Liam Dobson points to a spot on his left arm — just above the elbow on the side of the bicep — where his skin is slightly discoloured.
There’s a story behind that spot and, if you have a moment, it’s worth hearing the second-year Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive linemen explain the details. And like most stories Dobson tells, they tend to completely pull the listener in because of their quirkiness and their ‘Ripley’s Believe or Not’ bizarreness.
But back to that spot on Dobson’s arm… turns out that scar comes from the time the 25-year-old Ottawa product attempted to brand himself.
Wait… what?!?!
“Well, let’s just say it didn’t turn out at all… as you can see,” began Dobson in a chat with bluebombers.com following Day 3 of Blue Bombers training camp. “I went to a school for my last two years (of high school) called Canada Prep and it was a prep school that played American football.
“So, we were playing a game in Zanesville, Ohio and there were some choice words from one of the Americans about Canadians playing football. The Canadian pride in me, I tried to brand a Loonie on my arm the day after that game.
“I took a pair of tweezers and held a Loonie over a blowtorch for about 10 minutes, dropped it on my arm and pushed it down with the tweezers. I thought the Loon and the Canada dollar sign would come through, but right away I knew it wasn’t going to work.
“It just turned out to be a big circle in the middle of my arm.”
Asked if he’s since attempted to showcase his nationalism with a tattoo or in any other manner, Dobson grinned.
“No more brands… yet,” he said. “And, Mom, you’re welcome.”
That story is just a snippet of what we’ll call ‘The Liam Dobson Experience.’ And try as we may here, the words simply don’t do his storytelling skill and his style justice. In short, there’s a self-deprecating aspect to his tales and a droll delivery that can leave you shaking your head and chuckling at the same time.
“I was in university with a guy like that,” said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea when asked about the legend of Dobson’s tales. “If there was something that was going to happen, it would be him, and it was always going to be a great story.
“I don’t know with Liam if that’s always the case, but I think he’s got a lot of funny stories and he has zero ego and so sharing his story and making people laugh is right up his alley.”
“A couple things about Liam,” added guard Pat Neufeld. “First of all, he is an energy drink sommelier. The man knows his energy drinks like a sommelier knows wine, although he’s admitted to cutting back on the powdered caffeinated beverages.”
(Sidebar: during last year’s Grey Cup trip to Regina Dobson brought a coffee maker and was spotted taking it off the luggage rack at the airport upon arrival. And one more from that week in Regina: when he wasn’t in his helmet, he was constantly wearing a trapper toque provided by the CFL – those lids with the big ear flaps — and referred to himself as ‘Fatsputin.’)
“One more thing you have to ask him about,” added Neufeld, “is his ‘love’ of Rottweilers.”
Naturally, we asked Dobson about his ‘love’ of Rottweilers, using the air quotes around ‘love’ just as Neufeld did in the set up.
“I should have pleaded the fifth on some of this,” said Dobson, with a chuckle. “But here’s the Rottweiler story: I would say my ‘love’ of Rottweilers began when I was very young. My parents were teaching me to walk at a park and a Rottweiler ended up dragging me around the park. I don’t remember it, but the way my parents tell it the dog grabbed me by the arm or leg and was dragging me around. The parents went to the police and filed a report about a loose Rottweiler running around in the park.
“I was over at Paddy’s house the other day and he was introducing me to his dog, Oslo, who is part Rottweiler… I was a little nervous at first about it, but I got over it. I love dogs. Dogs are great.
“And hopefully,” added Dobson, just as noted dog lover and rescuer Brady Oliveira walked by, “with Brady Oliveira working so hard here there’s less stray dogs running around parks in this city.”
Now, as engaging and intriguing as Dobson is as an interview, he’s also emerging into a bona fide O-lineman who could one day start for the Blue Bombers. The Maine/Texas State product was the club’s first-round selection, third overall, in the 2021 CFL Draft and after attending NFL mini-camps with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints last year – and having his shot with the USFL spiked due to visa issues – he arrived during training camp. He ultimately dressed for 16 games, making his first CFL start on October 15th in B.C. against the Lions.
“The biggest thing for me was having a year under my belt with the guys in those rooms,” Dobson explained. “Good players can pick up a playbook very fast, but being able to sit behind all-stars in this league for many years and learn the many nuances from them has been special. Being able to talk to Paddy about technique or a formation or whatever the defence might throw at us… he’s been playing fantastic football in this league for a long time. Same with Geoff (Gray) and Chris (Kolankowski). And then Yosh (Jermarcus Hardrick) and Stan (Bryant), they’re their own entities as all-star tackles.
“But that year from last year until now, it’s been incredible to learn from them and role from the start.
“You hear a lot about pro football, especially as a rookie coming into the league, and your job is to always take somebody else’s job. It could be a tense situation. But I never felt that at all last year. Once I walked into that room, I felt I was part of it. Obviously as a rookie you’re tense, there’s no getting around that, but I feel as a rookie here you get comfortable faster because everyone is so welcoming.”
Critical now for Dobson is to continue to hone his craft as he settles in further into the Blue Bombers clubhouse and increases his role on the O-line. He loves to make everyone around him laugh, sure, but his goal is bigger than that.
“We’re out here and at the end of the day we’re playing a game. It’s fun,” said Dobson. “We get to do what we love and it’s not like we have to work three-four jobs to make ends meet. We get to do what we do because of the other people out there who work so hard. You have to be thankful for that and enjoy it.
“I never want to be seen as the guy who is just here to have fun and joke around. “I want to be the guy who has fun, plays football, and wins games with my team.”
