Loss Of Jesse Lumsden Affects All Canadians

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The CFL has seen many players return from injury, only to injure themselves in no time at all. I don't think I have seen such an anticipated return go so bad so quickly. In last Friday's game between the Eskimos and the Blue Bombers, Jesse Lumsden had to leave in the first quarter after a hit dislocated his shoulder. 

I'm a Calgary fan, and even I'll admit I was glad to see Jesse Lumsden get another shot on a team with a capable O-Line. Even if it was in Edmonton. Seeing Lumsden's injury left a lot of us Canadians feeling for Jesse, who without injuries could have been(and hopefully will still be) the greatest Canadian running back of all time.

As we know, it is tough for any Canadians to get a starting position in anything but the offensive line, but the running back position is the hardest. With the import ratio a factor, teams are hesitant to fill a "skilled" position with a Canadian in case they get injured. Just look at the troubles Hamilton had last year when Lumsden got injured. You have to have a set amount of Canadians in the lineup, so pulling one out means, you have to take an import starter out, and replace him with a Canadian. It can cause a lot of troubles.

It was the import ratio that made the Eskimos a perfect fit for Lumsden. With a quality Canadian running back, Calvin McCarty, in the system, it has less of an impact on the ratio should Lumsden have to come out. Unfortunately he did get hurt, and Edmonton now has to worry about when McCarty will start, or what to do if he gets injured.

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I am sad for Jesse Lumsden because he has only had a few chances to really show his talent. We have seen him dominate when he is healthy. He can be the best back in the league, and not just Canadian. The best back period. That excites us as Canadians to see one of ours do well! We haven't seen a Canadian running back in a while that made a long career as a feature back tearing up the CFL.

I remember when Eric Lapointe was making waves in the former CIAU, and hoping to see a good Canadian boy get a shot at that starting running back position. Lapointe never did get a fair shot, leaving many Canadians wondering if we would get to see another all star running back that would come out of Canada. We also heard the names Kojo Aidoo and Graeme Bell, but we still haven't had a chance to see their full talent. Maybe we'll someday see Jamall Lee get a shot as well.

There have been a few in the past. The names that come to mind are Ronnie Stewart, Orville Lee, Johnny Bright and Norm Kwong. More recently has been Mark Nohra and Sean Millington. Nohra's career became victim of the ratio, but Millington got his shot because he was big enough to be a full back with the skills of a tailback.

With only a few Canadian running backs that are remembered for the skills, it must be tough for running backs in high school or university to think they can make it as a running back in the CFL. It's a sad statement that a Canadian running back can't aspire to play the position he wants in the Canadian Football League. I don't know how we can make the ratio rule help Canadian running backs, but I will figure it out.

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