Interview with Danny Maciasia | “We’re going to play today”

On the pitch, Danny Maciosia sees his players warming up, which is normal at first glance. What could be more common than watching them run, throw and catch the ball or warm up in preparation for a match?

Suddenly, the general manager of Alloutes was overwhelmed with powerful emotion. As if all the memories of the last 19 months had come up. Happy moments, but also doubts.

Maciasia has long wanted to play a leading role with Alutes. In January 2020 his dream came true. Team Managing Director, Career is no small matter! Advertising day is great: a press conference in a big hotel, a room full of friends and journalists, applause, patting on the back, congratulations … With the new team president Mario Sechini eager to breathe new life into the organization of Macia, shaken by the thousand storms of previous years.

The rest, alas, are not happy. COVID-19 was damaged, and the Canadian Football League (CFL) canceled its season. Instead of fueling the silly life of a full-service CEO, Macia has been pushed into relative inactivity. No matter how much we plan for a possible recovery, we should not be surprised about the future when a fragile circuit like the CFL is exceptionally encountered. Will the league stop the epidemic?

Fortunately, the image was gradually cleared. And this second Saturday in August 2021, at the Edmonton Elx Ground, the Allouts are preparing to play their first game in almost two years. That is why the preparation of the players is so important. The days of anxiety are over, and football is regaining its rights.

Suddenly, Maciasia becomes very emotional. He then grabbed his cell phone and joined his family Face time : His wife, Sandra, and his daughters, Bianca, Juliana and Alessia.

Maciasia points the camera lens towards the field, where players complete their preparation. It was hard for words to come out of his mouth. To the loves of his life, he uttered this simple and bright sentence: “We are going to play today.” ”

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Yes, we will play today. Finally! This match is like a redemption.

“I’ve been asking myself questions all these long months,” Maciosia said. It was a difficult time. I get frustrated sometimes. But I’m talking to Mario [Cecchini] And made it easy to share that experience with him. ”

At the end of the phone, the CEO was calm. “Normal” life partially withdraws its rights. This visit to Edmonton was a success in all respects: a faithful victory for Alloutes and a return to a city known for its happy and sad times.

Maciasia actually worked for several seasons for Elks’ former name Eskimos. As head coach, he led them to the 2005 Gray Cup. The rest are more complicated. In July 2010, he was fired as Eskimos’ CEO. His relationship with the city is difficult.

“My eldest daughter, then very young, was told flat things in school,” he says. I don’t feel like I am fully accepted there. This brief stay in Edmonton ended this experience. I hesitated before making the trip. My wife and daughters advised me to stay there. I think it is better to take their advice. ”

The final victory of the Aloyts was the traditional icing on the cake for Danny Maciosia. “We played well. It gave me great satisfaction.”

Good game? There is very little we can say. The Allouts were dominated by solidly made head coach Khari Jones. Beautiful football, very exciting, which is often reminiscent of how the Canadian league offers excellent performance.

If the allottees feel firm at the start of the season, it is also because Maciasia is pulling the right strings in forming his team. He maintained his core with quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Elks added important points such as veteran Almondo Sewell, who animated the pre-game discussion by publicly questioning Quarreback Trevor Harris’ courage.

“Almondo is the player I’m looking for,” explains Macio. All the great Alouettes are very tough guys to play against, tough guys, a little bit of bad guys. The club has been lacking in recent years. Hey, it’s like looking for players who can hit the Canadian corner and clean the front of the net. We want to win battles in the screammaze line. And what we did against the Elks, on crime and defense. ”

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The Allouts’ next game is against the Stampeders in Calgary on Friday. A week later, it will be the local grand opening against the Hamilton Tigers-Cats.

“We are all looking forward to this moment,” Masiocia said. This will be a great day for the company. Our Quebec players are already excited. ”

Maciasia added many players from here to its list. Of the 21 Canadians in uniform on Saturday, 13 came from Quebec. In this regard, the CEO has kept his promises. “I hope the fans fall in love with our team,” he said. We have great people like Vernon Adams Jr. who are involved in the community. And we line up a group that fights every week. We want to give ourselves a chance to win every game. ”

After a long wait, the Allouts finally returned. And Maciasia, with joy and relief, can often say to his family: “Yes, we’re going to play today …”