No one passes the Buck

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/06/2010 (5644 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Funny thing about Buck Pierce, officially named the Winnipeg Blue Bombers starting quarterback on Wednesday to absolutely no one’s surprise…

Peel off the helmet and protective armour and he looks like a guy who could be playing shortstop on your slo-pitch team. He doesn’t bust out of a T-shirt and certainly doesn’t tower above most people.

Listen to him talk and while he won’t spit out clichés, he also doesn’t exactly come across like a Tony Robbins-type who will have teammates frothing at the mouth ready to bust through the clubhouse walls following a pre-game speech.

But in a lot of ways it’s all of that — and his lifelong fight for respect and for regular starting work — that makes him the perfect fit right here and right now for a football club now entering a 20th season without a Grey Cup title.

He’s not flashy. He’s not a chest-thumper. But there’s a blue-collar aspect to his game and a natural leadership that is reminiscent of the last Bomber QB to lead the franchise to a championship: Tom Burgess.

"It’s a mindset," said Pierce in explaining his leadership. "It’s just how I approach things. The game of football really matters to me. I take it very seriously when I’m out there on the field. It’s a game that I love and a game that I respect and I want nothing more than to be successful and have the guys around me be successful. That just kind of shows. It doesn’t come up in a speech or breaking down a huddle or anything like that. It comes over time. It comes from ups and downs. A lot of the times it comes from the low points and how you respond to these adversities and the valleys you go through.

"I’ve always stayed very, very positive and I think that shows."

It does show. But that approach has also been severely tested over the years. A quarterback since the day he first pulled on shoulder pads at age seven — "I was kind of a fatter kid and so I really didn’t play" — Pierce gradually improved as an athlete. And while he dreamed of one day playing for the University of Oregon (his hometown of Crescent City, Ca. is about five hours from Eugene) he ended up at New Mexico State, where he started 42 games and left a lasting impression on the community.

The story of his arrival in the CFL with the B.C. Lions is especially compelling. Cut by the Houston Texans after a mini-camp, he and his dad piled into the car and drove six hours to Portland, Ore., for a Lions free-agent camp. Three years later he was their starter.

"It’s kinda been that way my whole career," said Pierce with a shrug. "I wasn’t a very highly-recruited kid out of high school. I wasn’t the biggest kid. I’m not the fastest kid. But I work hard and I compete. There were no Pac 10 schools knocking on my door like I wanted. But I got an opportunity and made the most out of it. That’s been my career: here’s an opportunity, go out there and do it and do it to the best of my ability."

All of which brings us to this past winter. The Lions, while in love with his fearless approach to the game, were weary of the number of trips he was making to the disabled list. And so despite a 21-12-1 record in their colours, they cut him adrift and saddled up to Casey Printers instead.

And when nobody called Pierce decided to stage a camp of his own to prove to any team that might be interested that he was injury-free. Ironically, the Bombers came calling only after Stefan LeFors opted to retire.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

"I need to prove things to myself, I don’t need to prove things to anybody else," said Pierce. "Public opinion can influence a lot of people but it’s never influenced me. Does it upset you to a point to where everybody’s pushed you down and saying, ‘Hey he was a great player at one point but he might just not have anything more in the tank?’ That stuff just motivates me. Honestly, it just kind of propels me on. It’s always been that way.

"I knew I would have a chance again. I knew I would have an opportunity to go out there and prove myself. I’ve worked too hard. I just had to have a chance. Once Winnipeg was able to take that chance on me the pieces fit together. Everybody’s been great since I’ve been here and things could have happened better for me. The city’s been great, the fans have been great and I think they deserve something in return.

"I try not to look back. I try to keep on going forward. I try to look at the positive in everything. It’s a good start again for me."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

buck vows to be smarter C3