It's probably all lost on the current group of Edmonton Eskimos beyond Ricky Ray and Jason Maas.
This current Eskimos team, in danger of missing the Western Conference playoffs for a fourth straight season, is made up almost entirely of players who play for Edmonton with almost none of them having become true Eskimos.
Few choose to live here year-round and few wrap themselves in the history of the team in which being an Eskimo, thanks to an era of unbelievable turnover and change, is no longer transferable like it has been in the past.
But today's team should know that Tuesday 25 of those old Eskimos who previously transferred their traditions gathered in their old dressing room to say goodbye to the place where so many of their memories have been housed, a room which may begin to be gutted by this time next week.
To the outsider, maybe this doesn't seem like a big deal.
The Eskimos are moving out of their dressing room and right back into a new one, a room which would rank in the top 10 in the NFL and be the equal of the new state-of-the-art dressing rooms of the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks in the NHL.
“The thing that made this special for all us guys is that we were returning to the scene of the crime, if you will,” said Larry Wruck, the ex-Eskimo who arranged the evening.
“Some guys had not been back in this room since the last game they played for the Esks. And even though this room isn't technically going anywhere, it will never be the same either.
“The old dressing room is where we shared so many great times, celebrated so many big wins and choked down a few big losses as well.
“Besides it being our office, it was also our card room and our room where Donnie Wilson and Gizmo Williams put on so many entertaining shows for us bantering back and forth trying to convince each other that they were indeed the ugliest man on earth.
“I also remember the years when Jed Roberts would, each week, draw a new caricature on the board in the defensive side of the room. If he saw something quirky you were going on that board.
“The room holds different memories for all of us but next to being at home it was about the best place a guy could ever want to be.”
Nobody's life has been tied to that room more than equipment manager Dwayne Mandrusiak.
“Funny what you remember. Like fish heads and dead ducks put in different players dressing room stalls by their team-mates. There were so many practical jokes, especially with that five-in-a-row team.
“I remember when Dave Fennell was after Waddell Smith to get even for one and Waddell heard that he was going to throw water all over his clothes. He went to Fennell and said 'Don't throw water on my clothes'. Fennell went immediately to Smith locker and threw water on the clothes. Waddell had moved Fennell's clothes into his own locker.”
There was the time Tom Wilkinson brought the school snake which was in his daughters keeping for the purpose of chasing a pair of sportswriters. None of them knew I had such early speed.
Or could vault a fence.
“I remember when we had a player who liked to swear a lot and Ron Estay told him if he didn't stop he'd spank him like he was one of his kids. The guy didn't stop. Estay did what he said
he'd do. He spanked him so hard ...
“One player used to be infamous for using other people's shampoo. Dale Potter always used designer stuff. I told Potter not to use his own shampoo for a few days. I put 10-30 oil in the bottle. The guy couldn't figure out why his hair was so greasy.”
Mandrusiak talks about shoulder pads nailed to the stalls, water in helmets, plaster in players shoes and all the memories which flood back at a time like this.
But mostly he remembers the pride they all had in the place, for the history within the walls and the room always being the envy of the league.
“I remember when Saskatchewan moved into our dressing room for the 1997 Grey Cup. Their players liked out dressing room so much they didn't want to leave. Every time there's been a game here visiting players want to look at our locker room.”
It's been the best digs in the league from beginning to end. And while he feels as nostalgic as all those old players, Mandrusiak has been highly involved in the design of the new place. While
he hopes this team can extend this season into the playoffs, he can't wait for the players to walk into the new dressing room next year.
But last night he was like everybody else.
“I always knew when a player was about to retire at the end of the season. They'd always stop and look around the room before they left at the end of the season.
“It was like they were taking a last look.”
Twenty-five of them took one last, last, look last night.
