van_ws Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Very sad... just seems so wrong. He will be greatly missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeydews Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 not a football fan. But I do follow the lions a bit. Simon will be missed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toffee Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Willes: 'Emotionally, I'm still a B.C. Lion,' says choked Geroy on going to Saskatchewan. 'That's what's tough' In over 20 years as a coach and general manager in the CFL, Wally Buono had never done this for another player. He didn’t do it for Doug Flutie, Allen Pitts or Alondra Johnson in Calgary. He didn’t do it when Dave Dickenson left the B.C. Lions. And he didn’t do it last year when Brent Johnson retired after a storybook finish to his career with the Leos. All those players had bled for Buono. All were a huge part of his success. And in all those cases, a decision was made, and Buono moved on. But not this time. Not with Geroy Simon. "There aren’t too many guys who’ve had this kind of influence on the fans, the organization, the market," said the B.C. Lions’ general manager. "Geroy is a superstar on the field and off the field. Just because we couldn’t come to an agreement doesn’t mean you discard him and move on." Even though that, in effect, is what happened on Thursday. "This is a tough day," Simon said in a private moment. "I’m leaving the place I’ve been the last 12 years. This is all I’ve known. "I’ve got a special relationship with (the Lions) and that’s not going to change. We did it this way because we didn’t want it to look like there are any bad feelings. There aren’t. It’s something that had to be done." And now he moves on to Saskatchewan — and football fans in this province are left to wonder at what they’ve lost. On a strange day, it was a strange sight to see Buono and Simon, sitting side by side, expressing their unconditional love and respect for each other while the great receiver’s playing career was ending in this town. In his opening remarks, Buono said he felt like he was attending a funeral. Later, he said it was like a great marriage that ends amicably, with the parties going their separate ways. In reality, it was a bit of both. It was also a love-in for Simon, who leaves as the greatest Lion of them all. But, for all the emotion of this day, there was still one question hanging in the air: Did it have to come to this? And, despite some sincere attempts by both Buono and Simon to explain the situation, that one was never fully answered. This, after all, wasn’t the wrong football decision. The law of diminishing returns was setting in with Simon last year and the issue became how quickly his marvelous skills would erode. Buono would have loved to have him back in a reduced role at a reduced salary. But, Simon being Simon, said he’s still "a 1,500-yard receiver," and you don’t have the career he’s had unless you have a great deal of pride, ego and confidence. "I don’t accept mediocrity," he said. "So, yeah, because I wasn’t going to accept a mediocre role it led to this. "I was never told exactly what (that role would be). (The reduced) salary woke me up. There were a lot of parts to this." That, at least, was the football aspect of this decision and Buono is seldom wrong when he assesses a player’s expiry date. But there were also a lot of parts to this from the Lions’ point of view, and that’s what made this day and this decision so difficult. One of Buono’s first moves with the Lions was to make Simon the feature receiver in his offence. During their nine years together, the Lions went 101-60-1, won two Grey Cups and Simon became the CFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards. They built something, these two men, something strong, and it wasn’t easy to walk away from it. "Will there be another Superman?" Buono said, referring to Simon’s gridiron alter-ego. "I don’t think so." Simon, for his part, talked about his 12 years with the Lions, his relationships with longtime teammates Dante Marsh, Korey Banks, Angus Reid and Johnson. You can throw trainer Bill Reichelt and equipment manager Kato Kasuya in there, too. "They’re not blood," Simon said. "But they’re like my brothers. We’re friends for life. I’ll miss that more than anything." But, like so many things, it’s all changed after Thursday. "You have to separate the emotional side from the business side," Simon said. "Emotionally, I’m still a B.C. Lion. That’s what’s tough." Tough on him. Tough on Buono. And tough on every football fan in this province. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Wow this totally sucks. Never followed the team very very closely, but was still a fan and would watch games whenever I could, tried to keep up with the team as best as I could. but have always been a big Geroy fan, it's a shame, I know we have some young receivers we want to give a chance too, but come on it's Geroy. Damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Romo Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Wow this totally sucks. Never followed the team very very closely, but was still a fan and would watch games whenever I could, tried to keep up with the team as best as I could. but have always been a big Geroy fan, it's a shame, I know we have some young receivers we want to give a chance too, but come on it's Geroy. Damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Give a chance. They played better than Geroy did when he was out. Time to move on and play the best players out there. Geroy was on a decline. Lets face it, he was far down the depth chart anyway and his 2 touchdowns wont be hard to replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpcurtly Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Wooooooooooo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayman Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 gg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Romo Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 What do you think about Geroy using 81? I heard a Sask fan today say that number was pretty much untouchable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkeeterHansen Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 RIDERS BABY!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucklehead Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Wooooo!!!!!! So pumped we got him!!! It's going to be weird seeing him in green? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I R Baboon Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 It will be intresting to see how he comes back after injuring both hamstrings last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Yeah see, I didn't even know how far he was on the depth chart. As I said didn't follow along with the team alot last season. I do know we have some good young recivers but the guy is a legend, I'm just biased cause he has been my favorite player for a long time. I'm fine with seeing how it goes though, who did we get anyways? Is this Harper guy any good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Don't expect any miracles, he's got one foot in the grave eh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonberries Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Geroy plans to "exhaust my abilities" in Saskatchewan. I'll give that process two years. Good luck Geroy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdeath Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 This is a sad day for sure but Wally has to have something up his sleeve. At the end of the day with Parker, Bruce and Geroy all leaving there's a big chunk of cap available and it'll be interesting to see how Wally utilizes it. Best of luck in Saskatchewan and I really hope they figure a way to get Geroy to sign and retire back in BC when all is said and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crom! Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Honestly, I hate watching CFL football but I've caught more than a few games to watch Geroy. I'd say he is up there with they great sports players to have played in BC. He's done so much for the Lions over the years playing so far above average, couldn't we just give him a little slack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Boudreau Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 It was gonna happen when you consider Lulay's new contract. Someone has to get count out. Geroy didn't want to take a hometown discount because he still thinks he is an elite receiver in the CFL. Buono obviously thinks he is declining and is replaceable. They now have the money to sign Shawn Gore and make him their new #1 receiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3. Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 It just had to be Saskatchewan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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