It's probably all lost on the current group of Edmonton Eskimos beyond Ricky Ray and Jason Maas.
This current team is made up almost entirely of players who play for Edmonton, but have not become true Eskimos.
Few 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 transferrable.
But today's team should know that last night 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 are housed, a room which may begin to be gutted by this time next week.
NO BIG DEAL?
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, state-of-the-art one.
"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 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 teammates. 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's 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 daughter's 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,'' Mandrusiak said.
''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 that flood back at a time like this.
THE PRIDE
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 our dressing room so much they didn't want to leave."
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. 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 - like they were taking a last look."
Twenty-five of them took one long, last look last night.
TERRY.JONES@SUNMEDIA.CA
