It is possible that no other athlete has ever had an appearance as highly anticipated as when Troy Westwood made a visit to Yorkton last weekend.
Very seldom will an athlete in any sport agree to make an appearance on the home 'turf' of his team's biggest rival.
That's the story behind Westwood's appearance at the Football Night in Saskatchewan minor football league fundraiser in Yorkton last weekend.
Among those in attendance that night were former Yorkton Regional High School Raider Gridder and current Hamilton Tiger-Cat Jordan Matechuk, Stu Foord, Weston Dressler and Gene Makowsky.
Also in attendance was Matt Henry, rookie this upcoming season with the Calgary Stampeders as well an NCAA rookie with the Clemson Tigers.
Despite all the local talent, nobody on this night was going to be as highly-anticipated as Westwood.
The now-retired CFL punter with the neighbours to the east, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, may or may not have been the most highly-anticipated speaker ever to visit the city, but it was going to be interesting to hear what he had to say.
He holds some records as a Blue Bomber kicker and had quite the season in 2003 when he surpassed 500 field goals as well as making 500 straight convert attempts but what may or may not stick out the most in the minds of Saskatchewan Roughrider fans everywhere is what he is arguable most known for: his tongue-in-cheek insult of the rival Saskatchewan Roughriders' fans by calling them "banjo-pickin' inbreds." He later followed that up with a faux apology, saying he did not think anyone in Saskatchewan was actually capable of playing a banjo. These quotes inspired the Banjo Bowl, the annual matchup played on Winnipeg's home turf.
He told a packed dining room crowd at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre that the quote was more directed at family members he has who currently live in Regina as they used to tease each other whenever the Riders and Bombers got together.
Westwood also displayed a wicked sense of humour that night too and said he was "astonished by the dedication" shown by the hoards of local football fans that came out to the St. Mary's Ukrainian Cultural Centre to take part in the Football Night in Saskatchewan fundraiser.
He also took in the par-ride which took up half of Broadway St., for about an hour-and-a-half and showed a good portion of the Rider support within the City.
"I've never seen a parade that large and that well attended. It is essential that every community has individuals like this," he said, referring to the 20+ residents who helped put everything together, set up times, made arrangements both in person and over the tele-phone, including Cory Sharpe who arranged for a pair of Roughrider players from the 1966 Grey Cup-winning team to join Yorkton in its attempt to win the 'Riderville' contest."They're going to make an impact on dozens of kids," says Westwood of the players who currently make up the Yorkton Minor Football Association, the league that's been fully operational for young football players for three years.
Westwood said it's really a great thing for kids that young to have a place to play looking back at his own upbringing. He told the paper that when he was under the age of 10, "football has taught me a lot."His most interesting quote followed: "Football is a microcosm. It's impossible to measure the benefit of recreation in the community."
Westwood added that when he started playing the game, it helped keep him out of trouble and he could feel good about himself simply by playing the game and having fun with it."The dividends pay off big time."
When asked how football compares in both prairie provinces with the Riders and the Bombers, he said the support is pretty equal in both communities and is "very similar" between his hometown of Dauphin and various cities and towns across Saskatchewan.The date of Westwood's speech at St. Mary's Ukrainian Centre just happened to fall on the same date that the Dauphin Kings took on the La Ronge Ice Wolves in the semi-final of the RBC Cup, the championship series for the Junior 'A' level of boys' hockey in Canada. Westwood was asked what the response has been like so far for the Kings who had an outstanding season and were in the middle of hosting the same club that knocked out the Yorkton Terriers in the Saskatchewan league finals.
"Right across Canada, football is sacred. But hockey is the winter (sport) and summer is for football."
Westwood closed by saying that it is good that today's young football players are getting help in the area of equipment costs. Roby Sharpe, president of Yorkton Minor Football, said earlier in the week that the banquet in which Westwood and several other CFL players spoke at, raised over $20,000.
That money will go towards helping young players pay for the high costs of dressing in properly-fitting equipment.
Westwood was the team's Most Outstanding Canadian and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2003. He led the CFL in scoring (198), game-winning field goals (two), field goals of 50 yards or longer (five) and convert percentage (100.0 per cent). He was second in field goals made (47), second in field goals attempted (61), third in net punting average (35.4) and fourth in punting average (41.6).
In 2003, he reached or surpassed 500 field goals made, 500 consecutive converts made, 1,000 kickoffs, 2,200 points scored and 15,000 field goal yards.
