The Alouettes will honor John Bowman in their Saturday night (7 p.m.) game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Percival-Molson Stadium. If the weather forecast holds true, it will rain, but that suits the defensive end.
“Rain is forecast for Saturday, so people won’t be able to see my tears if I cry when the Alouettes air the video montage which will contain messages from people who know me,” Bowman said Thursday.
“It’s hard to know how I’m going to react. At the moment, I am living a great honor. How many players have worn the Alouettes uniform? Thousands. You have to have played for a long time to be honored in this way. I appreciate it very much. ”
As he recounted on Thursday Bowman has been juggling the idea of retiring since playing his 10e season, in 2015. When the Alouettes did not offer him a new contract last winter, it became clear that he would no longer play. There is, however, no bitterness.
“I was not a player who was part of the team, but who only played ten games per season. I played 18 games per season [230 en 14 saisons], so that’s a lot of football. So I leave my head in peace. ”
Bowman might have been able to play a 15e season with one of the other eight CFL teams. But by not doing so, the great quarterback hunter made sure he only played for one team, an increasingly rare feat in professional sport today.
“Even the great AC [Anthony Calvillo] had played in Hamilton and Las Vegas, so I was very fortunate to be able to be part of one organization for so long. I am happy with what I have accomplished, individually and with the team. ”
Bowman has won the Gray Cup on two occasions (2009 and 2010) and is the leader in Alouettes history with 134 sacks, which is twice as many as Anwar Stewart, who sits second at 66 (Stewart also scored 4 sacks with the Calgary Stampeders for a total of 70). Only five players in CFL history have totaled more sacks than Bowman, who totaled 451 tackles and forced 32 fumbles.
Future coach
It is this same Stewart who became Bowman’s best friend with the Alouettes. “But he only started talking to me when he saw that I knew how to play, which was probably in 2008,” said Bowman, who joined the Alouettes in 2006.
Bowman also hopes to follow in Stewart’s footsteps again starting next year. Like his friend, who is currently the Kentucky University defensive line instructor in the NCAA, Bowman hopes for a career as a coach.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, PRESS ARCHIVES
John Bowman in 2015
“For sure I would start as a defensive line coach and I could evolve from there. In my opinion, the best coaches are the ones who started at the bottom of the ladder and worked their way up through the ranks. ”
“I was not the most talented player, but I was very hardworking. And I would like to be able to help players who have a similar profile to fulfill their potential. So I want to learn the best ways to convey information to them and to share with them what I have learned during my career. ”
“The best players sometimes become the worst coaches because they have a hard time fitting into the shoes of players who are not as talented as they were when they were playing. ”
With the Alouettes?
In an ideal world, Bowman would begin his new career with the Alouettes. As he remains the vice-president of the CFL Players’ Association, Bowman is currently unable to discuss this possibility with the Als officials.
“I would love to be in Montreal, for sure. But in the world of coaching, we normally have to accept the positions that are offered to us before we can start choosing them. We will see what will unfold over the next few months. ”
Whether he returns to the nest full time or not, Bowman wants to live in Montreal eventually. He hopes to obtain his Canadian citizenship in the near future. He spent five months in a row in Florida recently and it was when he was on a beach that he realized that he missed Montreal deeply.
“I realized how different it was in America. I was born and raised in this country, but it was in Montreal that I grew up as an individual. ”
“Montreal is a big city, but it often feels like living in a small town, and I like that. I also like the diversity and the culture that we find there. If I could build a perfect city, it would be Montreal. ”
“Our Gray Cup championships are some of my fondest football memories. However, there was also the community work that I carried out and which allowed me to immerse myself in Montreal. There were activities organized by the team, but I also spent quality time with young people outside of working hours. It warms my heart when I think about those times. This city really welcomed me with open arms. ”
Luc Brodeur-Jourdain does a great job coaching the Alouettes’ offensive line and there is little doubt that Bowman would do the same on the defensive end. When you are lucky enough to have former players of this quality, you find a way to keep them within the organization. To be continued.
The future of the CFL
Like Brodeur-Jourdain, Bowman has always been a gentleman with journalists. He has always expressed his views candidly, but respectfully, and has always been very generous with his time – except when it was the third day of training in preparation for a game. This was the day that Bowman received his massage therapy treatments and he had no time to waste, as he himself recalled on Thursday.
The future member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame took the time to give the “bad” journalists a nod.
“I want to thank you for what you are doing. Even if some players don’t like what you write or say about them, without the journalists who cover this league, it wouldn’t exist. The CFL doesn’t advertise a lot, so the work you do is paramount. ”
In his role as Vice President of the Players’ Association, Bowman has been able to see firsthand how the Tour has been run over the past few years. Stating first that this was a personal opinion and not that of the Players’ Association, Bowman criticized the CFL’s lack of innovation.
“I think the league is missing out on great opportunities because they don’t want to innovate. There would certainly be ways to better promote the league. ”
“But it’s their league and they’re going to run it however they want. They like to brag about the fact that it’s been around 106 years, but I don’t think the 106 years have all been very good. There would certainly be ways to improve the league, especially with the rise of sports betting. ”