As the Don Bosco Eagles were on their way to beating the Senator O’Connor Blues 26–14 at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York last Thursday, a student pointed across the field and asked his friend, “Who’s that?” His friend stared for a moment in disbelief. “You crazy? That’s Rob Ford.”
Ford often seems uneasy at City Hall—he doesn’t really engage with policymaking or with many of his colleagues—but at Toronto’s Catholic Football Championship, he was a rock star. High schoolers took photos and whispered as he walked by, and one couldn’t help but think he felt the importance and respect he doesn’t get at his day job.
He looked different, too: With a decidedly un-council-like demeanour, Ford was confident, calm, and utterly at home as he stalked the sidelines and the Eagles controlled the game to complete their undefeated Catholic division season (they advance to play TDSB team Northern on Nov. 15).
As the team jumped and chanted “Bossss-Cooooo” following their win, one couldn’t help but feel happy for Toronto’s most notable high-school football squad. And when their beleaguered coach/mayor hoisted the trophy and screamed “Oh, yeah!,” it suddenly made sense why he skipped all of those council meetings to be here. He was just chasing something he was good at, something that made him happy—something to be proud of.
