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Player Spotlight: Darren Flutie

Team: Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Number : 82
Position: WR
Years in CFL: 12
GP: 191

Darren Flutie is in his 5th year as a member of the Tiger-Cats. Prior to his arrival in Hamilton, Flutie spent 5 seasons with the B.C. Lions and 2 seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos. Flutie is a 3-time CFL all-star ('96, '97 and '99) and a 4-time division all-star. Flutie is also on the verge of becoming the CFL's all-time pass receiving leader.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CAREER?

ANSWER: I remember my football team that won two State championships, especially in my Junior year. We had a come-from-behind win in the State Championship played where the Patriots play their football games and we had something like 35-thousand fans there. We won 35-34 and I scored a last-second touchdown run on a ten yard run and we had to get the 2-point conversion. So we ran the exact type of play and scored on that!

WHAT COACH IN HIGH SCHOOL HAD THE MOST INFLUENCE OVER YOU AND WHY?

ANSWER: No question in my mind. It was Tom Lamb! He was our head football coach at the time. He was a Holy Cross graduate and just a great guy. He just really seemed to really care about the players, you know one of those high school coaches that truly cared about you. We ran the most basic of offences in our league but we were successful because coach Lamb made sure we did it well and that we practiced it, over and over and over again.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL IN THE FIRST PLACE?

ANSWER: I grew up on sports! I grew up in Florida where we were outside all the time and it was football, baseball and basketball, all day, every day, depending on what season it was. And of course I had older brothers...my brother Bill and my brother Doug both played sports so naturally I was into sports. When we moved north to Natick, Mass., that's my hometown, football was the sport and they'd always had
Good football teams at the high school level and as soon as you started playing Pop Warner, you aimed at being a high school football player. It was every kid's goal in our hometown.

WHAT IS YOUR FUNNIEST MEMORY AS A HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER?

ANSWER: Well, when I get back with my buddies, which I do a lot (my high school buddies) we get a chuckle out of one of our State Championships. We were in the locker room, for the pre-game speech and our Athletic Director decided to come in and give just a little pep-talk. He was an older guy...a great guy who's passed away since...but his quote was "you're not going to remember the day you get married; you're not going to remember the day you have your first child; you're going to remember this day! As he was talking, he was backing up and as he said those final words, he tripped over a trash can and fell down! And there was just silence in the room! No one wanted to even look up!

That's something we get a big kick out of when we look back at it now!