GENTLEMEN, we can rebuild him…

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/01/2011 (5357 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Buck PIERCE knows the reality all too well. Yes, all this lifting, pushing, pulling and stretching he’s doing to strengthen his body — and rebuild his once-mangled throwing elbow — will hardly make him invincible.

The next hit he takes, as with every football player, could be his last — no matter all the hours he’s spending now in training or all the armour he may don.

Still, here’s the thing: pride can be a powerful motivator. And Pierce is driven once again to prove to all the doubters across the CFL and to himself that he’s got some game left.

It’s part of the explanation as to why he’s staying in Winnipeg this winter rather than return to California.

It’s why he’s at the Blue Bombers complex almost every day training and watching film and occasionally venturing out to the U of M to test his throwing arm.

Football is what he does. It’s what he loves. And he’s not about to give it all up just yet — no matter how many doubters and cynics wave a finger of disapproval in his direction.

“In this game when you’re done, it’s over and I don’t want to have any regrets,” said Pierce, the sweat dripping from his forehead after a rigorous workout earlier this week. “I want people to remember me as a good player, a guy who was determined to do everything he could to help his team win. I want to be successful. I want to be what I know I can be and I want to prove it to myself and to everybody else.

“I want stability in my life and I know the fans and this organization want stability from their quarterback as well. Everyone knows I can play this game and what I can do when I’m out there healthy. I want to give them that.”

That’s the storyline, unfortunately, that has followed Pierce over the past couple of seasons. No one questions his desire or his skills. But they do question his durability — a concern that played out in full last year when the 29-year-old pivot was injured three times by Labour Day. The last injury — a dislocated and fractured elbow that included ligament damage — has left a significant six-inch scar on the joint.

Pierce admits it also left a significant scar on his psyche, although he certainly didn’t let any of that show last fall during the early stages of his recovery.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say to myself, ‘Why did this happen to me again?’ ” Pierce said. “Things started off last season so well, things were clicking and everything seemed like such a perfect fit with the relationship between me and the club. And then…

“You’re put into situations that test your strength. I’ve been placed in those situations for a few years now. It sounds cliché but I think I do come out of those situations a little bit better and a little more wiser and knowledgeable. You always think about life after football when you have injuries. But if I thought that I really couldn’t bounce back or that I was tired of it or didn’t think my body could take it then I’d walk away and do something else. But, honestly, I feel I’m too good not to be out there playing.

“Even if it’s just two more plays, one more start… that means something to me. And it’s why I’m still willing to go through all this to get it back.”

And therein lies the conundrum the Bombers find themselves in with their relationship with Pierce. There’s no question when healthy he’s their No. 1 QB. But the man appeared in just five games last year and threw just 120 passes — the lowest total since his rookie season.

And so it says something of management’s loyalty and faith in the man, some would argue its blind on both fronts, that despite all that and despite the considerable risk they are willing to forge ahead with Pierce listed atop their depth chart.

“(GM) Joe Mack and I, I think, have a good relationship,” Pierce said. “We made a commitment to each other last winter when he was looking for a quarterback and I was looking for a place to play and now we don’t want to let each other down, Now we want to see this thing finish out. When I got hurt he reassured me by saying, ‘You get yourself healthy. We want you here.’ All you ask for in this business is honesty and as simple as it is, sometimes it’s the hardest thing to get.

“Their commitment is part of why I’m in here doing all this. It makes me want to be here away from my family slugging it out. They have shown me trust and I want to earn it.

“Week in and week out I want to be the guy under centre here in Winnipeg. That’s what’s driving me.”

ed.tait@freepressmb.ca