Every week, my friend and colleague Rodger Brulotte meets a personality for his “Online with…” interview. I gave him a little time off to play a trick on him and reverse the roles. So here is my “online” interview with Rodger Brulotte, who will begin his 55th year of career in the media and with the Expos.
You are 76 years old. Why are you still working? Could you play golf in Florida 6 months a year?
RB: I go there one month a year. But 6 months, no I’m not ready to do that. I am happy at home here (…) I continue to work because I like it. In life, you work as long as you love it or as long as your health allows you to do so.
How is your health?
RB: Until two weeks ago, everything looked good according to my exams. Except for growing up, I never had any health problems!
Is it true that you’ve never had a single glass of alcohol?
RB: Never. The irony is that I advertised for Molson, Labatt and O’Keefe and I never had a glass of beer.
Not even when you were young?
RB: I went to the tavern with my friends when I was 16 and I had my Uptown soft drink or my 7up, they had their beer. It didn’t tempt me, I never had the taste.
Was it because there was alcoholism in your family?
RB: No, but I’ve seen too many of my friends make drinking mistakes. As I get older, seeing this, it scares me. I find that alcohol ruins beautiful moments.
You didn’t smoke either?
RB: Never. My mother told me that I would grow up if I didn’t smoke. It really didn’t work.
You sleep 4 hours a night, you eat poorly, you are 76 years old and you work non-stop. How do you get out of it?
RB: Yes, it’s true that I eat poorly. I am a selective foodie! Hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.
Are you eating ballpark food in the back?
RB: Ah! ah! ah!, that’s pretty much it. But seriously, I think the secret is to love what you do. I always loved what I did. It takes away stress. That’s what gives me my energy.
What is the memory of Rodger Brulotte that you want to leave behind?
RB: When I leave, the greatest sign of respect anyone could give me would be for the headlines to read: Good evening, he’s gone!
Come on Rodger, are you serious?
RB: Very serious. I’m so pampered, you can’t imagine, every day, how many times people still approach me and say: “good evening, she’s gone.” It even happens at the funeral home. I feel uncomfortable because I’m so happy every time.
When and how did this sentence begin?
RB: In 1983, it was an afternoon game. It came out on its own. Jacques (Doucet) told me: you can’t say “good evening”, it’s the afternoon. I told him it was somewhere in the evening, ah! ah! ah! (…) I was lucky, I rubbed shoulders with lots of great baseball commentators. One day I was with Harry Caray (one of the greatest voices in baseball history) and a spectator asked me for an autograph. I signed my name and with his big glasses, Harry said to me: what is this Rodger! What is your sentence when there is a circuit? I said, “Good evening, she’s gone!” He said, “Okay, so that’s what you sign.” Since then, every time I do an autograph I write “Good evening she is gone”, Rodger Brulotte.
When someone calls you, it says “Good evening she has left” on your voicemail
RB: Well yes, it’s me. People call me sometimes to tell me not to answer to hear it.
You know sometimes I listen to you analyze baseball and I really disagree with you
RB: That’s what I want. I want people to think about it at home. I can provoke a little, I know. And that’s the beauty of a baseball game. Everyone can manage in their own way. This is the only time where a child can contradict his father on a strategy and the dad will not be able to say anything.
You have ease with the world, you know everyone. You would have been a good political organizer to take care of financing over time.
RB: Ah! ah! ah!. They all approached me about being members, but none asked me who I was voting for. I do fundraising for young people.
Are you taller than Cole Caufield?
RB: Ah! ah! ah! When we talk, he and I, we talk into each other’s eyes, I can tell you that! On my driver’s license, it’s 5 foot 6. But in reality, it’s more 5 foot 4. That’s never been my strength.
Besides your wife, who is the love of your life?
RB: Without a doubt my parents who gave me an incredible quality of life. We were in a disadvantaged neighborhood and I didn’t even know it. I didn’t lack anything. My sweater, I have three cousins who had worn it before me. New skates, I didn’t have that. I still have my first baseball glove. My pride is my parents who gave it to me and my sister, who died at 39 from brain cancer. It was the worst moment of my life
What is the biggest regret of your life?
RB: For not having found a way to keep the Expos in Montreal.
Honestly Rodger, you can’t put this on your shoulders
RB: I know, but I still regret it. I wish I could find a way. I worked a lot, but I couldn’t convince people to keep them. For me it’s a failure. I was watching the Twins and thinking it could be us. The team was in the same situation as in Montreal and it was a former wrestler, yes, yes, a wrestler, Jesse Ventura, who was the governor in Minnesota and who saved the team. We lost them.
I m 35 years old. What are the chances out of 100 that I will see the Expos again in Montreal?
RB: I’ll give you the hope you’re willing to take. I found that major league baseball was dishonest to Mr. Bronfman and his group by suggesting that he could have a franchise.
So it’s 0 out of 100?
RB: You should never say 0. But every year the cost increases.
I’ll ask you the question again. Answer my question. How many out of 100?
RB: I would say an easy 20%
You had a link with the creation of Youppi! when you worked for the Expos
RB: I was in charge of the file and someone had to approve it. There were two things I wanted. One, that the mascot was visible and, two, that people, especially children, would like it.
But what is Yippi! In fact?
RB: A teddy bear.
A bear?
RB: No ! A teddy bear is not the same thing. A teddy bear is something you hold in your arms. Yay!, when you squeeze it, you don’t know what it is. Is it a bear? You do not know it. Is it a cat? You do not know it. But you hold him because you love him.
Have you already done it Yippi!?
RB: Ah! ah! ah!. No, the suit is too big.