To be fair, being asked to single out one among a sample size of 1,051 would be a bit of a chore for anyone.
“Well, there was this one-handed catch in Winnipeg,’’ Nik Lewis finally replies, warming to a reminiscence of his younger self. “The quarterback – not 100 per cent sure, but I believe it’s Hank (Burris) – is scrambling to his right.
“I’m coming left to right.
“He throws it. I’m running towards the sideline and I have to slide to try and get both feet down. I fall backwards and lift my leg closest to the sideline and drag my back leg.
“I watched it later on film and I can honestly say I’ve never seen that catch since. Didn’t get a lot of attention. Wasn’t in a Grey Cup game or a playoff game or anything.
“So no big deal, right?
“Well, I thought it was a pretty great catch.”
Nik Lewis caught ’em every which way possible, of course. High degree of difficulty or low. Flying through the air or on the seat of his britches. Executing a Cirque de Soleil tightrope walk along the stripe or crossing over in the middle, venturing fearlessly into the whirring teeth of the thresher.
He’s caught ’em untouched and just before running over some foolish defender who obviously hadn’t received the memo.
Six-yard catches and 60-yard catches. Leaping over DBs like an Olympic hurdler.
Wherever. Whenever. However.
In a sense, of course, Lewis did as much growing up through 11 seasons out at McMahon Stadium as he ever did back home in Mineral Wells, Texas.
Eight hundred and five of those chart-topping 1,051 snares – the very first arriving at old Mosaic Stadium, 2004 season-opener, via Marcus Crandall – came while wearing No. 82 adorned in red-and-white.
Which makes the two-time Grey Cup winner’s signature on a one-day contract to exit a Stampeder so apropos.
“There’s no doubt in my mind where I wanted to retire,’’ says the CFL’s all-time leading receiver. “As a Stampeder.
“Funny thing is, I did two workouts prior to coming to the CFL, back in ’04. In Texas. One for Calgary, one for Montreal.
“Just goes to show, huh?”
In eight of those 11 seasons here, he latched onto 70 or more passes, topping the 1,000-yard plateau for nine years on the trot.
“Being consistent, that’s what I’m most proud of,’’ Lewis reckons. “Understanding that you have to make plays on good days and bad days.
“When you can run routes consistently, catch the ball consistently and block consistently, you’ll be a pretty damn good football player.
“The thing you learn in Calgary, man, is standards. It’s about team. It’s about family.
“In 2005, the first pre-season game, the first play, I remember we ran a double pass. Hank threw it to Cope (Jeremaine Copeland) , Cope threw it to me for a 78-yard TD. I remember Steve Buratto saying that nobody would expect something like that on the first play, especially in a pre-season game. But we were going to set a winning attitude. Now. Right then.
“To build to the level of winning the Grey Cup in ’08, having the team in ’10, ’12, ’13, ’14 and seeing them continue to win on a constant basis, you feel you’ve had some influence on that. Me, Cope, (Ken-Yon) Rambo, Joffery (Reynolds), (Jeff) Pilon, Rob Lazeo, Jay McNeil.
“So many guys put the work in so that when Charleston (Hughes) arrived, and Smitty (Brandon Smith) and everybody else, they fell in line. They understood about the standards – the bond, the commitment, the attitude – cause they get passed down.
“And we were there to help build that, to help continue that. That’s something I’m very proud of.”
And now, 14 years after arriving and playing 11 seasons with the Stamps before his last three with the Als, Lewis finally makes it absolutely, positively official. A one-day contract. Back where it all began.
Maybe he and Bo Levi Mitchell will play a little catch prior to the morning walk-through, strictly for old time’s sake.
“You know, I’ve been trying to retire for about six months now,’’ Lewis jokes. “I talked to the commissioner. Talked to Montreal, talked to Calgary.
“I’ve been able to enjoy two great cities, two great communities. To meet the true CFL fans, the ones at practice all the time; the ones at every game no matter your record or the weather has been such a blessing.
“I love Montreal and I love Calgary. They’re like day and night but I love them both.
“Seemed like everybody wanted to try and do something together. This is one of the dates I’d originally thought of, looking at the two teams. I could stay and watch the game.
“Then, with my mom’s sickness I felt more and more that it was something I wanted to get done so I could move forward.
“I’m so grateful to have done what I did. And so grateful to have moved on. Some people hold on. My competitive spirit is still there.
“I know I love competition more than I love football. So as long as I have competition, I can be satisfied in life.”