As the Blue Bombers prepare to face the Lions, the players' thoughts remain with coach Harris and his family.
Another win for the Bombers, a great game and great team victory. Coming from behind make the wins even sweeter and it goes to show that in this league, truly anything can happen. There is no lead that is too great. One thing that that game confirmed is that any team can come back from any deficit during any game. That's just what great teams do, especially on the road. This definitely proves that the 2011 Blue Bombers are on the right path.
The week following such a great victory started just like any other: A regular short week in the CFL. Monday was the first day of preparation for the B.C. Lions, everything was normal at CanadInns stadium. The second day, however, is one that I will never forget. Tuesday was the day that not only the Winnipeg football club, but the city of Winnipeg and the CFL lost a great coach and an even better man. The sudden death of such an extraordinary man hit the whole team and staff extremely hard. I can only imagine how much harder it was on his family.
I could write a book about how much of an amazing man coach Harris was, but it still wouldn't do him justice. I personally knew him for not even two months, but within the first two weeks of me being in this city, he had already displayed his love towards me. Continually encouraging me and supporting me through each day of practice. His positive attitude is similar to my mother, which is as positive as I've seen. He would encourage me daily through the beginning stages of my injury. Even I would still have a slight limp in my walk, he would instead focus on the positives. He would focus the improvement that I had made in the previous week.
He operated with the same spirit of true love and true care with everyone he encountered. Whether it was with a rookie drafted in the first round or the last pick. He was the same with veterans like Doug Brown (the team's most experienced player) as he was with first year players.
What I took from this tragic and sudden turn of event is that you must show how much you love the ones around you, because there is no telling when your time on earth is up.
Richard Harris will be greatly missed and my prayer is that God will comfort the ones who feel his lost.
My heart goes out to his wife and kids.
