Jake Maier‘s story on OK Tire Labour Day Weekend as told to CFL.ca senior writer Chris O’Leary
“I love that the West is attainable and that anybody can win it. I’m gonna work my tail off to make sure it’s us.”
— Jake Maier
Every year at this time, you see players that are new to the CFL, heading into their first Labour Day Classic. I’m going into my fourth one on Monday, so believe me when I say that there’s nothing like it for a football player.
I played my college football at UC Davis. We had Sacramento State and Cal Poly as our rivals and we played them both in annual games. They were both fun, good environments and great competition. Those kinds of games produce a better product and they make us better players. But Labour Day is different.
Being in this league and being a part of this weekend every year, it’s such a unique experience. It’s something that I’d never personally been a part of, just because it’s such a big deal for our country and our league.
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A lot of the time, some of these college rivalries are really just between the two schools and the history of the two schools. I think Labour Day Weekend is great for the history of our league. The Elks and Stampeders have played on holiday Monday for a long time. That means something to the two organizations. Bigger picture, it’s just such a great tradition for the league itself and then for the country itself. It’s different. It’s unique in its own special way and I think that’s why it gets so much attention to this day.
Coaches and players will say through a season that the next game is just the next game and that they treat them all the same. Again, Labour Day is not just the next game. What you feel in the stands on holiday Monday at McMahon, I feel it down on the field, too.
You feel it in the air a little bit more. The big situations of the game feel greater, especially when we’re on defence and they’re on offence. You feel the crowd getting more involved. You feel the energy pick up in those critical situations. On offence, whenever we do something well or get a first down, a big play or a big touchdown, the roar of the crowd and the energy that they give you when they see something productive happen, that’s an energy shifter.
It definitely is an environment that elevates you in terms of your energy and your focus and just the overall intensity of the game. I definitely think that’s real, it’s no joke. It’s an increased atmosphere that’s really fun to be a part of.
Growing up playing a bunch of sports, I always wanted to be a professional athlete. My time in Calgary has been a dream come true and it gives you a humbling, grateful feeling to have this life and to be able to do this. Every day, I do my best to not take any of it for granted because you only have so many years in this business. There are times where I do pinch myself a little bit and just try to make the most of it as best I can.
I love this city. Calgary fits my personality type, the way that I try to live my life socially and just try to stay as quiet as possible. Calgary has fit that for me. Anybody can live here and get what they want out of it. My family loves it. It’s definitely not a small town, but it’s not necessarily the biggest city in the world, either. I think it’s just the best of both worlds. My daughter, Everly was born here, my wife Amanda enjoys living here. My family loves visiting.
When you spend time here like we have, you get the sense of what the Stampeders mean to the city and what this game means on Monday.
In 2021, I lost my very first Labour Day game that I was a part of and it stung. I learned the hard way, pretty quickly on how that game goes. In the last two years, I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the winning side of it. That’s given me some of my best memories so far as a quarterback in the CFL.
This year, with Edmonton right behind us in the standings, it feels like it could be the most fun Labour Day game I’ve been a part of.
I think what makes this year so cool is that everybody’s kind of the same in the West Division right now.
We’ve all had our moments where we’ve looked really good. We’ve had our moments where we’ve come up short. Most of these West games are determined by a possession. We’re going into a weekend where legitimately, all five teams can win the division.
We’re about to find out how great that is for our league.
I personally think it’s really great. I think it’s really fun and as players you’re extremely motivated by that. I love that the West is attainable and that anybody can win it.
I’m gonna work my tail off to make sure it’s us.
See you on Monday, Stampeder fans. I can’t wait.
