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A taste of the big time Taking part in Lions-Ticats game 'neat' for VMFL youngsters Ken Henry, The ProvincePublished: Tuesday, October 24, 2006 Nicholas Carroll never dreamt he'd be famous. But there he was on Saturday, strutting his stuff in front of thousands -- no make that millions -- of fans at B.C. Place Stadium during the halftime show of the B.C. Lions-Hamilton Ticats game. It wasn't lost on the eight-year-old that only minutes earlier Geroy Simon, Buck Pierce and Brent Johnson were gracing that same field. "It was pretty neat," said Carroll, a member of the North Surrey T-Birds atom team. "It felt weird at first, but then it was cool. The best part was there were lots of fans ... like 100 million of them watching us." In actual fact, 31,294 people attended the CFL contest. |
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But you get the picture: taking part in an event like this is something these kids will remember for a long time. "The players were in awe," said Mike Carroll, head coach of the T-Birds. "They just stand there and can't believe that they're actually down at field level. "It's a really great thing for the kids to be a part of." Vancouver Mainland Football League teams get to take part in one B.C. Lions game each year, when the Lions host their annual amateur football night. This time around six VMFL squads participated, with each player and cheerleader given two free tickets to the game. And this time, they were blessed with an extra special treat. Normally, Lions players are too busy before and after the game to meet the kids. But as Nicholas Carroll and his teammates were waiting for a bus following B.C.'s 23-17 victory over Hamilton, they ran into Jason Clermont and a few other Lions. The group took the time to talk to the kids. "Jason Clermont high-fived us!" exclaimed linebacker Jaylen Sandhu. "He asked us what positions we play and everything." "That was really cool," chimed in teammate Colby Peters. "That was my favourite." A day later, reality still hadn't sunk in for the boys. With fairy tale thoughts filling their heads of again stepping onto the B.C. Place turf one day, the T-Birds responded by earning a 6-6 tie with the favoured Cloverdale Lions. "After meeting [Clermont and the other Lions] I think some of our kids were like, 'Maybe we can do that one day too,' " said Debbie Carroll, Nicholas's mom. "It was really inspirational to see the effect it had on them." |
Nicholas Carroll (centre) rallies his North Surrey T-Birds teammates as they get set to square off against the North Delta Chargers during the halftime show of the B.C. Lions-Hamilton game on Saturday at B.C. Place Stadium. 'It was pretty neat,' said
Carroll, whose team is part of the VMFL's
atom division. 'It felt weird at first, but then it was cool. The best
part was there were lots of fans ... like 100 million of them.'
Photograph by : |
Ravens
