Facing the battle of his life, Glenn Love wants his voice to be heard.
During his football career – including four seasons and a Grey Cup ring as a member of the Calgary Stampeders – Love admits he shied away from media attention. He even asked media-relations staff to keep reporters at bay.
“I was quiet,” says the former linebacker and special-teams ace, who played for the Red and White from 2013-16. “I didn’t do too many interviews. I just wanted to work and put all my efforts and my time on the field and let that do the talking for me.
“But being diagnosed with ALS,” he continues, “has brought me out of my shell.”
The thunderbolt hit this past July 12, one day after his daughter BelleVie’s first birthday. That’s when Love was blindsided by the news he was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressively debilitating disease for which there is no cure.
At just 35, Love understandably struggled to come to terms with his condition, which has a mean survival time of two to five years.
“Your outlook,” he concedes, “can turn dark very, very quickly.”
The indiscriminate nature of ALS is evidenced by its impact on Love, a well-conditioned athlete who has done Hollywood and Madden NFL video-game stunt work after stepping away from football. But he’s determined not to allow self-pity to set in.
“God puts you in situations where he knows you can get through it,” he says. “He knows you’re strong enough.”
Love also quickly realized he wasn’t alone.
“I’ve heard from others who have ALS and from their families,” he explains. “Just to talk to them is amazing because we need each other. It’s having someone say, ‘Hey bro, your life isn’t done. You can still have fun. You can still do whatever you want to do. I’m here to talk.’
“It can be just a five-minute talk. Or one minute. Or just a text message. That can really change your mindset. It really hits home.”
Now Love wants to pay it forward.
“I’m going to be more open and be more aware of what I say and how I can be a positive impact,” he vows. “I can’t be quiet because it’s not just me. A lot of people as well as their families and their friends are going through this so I can’t be quiet like I was when I was playing football.
“Even if my words are just a drop in the bucket, that matters to me. Just that little bit can help out somebody else. It just means so much that my little bitty self could have an impact on them.”
Love’s sister Heather has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to cover treatment costs. Naturally, she’s a big part of her brother’s front-line support system.
“They’re all amazing,” says Glenn. “My mom, my dad, my sisters, they all look out for me. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what my mindset would be at this point.”
Love has also been inundated with messages of support from former teammates, coaches and fans.
“I can’t say enough about that,” says Love. “God let me have these people in my life and allowed me to cross paths with them on my journey. I’m just very, very fortunate to have everybody around me supporting me like that. It’s a blessing.”
“We want to be there for Glenn,” says Stampeders general manager and head coach Dave Dickenson. “The nature of sports means you don’t always stay together in the same city but it forever bonds you as a family.
“We want to do everything we can to help Glenn live his best life.”
Love says a portion of the money raised through the online campaign will go to ALS research.
“We’re just in the early stages of solving this ALS thing,” he says. “We just want to get people caring about it.
“We don’t want it to be a case of, ‘Oh, you have two or three years to live.’ No, you can solve this thing. You can raise money and help these people live a better life. A longer life.”
As for his own battle, Love says he’s also fighting for his daughter.
“She’s a lovely girl,” he says. “I’m glad to be a dad and I want to be around as long as I can to see her grow and to set a good example for her.”