Football BC needs a mascot!

Hi everyone! Did you miss me?

I was sick last week so I just had to take a break for couple of days. But I'm happy to be back with my new post.

 

After uploading my last post, I was under stress to come up with the next topic. At that time we were talking in the office about making a Football BC mascot so I decided to write about mascots for my new blog post.

 

If you were a sports fan growing up, you probably had your picture taken at the stadium with a mascot when you were young. Or you might have toy mascots or mascot posters at home. The role of mascots is to make the game more fun for fans by doing slapstick comedy during the game and interacting with fans.

 

The baseball team I support in Korea is 'Lotte Giants'. Their mascot is a sea gull. Aren't you curious what relationship a giant and a sea gull have? That's because the Lotte Giants' hometown is Busan city and Busan has beach so there are a lot of sea gulls in the city.

Besides the Lotte Giants, there are eight more baseball teams in the Korean baseball league and each team has their own mascot. There is a Lion, a Bear, a Dinosaur... and one team even has Twins.

The mascots of Lotte Giants

Twins mascots

 

As many of you know, every CFL team has their own mascot as well. Let's meet some of them.

 

- BC Lions

The BC Lions have a Lion mascot named Leo. When I first saw him, I was curious about his gender because he doesn't have mane. But I researched and figured out that Leo is from the North Shore mountain and mountain lions don't have manes even though they are male. I only knew African lions before so learning this was interesting.

 

- Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos have two mascots, one is a football whose name is Punter and the other is a polar bear named Nanook. Punter looks little bit weird and it reminds me a M&M chocolate. I think Nanook is quite simple and normal as a mascot.

 

- Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Roughriders' mascot is Gainer, a gopher. Is a gopher rough enough? I think a gopher doesn't match with Roughriders because it is so small and cute. Of course don't tell that to Saskatchewan fans!

 

- Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The mascots of the Blue Bombers are Buzz and Boomer the birds. A bomber is a military aircraft used to drop bombs. So Blue Bombers mascot Buzz and Boomer are wearing a goggles like pilots. They look like comedy cartoon character. I think I saw characters similar to them on TV or in comic books.

 

- Calgary Stampeders

The mascot of Calgary Stampeders is Ralph, a dog. I guessed Calgary's mascot would be a horse because their symbol is a horse. However, surprisingly it was a DOG. Which connection they have between stampeders and a dog or their symbol? Well, I have no idea. But they also have a horse whose name is Quick Six. When Calgary scores a touchdown, the horse along with the rider celebrate by running on the sideline.

 

- Hamilton Tiger Cats

The Hamilton Tiger Cats' mascots are T.C. and Stripes the tiger. They look like a Cheetos(snack) tiger. Oh, that's my favorite snack. They make me hungry!

 

- Toronto Argonauts

The mascot of the Toronto Argonauts is Jason. He looks like a warrior. Maybe it expresses argonauts or people who are strong and brave.

 

- Ottawa Redblacks

Ottawa Redblacks have a lumberjack whose name is Big Joe as a team mascot. He is wearing red and black checked shirt and has an ax. Actually his name was Big Joe Mufferaw at first, but the Redbalcks removed Mufferaw because of criticism from the Francophone community.

 

- Montreal Alouettes

The Alouettes' mascots are Touché and Blitz the birds. They are grey birds and it is similar to the bird on the Alouettes' logo. Personally, I don't like black or gray birds because they are scary. So I'm not interested in these characters. Sorry about that.

 

Having a mascot is a good way to promote the team and attract new fans. For this reason, Football BC wants to come up with a mascot to represent Team BC and Football BC.

Here are my three suggestions for Team BC mascots.

 

1. Black bears

When I researched about BC animals, the first thing I saw was black bears. The black bear is a native to North America and there are a lot of black bears in BC as well so it can be a representative animal of BC. I think a mascot should represent or explain the team and hometown so black bears might be the one. Also bears are big and heavy so we can say Team BC is strong and tough like black bears.

 

2. Coyotes

When I think of coyotes I think of an animal that is wild and fast. I've never seen coyotes before I came to Canada but I saw one when I was driving near Coquitlam. I thought coyotes would look like foxes or wild dogs and that they would be cute. However when I saw the coyote, it was night and I could stare into his eyes. His eyes were sharp and scary. After that my idea of coyotes was changed. Anyways, I think a coyote would be a good mascot as well. We can see coyotes normally in BC. Also they look tough enough to be a football team mascot.

