TORONTO — Andrew Harris is not just one to disguise his emotions. There are handful of, if any, in the CFL a lot more passionate about the video game than the 34-calendar year-old potential Hall of Fame managing back, and he’s frequently at his very best when that enthusiasm is overflowing.
As he receives ready to perform the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, his hometown crew and the a person he performed a significant position in offering back again-to-back again Gray Cups, his text have abnormal restraint. Now a member of the Toronto Argonauts, who snatched Harris up on Day 1 of absolutely free agency and made him the highest-paid operating again in the league, he’s opting to retain his thoughts in check out.
“I’m not genuinely talking about it. Yeah, it’s my outdated crew and, yeah, it is my hometown and there’s a lot of record there. That is in the earlier, in the rear-watch mirror,” Harris reported next the Argonauts walk-by way of at BMO Area Sunday. “When you get far too caught up in the emotions and other points, you are not concentrating on soccer. I’m just making an attempt to target on football and as much as our locker room is anxious, there truly hasn’t been considerably discuss about it at all. A couple of fellas have requested me ‘How’s it gonna be.’ And I say, ‘Ah, just another activity.’ There will be a couple much more superior-fives and things right before the video game, but after that whistle blows, I’m likely out there to get a get.”
Monday’s matchup will be the 1st and only reunion this year given that Harris and the Bombers parted techniques around the wintertime. Harris, who played five yrs in Winnipeg and won the league speeding title 3 periods, hoped to adhere all-around for at minimum a different time, to be portion of the club’s bid at a three-peat.
The Bombers had other strategies, opting to transfer on from the ageing star to usher in a new era in the backfield, one particular that characteristics a more youthful duo of Brady Oliveira and Johnny Augustine. Harris wasn’t happy with how he was addressed, and in the months and months that have followed his departure, he’s aired his displeasure publicly.
This 7 days Harris promises to be more than the disrespect he felt and is a lot more focused on having the Argonauts a earn soon after a tough outing very last 7 days in a 44-3 beatdown by the B.C. Lions. Toronto can just take about sole possession of very first put in the East Division with a get above the Bombers.
“I’ve surely put it behind me. You’ve got to shift on in this business enterprise and lifestyle. Just maintain relocating ahead,” Harris stated. “The past is the previous and I’m actually grateful for my possibility in Toronto.”
Whilst Harris might be downplaying the significance of dealing with his previous teammates, his latest workforce is not getting it. They’ve found what Harris provides to the subject just about every working day, the devotion and leadership he shows and the mountain-sized chip he has on his shoulder.
They are just glad he’s on their side.
“Those people are his boys over there. Arrive on, he wishes to earn much more than anyone,” Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson claimed. “And if our offence has 50 percent a coronary heart, we’re gonna go out there and scratch and claw each solitary inch for Andrew to get that get. It is a massive recreation for him, and we’re gonna do our best for him.”
“He hasn’t designed it about himself. He has not talked about it a great deal,” included head mentor Ryan Dinwiddie. “But I know in the back of his brain, it’s a significant offer.”
Bethel-Thompson only knew Harris as an opponent prior to him signing in Toronto, even if he experienced listened to excellent points from people today throughout the CFL. But to see firsthand how he puts in the work, and the management he brings, he has a complete new appreciation for Harris as a teammate.
And his praise couldn’t be bigger.
“You hear about how significantly guys respect him and like him throughout the league, but you under no circumstances know how guys run in the making. It’s the highest degree of regard as a football participant, as a person, as a leader, as a teammate,” Bethel-Thompson explained. “He’s vitality each individual day. I just cannot say more than enough good factors. He’s just an great individual, an awesome soccer participant, and a distinctive, unique personal.”
Harris said he’s savoring his time in Toronto, contacting it a new chapter for his soccer job and also his existence.
“The greatest point for me was acquiring to know my teammates, hanging out with them, looking at how they vibe, how they observe, how they attack the day to working day. The playbook was one particular hurdle and just comprehension the issues they do and how they can utilize my belongings and ability sets, and getting to know the coaches as very well,” Harris mentioned.
Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @jeffkhamilton
Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer
Soon after a slew of injuries participating in hockey that integrated breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both of those knees as nicely as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good notion to get his curiosity in athletics off the ice and in to the classroom.
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