Far too often, franchise greats in esports don’t get a chance to say a proper goodbye to fans, and fans can’t say goodbye to their heroes in a way that befits the player’s contributions to the franchise.
Typically, it takes the form of an off-season press conference in front of a few reporters. Players talk about retiring or moving to another team, and those thoughts are carried to fans in a one-sided conversation.
What’s in store for Stampeders fans this Saturday is a multifaceted opportunity to say goodbye to one to three all-time Stampeders.
The first is relatively obvious. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell will see some game action this weekend in the season finale against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, according to head coach Dave Dickenson.
This is likely the last time Stamps fans will cheer for Mitchell in a home shirt, and the franchise leader in most passing categories deserves a long standing ovation from fans who have cheered him on with less than the right crowd in recent seasons treated love.
Mitchell is the only Stampeders quarterback with two Gray Cup wins as a starter and remains the all-time winning Qua in the CFL despite struggling last season. If you line up the slaying line of CFL legends that have centered the Stampeders over the past three decades, Mitchell still stands alone in his impact.
Mitchell became the starting quarterback in 2014 and won the championship in his first season at the helm, followed by another in 2018. Of the seven Gray Cup games played since 2014, Mitchell was the starting QB in four of them. He went to the championship game as a starter more often than not.
He is also a two-time league standout, holds the CFL record for most consecutive wins as a starter and was 6-3 this season before being ousted by Jake Maier. If the Blue Bombers beat the BC Lions this weekend, it would mean Mitchell’s win rate this season was higher than any other team outside of Manitoba.
There is no question that Mitchell is a first-choice Hall of Famer at this point in his career and no matter where the future takes him – be it to another team hungry to see if he can regain the form, who appears to have taken the injury away from him or in some capacity at TSN, where he has worked as an analyst for the last few Gray Cups – fans will be wishing him the best in all right ways.
While I don’t expect the team to do anything to acknowledge the situation, fans can take this opportunity in their applauding hands, accompanied by cheers and whistles for the man who has guided this team his entire life at or near the top of the Appreciation has kept career and always made time for community events.
To a lesser extent – just because their future is not so certain – there are other opportunities for a fitting farewell on every sideline.
Charleston Hughes and Rene Paredes may also make their final appearances at McMahon in this game.
A stampeder for a decade, Hughes, despite coming to camp as a linebacker, became one of the best defensive ends to ever pad in the CFL.
Hughes, an elite quarterback chaser, was traded from Calgary to Hamilton and immediately transferred to Saskatchewan ahead of the 2018 season but remains at the top of the Stampeders’ all-time list with 99 sacks, level on points with Will Johnson.
Hughes has added 37 sacks in the last four seasons between Saskatchewan and Toronto and has climbed into the top 5 all-time in quarterback takedowns over the past two years, despite limited playing time.
Hughes has previously stated that while he will be a free agent by the end of the season, he doesn’t expect to retire at that point. That means it can’t be that it’s his decision.
As one of the most engaging figures in the league, Hughes will be missed on the field and Stamps fans should celebrate him while they can. He’s currently listed as a starter on the Saskatchewan depth chart, so hopefully he’ll get the appropriate response.
Stampeders field kicker Rene Paredes has enjoyed an enviable career since replacing the injured Rob Maver in 2011. Maver was the acting field goal kicker but pulled a hamstring just before the first game of the season and was replaced by Paredes, who came on as a substitute and had 491 field goals on 561 attempts and added 423 converts to finish in the top 10 in CFL scoring to come at all times.
Maver would return from injury the following season and would be a weapon as one of the best directional punters U Sports has produced.
El Matador, as Paredes is affectionately known, is the second most accurate kicker of all time with a success rate of 87.5 percent. He’s currently trailing only Ottawa’s Lewis Ward, who is in his fourth season and whose average has come down just a little each year after averaging 98 percent as a rookie.
Paredes is also the owner of five of the eight most accurate seasons of all time. Only three kickers have ever had a better season than Rene Paredes, and none more than once: Ward’s rookie year in 2018, Sean Whyte in 2016 and Paul McCallum in 2011.
Paredes has been open about retirement in recent years, citing off-field opportunities as a reason to consider retiring. It’s certainly not due to declining ability.
This Stamps Riders affair might not be one of the most anticipated games of the year; Saskatchewan has hobbled down the stretch and Calgary just wants to stay healthy. However, the unique opportunity to potentially say goodbye to a trio of players who represent some of the best times the franchise has seen is something special.
A golden era of victories and championships and the knowledge that every step of the way the team had a better chance of winning than not.
Applaud ’em, cheer ’em, and drink it in Stamps fans; You don’t know how lucky you are to have the chance.
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