 

3. A human

Besides animals, a human can be a mascot as well like Rowdy of the Dallas Cowboys or Pat Patriot of the New England Patriots in NFL. If Team BC makes a mascot as a human character, how should it be look like? Well, he should be a big and muscular looks strong. And of course he wears the Team BC jersey. If I pick the face his face can be like Andrew Harris of the BC Lions. He looks strong and especially I like his beard. A mascot needs a distinct feature.

 

How do you think of my suggestions? If you have another opinion you can tell me anytime. I want to hear your ideas.

Do you know Mr. Equipment?

Hello, everyone! How are you?

I guess most of you paid attention to what was happening in Winnipeg last week.

For those of you who don't know the 2014 Red River Cup tournament in Winnipeg last week. BC won the gold medal last year and we sent two teams there this year. I was hoping to see them win gold again this year but unfortunately their result was not we hoped for. Even though our teams didn't have any medals I think the players had a great experience.

 

Besides the players, there are many staff who work hard during the competition such as coaches and trainers. Chief of all, football is a sport which needs a lot of equipment so the role of the equipment man is important especially for competition.

At Football BC, the person who is the go to guy to handle equipment is Dave Henderson.

Even before he left to Winnipeg Dave was busy preparing for the trip. When he came by the office to check the equipment I had a chance to talk with him. 

What is your role with Football BC?

- I'm an equipment man. I check all the equipment to make sure they work well because I have to make sure the kids on the field are safe and not going to get injured.

 

What is the most interesting part of your job?

- That's a good question. I like meeting and working with different kids. Because I coach at a high school and I've helped the BC Lions, I see football at so many different levels. It's fun and interesting to see it.

 

Do you have any challenges working with Football BC?

- No. It's wonderful organization. It's very well organized and cooperative when I need to do stuff. And I appreciate all the trips with Football BC. They were a lot of fun and a great experience.

What is the stinkiest equipment you have ever smelled?

- Well, the funny stinkiest one was after we (BC Lions) won the Grey Cup in 2011 at BC Place. (The locker room) smelled like beer, sweat, champagne and cigars. So it was quite the odour. The next day when we were back there, it was even worse.

 

Tell us something we don't know about you

- I've had a government job for 27 years and I've been married for 20 years. I've adopted three kids and fostered another four. I fill my house with kids and somehow I'm still married.

 

Who is Larry Reda (Football BC president) to you?

- Larry Reda is my loving uncle. He is my mom's older brother. Mr. Reda has done a wonderful job here.

 

After our conversation, Dave finished checking the equipment and left the office. This was not the first time I met Dave. I can remember when I met him the very first time at the BC Tough camp. He looked busy but he had smile on his face doing his work. When I saw it I thought he enjoyed his job. And doing this interview, I could feel that he really likes his working with Football BC and Team BC. As I mentioned before, equipment is important in sports, particularly in football to prevent injuries. So the equipment must be well managed by a responsible person. In my point of view, I think Football BC is very lucky because they have an equipment guy who loves his job and helping kids!

I met Seahawks in Vancouver!

Hey everyone! What did you guys do last weekend?

Usually I wake up at around noon on weekends but I had to get up at 7am last Saturday because my supervisor asked me to work on that day even though it was my day off. I was so upset :<

But fortunately it wasn't office work. The work I had to do was to go to the Seattle Seahawks 12Tour! Seahawks are now touring in cities across the state of Washington and throughout the Pacific Northwest, celebrating the 2013 championship season and getting you 12’s ready for the upcoming season. So they came to West Vancouver last Saturday.

 

There were many event booths such as the gift roulette and the photo zone where the NFL Championship Trophy was on display. SFU football and GSL football were also there too. There were also mascots from the Seahawks, Lions and even Canucks walking around the field so people took pictures with them. Some of little girls learned cheerleading performances from Seagals the field. It was pretty cute.

 

There were also some interactive activities we could do ourselves so I gave it a try. As I mentioned on my first post, I'm not an athletic person (that's why I'm planning to be a sports reporter instead of sports player) but I like playing sports. In addition, I've worked for 7 weeks with Football BC and I have watched some football games so I wanted to figure out how it is hard to play football.

 

 

Before trying the activities, I played catch football (throwing the ball) for practice. I used to play catch baseball with my daddy but I've never thrown or caught a football. I thought it wouldn't that hard because I enjoyed baseball catch. However, it was totally different. A football has a very different shape compared with other balls so I had no idea how to grab or throw it. Also the ball was bigger and heavier than I thought. I also tried to check my jump ability. It was really easy to reach the highest point (because it was for kids).

