Oct
Fitzpatrick’s dream alive, kicking
Courtesy Montreal Gazette:
It’s the resolve and fortitude of every professional athlete to never relinquish hope, to always believe there will be one more opportunity, one more phone call offering employment, another chance to fulfill a dream.
For Daniel Joseph Fitzpatrick, the Alouettes’ new kicker, that scenario arose this week. It took him from Chicago to Montreal and on to Edmonton in barely more than 24 hours. And it might end, in all likelihood, after tonight’s game against the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium (9 p.m., TSN, RDS, CJAD Radio-800), making him no more than a minor footnote in team history. Fitzpatrick knows it, and willingly accepts the hand he has been dealt.
“One game. Absolutely. They’ve been up front and clear,” he said. “When they tell me to leave, or even come back, I’m ready. If they need me to come back … I would do anything. I just want the opportunity. I’m up for anything.”
These things happen in the CFL, more often than not and, for some reason, invariably involve kickers. Remember Bill LaFleur in 2001? Probably not. His career with the Alouettes was short, three games in total, beginning at Saskatchewan after being called in as an emergency replacement for an injured Terry Baker. The Als’ equipment managers misspelled his name. But LaFleur did enough to parlay it into an NFL contract.
In 1995, the Eskimos played an exhibition game at Las Vegas and were without a kicker. A call was placed to one Aaron Price. He was a friend of Rick Campbell’s, whose father, Hugh, was the architect of many great Edmonton teams.
“It’s nice being a kicker,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s no playbook to learn, although it’ll be a little different under the lights. You practise on your own. You can visualize and pretend there are 100,000 people out there. You never know when your shot will come. Or how many you’ll get.”
Yesterday, Fitzpatrick talked to the media before he could be measured and sized for equipment. And, between interviews, he went onto the back field to kick and practise with Scott Squires, the Als’ special teams coordinator. Fitzpatrick was joined by long-snapper Cory Huclack and slotback Ben Cahoon, the holder on field goals and converts.
