By Scott Cruickshank
Calgary Herald
Gerald Cadogan, presumably, never came close to flinching.
Humiliating rookies may be a well-established part of football — but Cadogan, you could say, is pressure-tested.
So when the Calgary Stampeders newbie was ordered to favour the veterans with a song last season, it had been a snap. Not a gulp.
The large lad simply selected Lean On Me and belted it out.
“At first, they started giggling and stuff,” recalls Cadogan. “Then they heard a couple notes. Some still laughed. Some said, ‘You’re all right. You can carry a tune.’ It’s a matter of who you asked.”
He wasn’t at all ruffled by the request.
“It’s easy,” says Cadogan, grinning. “They’re going to laugh, they’re going to hoot and holler. You sing, you sit down.”
There’s a reason why he’s so unflappable.
Not only is he an accomplished musician — with two gospel albums to his credit, with a handful of instruments mastered — but Cadogan, while a senior at Penn State, sang (solo) the Star-Spangled Banner for Barack Obama and 22,000 others during an on-campus rally in 2008.
“A real experience. A great blessing,” the six-foot-five, 310-pounder says. “Coach (Joe) Paterno was affiliated with the Obama campaign. They needed someone to sing the national anthem. They asked me. I told them yes — if I got to meet him.”
Two minutes with the soon-to-be president won’t ever be forgotten.
“He just asked me if I played football, my name,” Cadogan says. “Got a quick picture and an autograph and that was the end of it. Definitely awesome. An awesome story.”
Proof, of course, is readily available on YouTube.
“You just go out there and sing,” says Cadogan. “It’s amazing — one of those ‘wow’ moments, that God allowed me to have that experience. I think I did a solid job. I was a little nervous . . . but it was enough to get some applause afterwards.”
These days, though, Cadogan isn’t singing.
But he is trying to find harmony on the Stampeders’ remade offensive line.
With Rob Lazeo and Dan Comiskey retiring, with the decorated Ben Archibald joining the rival B.C. Lions, with injured Edwin Harrison on the mend, there is room in the choir.
“That’s what I’m doing right now, making things become second nature,” says the Portsmouth, Ohio, native. “To make sure I can do this in my sleep. Working on technique, working on the little things. Especially when your body is tired and it’s the second practice (of the day), you’ve got to hunker down and say your prayers and get it done.”
After graduating in 2008 — with a double major (psychology, rehabilitation services) — the academic all-American has had stints with five NFL teams. While his game experience south of the border added up to one — the Carolina Panthers’ friendly against the New York Giants — the 25-year-old doesn’t gripe too loudly.
“It is tough mentally,” he admits. “You’re almost at the goal — you’re tasting it, you’re right there — you’re very close, but far away. But throughout that whole process, I played a role on each of those teams.”
True to that attitude, Cadogan isn’t now counting the minutes till opening day.
Rather, he’s trying to soak up the locals’ schemes. That’s his primary focus.
“I’m just worried about my technique right now — the games will be there,” says Cadogan, a substitute teacher — music, math, science — in the off-season. “I definitely feel comfortable. It’s just a matter of getting the repetitions in and anticipating things . . . once you get to that point, things slow down.”