Last Friday evening against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Buck Pierce did both.

Challenged during the week leading up by Lions Head Coach Wally Buono to be more consistent; battling chronic concussion problems, injured ribs, and an injured shoulder; bloodied and bruised from the first half, the BC Lions quarterback voiced his rallying cry. He made his declaration at halftime, telling his teammates emphatically, that he would not succumb to the physical pressure he was under, and he backed it up with play after play.

Every Lions fan knows that Pierce is one concussion away from the end of his football career, which is why the entire stadium was willing him onwards as the game progressed. In the final minute of play, with the teams tied at 16, he called his own number, choosing not to throw or hand the ball off; instead, taking it himself and running straight into the defense that had been mutilating him all night, and he came away with 20 yards and a first down. The drive ended with a field goal scored by Sean Whyte, on which the Lions won the game. He led the Lion pack with a ferocious effort last week, and tonight, against the Edmonton Eskimos team that is ranked just above the Lions in the standings, Pierce will have to growl once again.

“I wanted permission to seek a trade… I don’t want to be here if I’m not going to play… I’ve been in the league too long to be sitting around… it doesn’t make any sense why I stuck my neck out, broke my wrist trying to make a tackle, and now I don’t have a job. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.” – BC Lions Kicker Paul McCallum in an interview on the Team 1040 radio station.

Over the weekend, 39 year old BC Lions kicker, Paul McCallum, asked GM/Head Coach Wally Buono for “permission to seek a trade,” after losing the starting job to 24 year old Sean Whyte, because of an injury which he has subsequently recovered from. On the Richter Scale of sporting news, this does not even register as a tremor; yet, I find it entertaining. How does someone ask for permission to seek a trade? The following gives us an idea of the conversation between player and coach:

Paul McCallum: Coach, am I going to get a chance to play again?

Wally Buono: Paul, you’re getting old. He’s the future. We have to move on as a team.

PM: OK fine, but if you're not going to let me play here, can you trade me?

WB: Trade? Nah.

PM: What?! But why not?

WB: Paul, you’re a kicker. And you’re 39 years old. What can I possibly get in return for you? I’d be lucky if someone gave me a used pair of cleats and a jock strap. I have a game to prepare for next week. I don’t have time to waste on this crap.

PM: Geez coach, can you at least give me permission to seek a trade then?

WB: Wait, you want to trade yourself? That’s unprecedented... but it sounds good to me! Ok, I’ll see you later Paul!

If you listen to Vancouver sports radio, or read the sports section in the Vancouver Sun or Province, you will realize that the city is in crisis mode. The BC Lions are 1-4 and everyone is calling for the head of GM/Head Coach Wally Buono. It is very reminiscent of what happened to Canucks Head Coach Alain Vigneault during a losing skid in January.

The Team 1040 Radio Station fields calls like, “I think Buono’s over the hill. He used to be good but he’s lost his passion.”

And, “Buono has always had a talented team and that’s why he’s done well. He can’t succeed without a very talented group.”

I’m not going to get into refuting these ideas, because there’s no need. The point I want to make is that the majority of radio callers are going to be negative and this is because of who they are. The hardcore sports fan is a blue collar worker, to whom the local sports team is most important. He or she does not have a very balanced approach to life and is from a largely uneducated segment of the population. As such, he lacks the scope to understand that a loss in any given week, or even 3 weeks in a row, is not the end of the world.

The Lions have over 20,000 season ticket holders, and the almost all of them attend every game in support of the local team. They understand that Coach Buono sports a 75-37-1 record as Lions Head Coach and is ranked second in the CFL in all-time wins with 227. They comprehend the idea of a rebuilding phase and a movement to younger players. It’s just too bad that instead of calling the radio, these people just sit back and listen, chuckling at the mindlessness of the comments and focusing on the more important parts of life.