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Now there's something you don't see very often: a politician going out on top.
They're kind of like athletes that way, hanging on until we boo them off the political playing field.
What does Manitoba premier Gary Doer's resignation have to do with sports, you ask?
Plenty.
In his 10 years in the big office on Broadway, Doer might have done more for sports in this province than any premier before him.
I'm not just talking about his penchant for showing up at events in the jersey o' the day, either, although, admittedly, he was a master at that, hoisting beers with the common folk in the stands.
I remember him being snowed in with the rest of us at the '05 World Junior Hockey Championship in Grand Forks, for example. No doubt he was aware it would get him some votes.
But Doer was more than a fan. Behind the scenes, he was a key figure in the biggest sports deals this town has ever made.
Imagine the city without the Blue Bombers or a new downtown arena, and you get an idea of the impact Doer has had on our sports landscape.
"There probably wouldn't be a Winnipeg Football Club if it wasn't for the support that has been given over a period of time," Bomber president/CEO Lyle Bauer acknowledged. "The province was a very large component, along with the City of Winnipeg, structuring a recovery program that wasn't just a bailout."
Bauer was talking about the dark days in 2000, when there was a real danger of the Bombers closing the doors for good.
Doer was a big part of a plan which saw the province forgive some debt and match the team's fundraising efforts.
In fact, from his first day in office in '99, when the Bombers were knocking on his door for an emergency loan, to the deal he signed this year to pump $20 million into a proposed new stadium -- David Asper calls him the project's "strongest ally" -- Doer's been a football fan's best friend.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say he quarterbacked the power play, at least the government side of it, that brought the new arena here, too.
"We weren't able to do it on our own," True North Sports chairman Mark Chipman said. "So the answer is no. It wouldn't have gotten built without him."
You could argue any premier would agree to kick in $13 million towards a $130-million building.
"I'm not so sure about that," Chipman said. "All I can say is he was instrumental in getting it done. His support for it never faltered. He never wavered when we kind of hit the rapids. He also played a very important role in bringing together the balance of the public capital, by being so unwavering."
Instead of leaning on ideologies, Chipman says Doer just looked at projects pragmatically: what's the payoff, and when will we see it?
"What was most admirable was he stated a position of what he could and couldn't do, and he stayed with it the entire way," Chipman said. "It made the whole process easier, because we knew exactly where he stood. It wasn't an emotional thing. It was, 'OK, how does this work?' And either it doesn't or it doesn't."
Doer was all for trying to land big events, too, like the Grey Cup, the Brier, the World Women's Hockey Championship and the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Again, with his no-nonsense approach. Unusual for a politician, I'd say.
"He's a no-B.S. type of guy," Bauer said. "There's not a lot of wasted vocabulary. You didn't always get your way. But it's a big loss to the sporting community."
Go ahead, cheer the guy's departure, if you want.
Just remember him the next time you're cheering your favourite team.
Contact Paul at paul.friesen@sunmedia.ca or call 632-2788