After that, I tried the activities. The first activity was to throw the football into a hole. It looked like easy but when I threw the ball it went the other way. So I went closer and closer but kept missing. So finally I threw the ball into the hole right in front of it. I also tried to kick a field goal and it was terrible. As I mentioned the ball was heavy and hard to kick so I couldn't even make the ball get off the ground. Lastly I tried rushing. The activity let two people wear jackets connected by a line and try to outrun each other. I couldn't go further than my friend because it required speed and power. After doing these things I figured out being a football player is totally hard and isn't for me. I think I'll stick to being a sports reporter.

The 12 Tour wasn't the only thing happening that day. There was also a private camp for kids being run by Russell Wilson, the quarterback of the champion of the Seattle Seahawks. At the break time I saw many people who wanted to get Wilson's autograph. They also had the time to take pictures together and have a short Q&A time with Russell. There were a lot of parents around the field and I think they were more excited than the kids were to see Russell.

I don't really know much about football teams and I've never seen the NFL before so I had no idea how great or famous Russell is. But even though I don't know who Russell is but I can understand what an honour it is to meet a superstar quarterback. It would be like meeting the clean up hitter or ace pitcher of my favorite baseball team for me.

In Korea we also have sports camps which are held by famous players. Some of the players make sports foundations and camps that support and teach kids, and some of the players visit their old school and teach their juniors. I've only heard of these visits in the news so being at the Russell Wilson camp was the first time I got to actually see one of the athlete camps for kids. I might not be able to understand what a great experience it was but watching the kids I can see this was just a wonderful opportunity for them. They could learn a lot from him not only as a player but as a person who shares the same goals in life.

I wish Korea had more sports camps so that kids can experience and learn more, and I hope Korea grows many good players and Korean sports will develop.

Who knows maybe one day there will be a famous Korean football player and he will have a camp at West Vancouver. If it happens I will come here again!

Keep your head safe

Hello, everyone! Hayley again.

How was your Canada Day? This was my first Canada Day in Canada and my friends told me I should enjoy it, so I was really looking forward to it.

I was in downtown starting in the afternoon and I saw many people wearing red clothes with their faces painted with the maple leaf. I also watched the parade and found it very interesting because there were many cultures represented. They wore their traditional clothes and acted traditional performance. And there were Korean performers as well! It was so cool.

Of course, I saw fireworks too. That was the main purpose I was in downtown. The fireworks show ran longer than I expected and so nice. Some people sang 'Oh Canada' during the fireworks. We don't have Korean Day or anything similar so it was very unique experience for me. Thank you for giving me this great experience Canada!

This is a Korean traditional dance:)

 

Anyways, back to the football blog.

Have you ever heard of the NCCP?

It's the National Coaching Certification Program in Canada. If you want to be a coach, you have to be registered in this program to be certified. It's designed for all types of coaches.

 

In BC, as a football coach, you must also complete the 'Making Head Way in Football' online learning course at coach.ca

Summer camps are starting and Football BC wants to make sure coaches have taken it before the season starts. My supervisor also wanted me to try it so I can have an understanding of some of the things coaches are responsible for. The course was about concussions and head injuries and some of the topics included:

- What to do to prevent concussions

- How to recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion

- What to do when you suspect an athlete has a concussion

- How to ensure athletes return to play safely

 

It has three sections; Prevent, Suspect & Act, and Return to Play. Each section has scenarios and you have to choose the best course of action to make in each situation as a coach. Most of the scenarios are one minuate videos so it's not too difficult or complicated. After choosing the answer you can read additional explanations. There are doctor's explanation videos as well so I could understand better and clearer.

 

The course was a little bit tough for me because English is not my first language but I think most of you that won't be an issue.

If you don't understand the scenario you can review it as many time as you want. I reviewed each scenario many times so it took a little bit longer for me to complete but I think it won't take a very long time in general to complete.

This course was related to situations in football specifically but through this course I gained a lot of useful knowledge about concussions in general. Even though I don't plan to be a coach I think the course will be helpful for daily life. Concussions can happen anytime. We might fall down walking on a street, riding a bicycle or we might roll down stairs. It can not only happen to us but also our family or friends as well. So if this kind of situation happens I can understand what I should do based on this course.

From this point of view, it can be helpful for parents whose kids are participating in football. Athletes have to bump into each other often in football so concussions are a reality. Concussions don't have obvious symptoms so if you don't treat it properly you can make it more serious or even dangerous. To prevent this situation, I want you to take it and get as much information about concussions as possible. Besides this program, there are many concussion education websites. Even if you don't plan to be a coach please check them and educate yourself to protect your kids and yourself from concussions!

If you want to see education links please visit our website

▶ Football BC Concussion Resources

 

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