A Farewell to Flutieball?

I was sad to see that the San Diego Chargers released the seemingly indestructible Doug Flutie this past week.

Doug was a guy who could inspire people to believe (in spite of a slight overdose of self-confidence) and who never listened to people who said "you'll never make it." He overcame the traditional, stolid thinking of the NFL and had more success than you'd know because he rarely got the credit he deserved. After the collapse of the USFL, Chicago was more interested in their blond, buff, sunglasses-sporting meathead than Flutie and even a stint at home with New England didn't seem to help his struggles.

In true "never say die" fashion, Doug headed North (and West) to Vancouver and signed with the BC Lions. It took him a while to adjust but he wound up having a stellar career in Canada, arguably one of the better QBs ever to play up here on the big turf. I actually credit Doug with rekindling my interest in watching football when he signed with BC for the 1990 season. I remember the "Hail Mary" pass in 1984 and I remember him being the star signing for the USFL. As a kid, I was a regular watcher of the game, but after my cousin's husband retired in 1986 after 15 seasons, I kinda lost interest.

Enter Doug Flutie.

There are only a couple of people I have ever seen with the kind of passion and love of the sport; Flutie is one, Mike "Pinball" Clemons is the other. How lucky for me that Flutie signed in Toronto for the 1996 season and led the team to back-to-back Grey Cup championships. For 2 years, I got to see some of the best football ever played in Toronto. He tore up the record books and could have definitely owned almost every QB record in the game. (particularly getting to 60,000 yards passing before Damon Allen did)

Doug's success here still never quenched his competitive fire or his desire to prove he could make it in the NFL, and he took advantage of the NFL's interest in players with a free-wheeling style ( a far cry from the dull, staid, grinding, unimaginative play of the past)...and where would they find them? The CFL, of course! So, off Dougie shuffled to Buffalo. He never really got a fair shake there, because the Bills' brain trust thought that the incredibly delicate Rob Johnson would be a good fit. *sigh* Still, he managed to get a nod as "Comeback Player of the Year" and a trip to the Pro Bowl.

Even in San Diego, he could still light things up by making plays happen even when everyting broke down, but younger guns came along and Doug slipped down the depth chart, a victim of the pressures of starting a so-called "stereotype" NFL QB.

Anyway, I don't think anyone ever doubted Doug's ability, but secretly they all wished he was 6'2". Doug would probably play until he was 50 if a team gave him the chance. God knows he's fit enough and driven enough.

Latest rumours have a couple of CFL teams talking to Doug about coming back to play here, but I don't honestly see it happening.

If he does retire, it will be the end of an era. I don't see Doug ever making the ranks of the Hall in Canton, OH, but he's a definite shoo-in for the Hall in Hamilton. Few finer players will ever grace those ranks.

Thanks for the magic, Doug. It's been an awesome ride. See you in 3 years for your induction. ;-)