By François Ferland,
MontrealAlouettes.com
Montreal – If Jack Bedell’s words mean anything, the Montreal Alouettes will once again be a force throughout the CFL during the 2010 season.
“Due to having a coaching staff that is un-matched by any other team in the league, being strategically superior than their competitors, having Jim Popp (Vice President, General Manager, Director of Football Operations and Player’s Personnel) and most importantly, having a group of players who place the outmost importance on the well-being and success of the team as a whole, rather than on themselves.”
For those of you who do not visit the Alouettes website on a regular basis, you may not be familiar with Bedell. At the age of 44, Bedell is the author of the South of 49 and Head-2-Head columns which appears regularly on the team’s official website, MontrealAlouettes.com.
Originally from Louisiana, Bedell has been writing for the Alouettes website for three years. Is Bedell a rare breed? When talking about his dedication to football, one can hardly disagree.
Hooked on the Alouettes…
A professor at the University of Southeastern Louisiana, where he teaches poetry, Bedell discovered Canadian football at a young age and his interest in the game has never stopped growing. Still to this day, he talks about it with such passion that is not commonly seen in most fans.
“Late in the 1970s, NBC aired some CFL games and they quickly began to be of interest to me. I became particularly attached to the Alouettes because their team was made up of some past NFL stars like Vince Ferragamo and Billy “White Shoes” Johnson,” explains Bedell who is currently a father to three children – two boys and one girl.
When a strike hit the NFL in 1982, NBC began airing CFL games regularly on their network. Bedell was instantly addicted. In 2004, the Arena Football League (AFL) gave New Orleans its own franchise (named Voodoo), and Bedell became a writer for their organization’s new website.
“Because I knew so much about the CFL and I followed its progress regularly, I would constantly make references and comparisons between the players in the AFL and those in the CFL,” explains Bedell. The Voodoo franchise lasted from 2004-‘08. One day, someone from the CFL became particularly interested with Bedell’s articles and what he wrote about on the team’s website. They got in touch with him and asked him if he would be interested in signing a contract to begin writing for the CFL. Without hesitation, Bedell gladly accepted the offer and took on his new role with the league up north for five years.
Once he became a part of the CFL, he slowly began to work his way into the Alouettes organization. By attending the Grey Cup in Winnipeg in 2007, he had the opportunity of meeting Noah Sidel, who manages the Alouettes’ web properties, who offered him the chance to expand his CFL journalism resumé by writing for MontrealAlouettes.com.
… and on the CFL
Unlike most Americans, Bedell doesn`t limit himself to just the NFL. “I like football in all different forms, wherever it is played. There are amazing athletes all over the world and I enjoy watching them perform in their element, wherever it may be,” states Bedell. Having been surrounded by the American style of the game for so long, it was the different atmosphere and in-game differences from the NFL that appealed to Bedell.
“I really love the simplicity that Canadian football provides for the viewers”, he explains.
“What I’m referring to is the general attitude that is portrayed by the players and personnel. They are driven by a passion for football – which is great to see. For example, look at a player like Matthieu Proulx who continues to play football while juggling his other career as a lawyer. You need to have tremendous passion for the game of football to do what he’s doing, and he’s just one of many examples of this nature found in the CFL. In addition to this fact, there is an incredible amount of pride taken from being a part of the CFL, from both the players and the staff. The whole business aspect of the game is not of crucial importance to everyone as it is in the NFL.”
I really love the rules that differentiate Canadian football, specifically the idea of having three downs rather than four since it places such emphasis on the first attempt. Also, the dimensions of the field equally offer a unique aspect to the game,” added Bedell.
After seeing how devoted Bedell is to the CFL and how much he truly loves the game, it wouldn’t be to anyone`s surprise to one day see him write a poem about it.
