This former B.C. Lions quarterback is ready to lead Canada to Olympic flag football glory

Yahoo

3 days ago

He's no longer a pro, but calling Michael O'Connor a regular Joe is a stretch.
The former B.C. Lions quarterback has stayed in the game since leaving the CFL, coaching with the Air Raid Academy in Abbotsford and QBs around the Lower Mainland, and leading Team Canada's senior men's team for the upcoming IFAF World Senior Men's Championship.
His latest venture means he'll be taking the pads off, but keeping the Maple Leaf on his chest, as he was named one of 12 players to the national flag football team that is preparing to start Olympic qualifying for Los Angeles 2028.
'I'm making the transition now to post-football, but still staying in it somehow, with the Team Canada, and now this flag stuff. I figured I still can play, so may as well keep playing for a little longer,' he said.
'I got the rest of my life to to get old.'
The 29-year-old, who won a Vanier Cup with the UBC Thunderbirds in 2015, will be joined on the flag team by former Birds (and Team Canada) teammate Trivel Pinto and former NFL tight end Anthony Auclair — whose brother, Adam, currently plays for the Lions.
O'Connor travelled to Montreal last week for the national team ID camp run by former CFL coach and current Ten analyst Paul LaPolice, and came away impressed by what he saw. Like LaPolice, he's a relative newcomer to the Olympic flag game, though he's played the common seven-a-side game, and the 8-v-8 version that allows linemen.
'It was great. He's an awesome coach. Man, I learned so much from (LaPolice),' he said. 'I think it was adjustment for him, just like it was for myself. But he definitely was getting more comfortable as the weekend went on, and you could definitely see the wheels turning. He's just great coach, and he has great staff with him too. You can tell that he's running it like a professional style, which is great to see.
'It's a totally different game,' he said. 'First off, the field is only 25 yards wide, which on a Canadian (football) field, is from the sideline to the near hash. The field is just so much more condensed, which means everything has to be a little more precise and a little more defined. You've got to be on point. And in terms of gameplay … it's five on five, so that just changes everything. The defence can only do so much.
'But at the same time, it's football, right? Especially in a flag game, it's about making the throws, making the plays, and then making the other team miss. It's definitely a pretty crafty game. A pretty, pretty slick game, and you see a lot of cool stuff.'
The discussion in football circles leading into the ID camp was whether it was better to stack an Olympic team with NFL and CFL professionals, or let the flag veterans finish the journey they've started. Should it be Pros or Joes? O'Connor is one of the dozen, plus four alternates, who will begin play this summer for Canada, and even he isn't sure what the future holds.
'In terms of the debate with who would ultimately make up the Olympic team … (in) three years a lot can change. So you never know. At the same time, it's just an honour to be able to represent the country on a national stage and be part of this program.'
Philip Cutler was one of the five other QBs invited to the 'intense' three-day ID camp in Montreal, and the longtime elite flag vet didn't get bent out of shape over missing the roster.
'We're talking about the Olympic Games here. That means that you need to have the best of the best competing for gold,' said the 36-year-old. 'If they can beat me, then they can beat me. That's competition at the highest level.
'If the best players are playing in the NFL or playing in the CFL, they should be able to compete for roster spots. I'm not necessarily convinced that a roster gets filled with professional athletes, because I do think a lot of people who play flag are really elite at that sport.
'There are a lot of these Joes, so to speak, that play flag football, that treat it professionally … I think that the best players need to be the ones that are on the field, competing, no matter what.'
Cutler, a Montreal native and former McGill linebacker, signed up for Ken Mastrone's quarterback academy in Florida this year, where he trained alongside NFL draft hopefuls including Kurtis Rourke.
He's dubious that current NFL players will drop their summer training to join the Olympic push, even if it doesn't conflict with their day job. While there's no contact in flag, there's still the potential to injure oneself, and jeopardize a multi-million dollar contract. The CFL is exploring ways to makes its players available, should they want to participate, and a potential Olympic gold has more financial value through marketing than it does for the higher-paid NFLers.
'This is a guy who's focused on playing on Sundays,' he said, using Nathan Rourke's younger brother as an example.
'That's his career. That's his job. He wants to make his mark in the professional game. I don't know how much time and energy and distraction he's willing to take to put into flag football. I don't know if they're gonna put in the time necessary to learn the flag game, because they're trying to be the best that they can be, so that they can put on a show for us on Sundays.'
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