Earlier this week the Canadian Football League and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers alumni lost a good one when Tom Muecke passed away from an apparent heart attack.
The news was big enough to warrant an Associated Press report and separate stories from several Texas-based media outlets. And, if you knew the man, you know why. Not only was the former Bomber quarterback a star at Baylor where he’s in the school’s hall of fame, he was an engaging and friendly sort who was always first to stick out his hand as a welcome whenever anyone crossed paths with him.
He was also the very first Blue Bomber I ever interviewed in what has become a long association with the football club.
Looking back, I don’t recall the questions I asked that day many, many moons ago, but I do remember being extremely nervous before he helped bring down my anxiety levels substantially just by cooperative and respectful of my job.
So for that, allow me – along with thousands of others – to say, ‘Rest in Peace, Tom Muecke.’
The news struck me for another reason, too. Today, after 29 years in the newspaper biz I begin a new chapter in my dealings with the Blue Bombers as their new Director of Content. Truthfully, we’re not sure if that’s the right title or not, but the gig will essentially have me covering the team, home and away, in the midst of a January freeze to the scorching heat of the summer — just like I used to for the Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Sun. I’ll also be working with the superb web team already in place to make sure bluebombers.com becomes the go-to site for all things Bomber-related.
Now, admittedly this has all come together so fast we really don’t have a playbook yet and even when training camp starts in a few weeks, I’m sure we’ll still be drawing up ideas in the palms of our hand just before the huddle breaks, so to speak.
But the Muecke news also had me doing a little nostalgia trip, trying to recall all the Bomber quarterbacks I have interviewed over the years. Guys like Dieter Brock, Don Jonas, Tom Clements and the legendary Ken Ploen for hall-of-fame stories, to Tom Burgess, Matt Dunigan, Khari Jones, Kevin Glenn, Drew Willy and everyone in between as a beat writer and columnist.
There’s been hundreds of others, too, from football-operations types like Cal Murphy, Mike Riley, Lyle Bauer (both as a player and as the big boss), Dave Ritchie, Brendan Taman, Mike Kelly, Doug Berry, Jeff Reinebold to hall of famers like Chris Walby, Milt Stegall, Charles Roberts, Doug Brown, James West, Tyrone Jones… really, too many to mention here.
Yours truly has been lucky enough to chronicle the last Grey Cup title in these parts – my first year as the full-time beat writer – as well as those dark days when the franchise was struggling for survival at the turn of the millennium to today’s struggles to get back in the playoffs.
I’ve long said writing about this team has been like chronicling Winnipeg’s longest soap opera. Good times and bad, it’s never been dull.
That will continue now, just with me now working under the Blue Bomber brand.
Cheers
