MontrealAlouettes.com
MONTREAL – The Alouettes were back at the Olympic Stadium one last time to clean out their lockers and meet the media Monday before heading home for the offseason. Anthony Calvillo‘s stall was particularly crammed with cameras and microphones amid all the speculation about his future plans.
Undaunted, the 18-year CFL veteran was his usual laid-back self as he calmy addressed the elephant in the room that wasn’t one of his offensive linemen.
“I still enjoy this game, it’s still fun. I think that this last playoff game really showed that the fire was still there to play and compete,” announced Calvillo much to the delight and relief of Alouettes fans everywhere. “I just want to step away from football and relax. I want to make sure my mind is right on making the decision. I will sit down with Bob Wetenhall in the next week or two and with the organization to talk to them about which direction I’m going to go in.”
While there’s no denying his desire to don his familiar No. 13 next season, Calvillo’s decision ultimately rests on his health above all else.
“I still love this game and have the passion for it, but the one thing that concerns me is the hits. Not the ones to my body, but to my head,” admitted the 39-year-old quarterback, who suffered a mild concussion earlier in the season. “That’s the scary thing that I will evaluate with my family. “It wasn’t my first one (concussion), but it was the first time that I was ever knocked out. So that was a scary thing. I’ve had other ones, where I was dazed.
“I just want to make sure that this pounding that I take with every year is not going to affect my future and that is something that my wife and I will be talking about,” added Calvillo. “Any time you get a concussion, whether it occurs early in your career or in the later stages, it’s something that you think about especially when you reflect on life after football.”
Even with the big picture on his mind, Calvillo couldn’t help looking back on what might have been at the Olympic Stadium against the Tiger Cats.
“It’s tough to accept because we fought really hard,” lamented Calvillo. “But this is the reality of the game of football: when you don’t win the championship, you’ve got to come in, clean out your locker room and move on.”
You can bet Als fans are busy hoping Calvillo moves on to another season under centre in Montreal in 2012.
