It’s Black Betty Day!
Sunday was a historic day at McMahon Stadium.
Hard as it may be to believe, it was the 20th anniversary of Black Betty Day.
It was back in 1993 that equipment manager George Hopkins, annoyed by the players’ choice of music in the locker-room, found a CD with three versions of Black Betty — the song made famous by Ram Jam in 1977 — and hit the “repeat” button.
For two hours that day, the players were hammered by an endless loop of “Whoa Black Betty, bam a lam.”
The tradition eventually developed into an all-day affair on a designated training camp day and there are now no fewer than 13 versions of the song in the rotation, including a techno edition.
“It’s funny,” said Hopkins. “Some guys start asking for it about Day 2 of camp. ‘What day is Black Betty? When are we doing it?’ When it finally arrives, everybody’s pretty good-natured about it first thing in the morning but by the time they’ve listened to it for six or eight hours, the edge is starting to creep in a little bit.”
Love it or hate it, the tune is definitely catchy and more than one player couldn’t resist the urge to do a little dancing during breaks at Sunday morning’s practice.
“Black Betty day is by far the best day of anyone’s year,” tweeted ex-Stamp Marc Boerigter, who was with Calgary in 2001, 2002 and 2007.
We think he typed that with a straight face, but with Twitter you can never know for sure.
Chevy’s Father’s Day surprise
Randy Chevrier’s wife Tania brought their three sons Luke (6), Brett (4) and Kyle (2) to practice this morning so they could give their dad his Father’s Day gifts.
“When I left everybody was asleep this morning,” says Chevrier. “I told them I was coming home early but I didn’t expect to see them here, so it was a neat surprise.”
After finishing up some long snapping reps, Chevy walked off the field as his three sons rushed up to him with the presents they had made for their dad.
“I got some pictures and picture frames my sons made for me which is pretty awesome,” says the 37-year-old. “They worked hard and apparently ran into our room this morning with gifts in hand looking for me, so my wife made the effort to bring them down here so they could give them to me.”
The long days of training camp mean players like Chevrier don’t see a whole lot of their families for a few weeks. But the tradeoffs are worth it.
“I love sharing what I do with them,” says Chevy, who is entering his 11th CFL season. “I think it’s pretty special I can do this for a living and the fact that I can share this with my kids — even bringing them down on the field and in the locker room after games — it’s pretty awesome. That’s a pretty motivating factor every year when I come back trying to win a job is for them and to keep that experience for them because I know it’s kind of different. Most kids don’t get that.”
Going long with receivers coach Pete Costanza
Part of the offence that led the CFL in total touchdowns in 2012, Calgary’s receiving corps looks to repeat and even improve those numbers this season.
The Stampeders have the likes of perennial all-star slotback Nik Lewis and crafty veteran Marquay McDaniel returning.
Also returning is Maurice Price, who is looking to deliver a full season of the production he delivered in a late-season explosion a year ago, and Joe West.
“Fans that know our receivers, they’re going to look for, and expect, big plays out of Mo and spectacular catches and hard runs out of Nik,” says Stampeders receivers coach Pete Costanza.
“Overall, the veterans are doing what’s expected of them.”
As camp progresses, so have the strides made by a talented crop of young rookies who have brought their own skill and intensity to a competitive camp.
“We have a talented group of young guys who are pushing the older guys and making it a good battle,” Costanza says. “Our vets help the young guys. They’re not going to not help them and say, ‘You figure it out.’ They’re not afraid of the competition. They want the competition because it makes them better.”
With the complex offence the Stampeders like to run, that learning curve can be steep, but Coach Costanza appreciates the help from his vets in bringing the rookies up to speed.
One key area to watch in camp will be the battle to see who will fill the spot left open by an injured Johnny Forzani.
‘It’s hard to replace any of the receivers,” says Costanza. “Johnny has such good speed and quickness. That’s one thing that you can’t coach is when a guy is as fast as (Johnny) is.”
With Forzani on the sidelines for an undetermined time, the focus will shift to the Canadian receivers to see who can pick up the slack.
The towering Jabari Arthur, former Dino Anthony Parker, converted QB Brad Sinopoli, speedster Yannick Morin-Plante and veteran Chris Bauman – when he returns from injury – will all get their chance.
Among the import newcomers are Tim Hawthorne, Brandon Kinnie, Khalil Paden and Josh Jarboe.
“Don’t be surprised if you see the new guys making plays out there, because they all have the abilities to,” beams Costanza as he reflects on the wealth of Canadian talent at his disposal.
On Thursday, the Stampeders young receivers will be on full display for the second time when the Stamps travel to Regina to take on the Roughriders in the final pre-season game. They will all attempt to catch their coach’s eye and, they hope, secure a coveted spot on the roster.
What if Geo had picked a different song?
Defensive lineman Corey Mace asks some of his teammates what song they would like to listen to repeatedly throughout practice and which song would be the worst to hear over and over and over…
Photo Gallery
>>Photos from training camp – June 16
Transactions
The Calgary Stampeders have released the following players:
Import offensive lineman Leonardo Bates
Import receiver Josue Paul
Import receiver Shaky Smithson
Import receiver Terence Jeffers-Harris
Import defensive lineman Aronde Stanton
Import linebacker Rod Davis
Import defensive back Jerett Sanderson
Import defensive back Jalil Johnson
Tomorrow’s Schedule
The Stamps have one practice Monday at 10:35 a.m. at McMahon Stadium.
More coverage
>> Keeping up with the Joneses