It’s nearly the end of September, pretty quick it’s going to be October, but this week’s game is very special to me. This Saturday, we visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — the only difference about this road game is, we will be playing at my alma mater, University of Guelph.

As soon as the schedule came out, I circled this game on the calendar.

Spending four years in Guelph, the football was great, but outside of football, Guelph was a great place to go to school. I met a lot of great people, the city is super cool. People might not think of it that way but it has a really unique feel to it. Anyone who travels there understands it. 

Going back there is going to be a reflection of the time I spent there, I’m really looking forward to it. I have so many great memories of my time with the Gryphons.

My first game in 2006, it was actually one of the best games of my career. We played against Justin Phillips when he was with the Golden Hawks. They converted on third and 27 and sent it to overtime, I’ll never forget that. I hope my first pro game in that stadium isn’t as close.

It’s going to be really neat to go back and remind myself of all the great memories from my four years there, but it’s also going to be great to see all the changes they have made.

The stadium has changed so much since I’ve been here. The last time I kicked there was after my rookie season with the Stampeders — I spent the spring of 2011 there to get ready. Back then it was grass, and now it’s really different.

Coach Lang and the staff over there have completely re-done the field, the weight room is completely different — I hear it’s great! It’s going to be the same area, so to speak, but what they have done with the area is going to be completely different from my time there. 

It’s going to be great to see all the my old friends and family, I’ve got some buddies coming out for the game — Grant MacDonald, I played with him, he went to E-Camp, James Sevoie, Jed Gardner, my old coach who coached me in Brampton, he’s going to make the trek down the 401 to watch the game. We will see who else.

I’ve got some family coming out to the game — my grandma, one of my uncles, a couple of my cousins . . . it’s just going to be a lot of people. I just have to find out who I can actually get tickets for.

Anytime you get to play a professional game where you played as an amateur, it’s going to be special.  I remember last year in Toronto we did a walkthrough in Scarborough at Birchmount Stadium. I grew up playing their with the Brampton Bulldogs and it’s always cool when you get to go back as a professional to a place where you played little kid football or university. You always have fond memories of those places; it’s really special.

Its great to see how well Guelph has supported the Ticats, Guelph loves their football. During my time at university, there was always massive support for minor football and it’s a sport that the city loves.

It’s going to be cool to go back out there but, at the end of the day, it’s a business trip. We’re going out there to get two points and get back on a winning track. The whole experience is going to be pretty neat! 

Rob Maver, #6
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