Being from New Brunswick, I know that Touchdown Atlantic is a big deal because they’ve been pushing to have a team out there for a while.
The big debate is whether it should be Halifax or Moncton. Halifax has the larger population but a lot of people say it should be Moncton because it’s a central spot and people from Fredericton, Truro and Halifax could all come up.
It’s huge for the province of New Brunswick. When I was growing up in the Fredericton area, football was just starting up. When I was really young, I started with flag football and then CAMFA — the Capital Area Minor Football Association. The minor football program is really strong in Nova Scotia as well.
Football continues to get stronger in that area as more high schools add football and minor football adds more division. I think it’s great.
Touchdown Atlantic sold out last year and I think it’s going to be a sellout again this year. I know a lot of friends and family who went to the game last year and there were a lot of positive comments. My parents went to the game and they said it was an awesome experience.
If the CFL keeps doing this, the league will see the people out there really have a desire for professional football. Maybe not right away, but some day soon there’ll be a team out there and that would be amazing. It’d be nice to have a professional football presence there because it’s an eight-hour drive to Montreal.
When I signed with the Stampeders, I was just relieved to be with this team. At that point, I was just taking day by day and game by game. But now to get the opportunity to play a game in home province, it’s a huge bonus for me.
Pretty much my whole family is going to be there and there’ll be lots of friends, too. To go out East to where my football roots are and to be able to play a professional football game, it’s like a dream come true.
There a big competition between myself and all the guys like Akwasi Antwi, Tim St. Pierre and Steve Myddelton who went to school in the Maritimes for tickets. Of course, they just went to school there — I’m FROM there.
Actually, most of my friends and family had already bought tickets for the game, so it’s not too bad. They bought their tickets even before I signed with the Stamps, so they were excited about the game from the start.
My hometown of New Maryland is just outside of Fredericton and Fredericton is just an hour-and-a-half away from Moncton. I was involved in a lot of sports growing up and I played a lot of games and tournaments in Moncton, so I’m really familiar with the place.
It should be a great game. I think the fans are happy to have us out there and the players are looking forward to it.
Justin Conn, #48
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