Suddenly they're sexy.
OK, not when they're naked.
It's when they're dressed in Edmonton Eskimos uniforms wearing Nos. 51, 56, 59, 61 and 63, that they're turning heads.
Suddenly Richie Hall's hogs, offensive linemen Aaron Fiacconi, Patrick Kabongo, Calvin Armstrong, Kyle Koch and Joe McGrath are stars.
"It's ridiculous," said Koch of all the media demand yesterday.
"We like to hide."
Suddenly there's a dressing room full of media men finding the way to their lockers and people putting cameras and microphones in their faces.
TSN made Fiacconi and Koch Friday Night Football 'Monsters' on successive weeks and presented them with wrist watches. Kabongo was voted a double-nominee for the CFL awards as top Canadian and top offensive lineman.
Coming together in a big way and dominating play in the last two games, the O-line has given the Eskimos hope heading to Calgary for Sunday's Western semifinal.
Ricky Ray hasn't even come close to being breathed on by a defensive player and they've opened holes big enough to drive a Zamboni, much less an Arkee Whitlock.
Inspired by what has started with the snap of the ball on offence, the rest of the Eskimos have come together and found their focus to head to Calgary with belief instead of as a couple cattle cars headed to the slaughterhouse where they lost 32-8 and 30-7 earlier this season.
Until now, being an Eskimos offensive lineman was the equivalent of being in the witness protection program.
The only time these guys would get their names in the paper was when they were setting records for taking holding penalties like Kabongo a few years ago. Or when one of them (Fiacconi) would create news by pulling the sweater over the head of a practice-roster player to hold a hockey fight at practice only to have the guy come back brandishing a shovel.
Suddenly we're finding out stuff about them.
LIVE TOGETHER
Three of them, Koch, Fiacconi and Armstrong, live in the same house in the Capilano area. "I've never been invited over and I hope I'm not," laughed Ray. "They're an interesting group," he said of the collection of characters involved. "But when they show up to work they're hard-working blue collar guys."
As is the custom, Ray takes them out for dinner on occasion. "They're pretty well-mannered guys. When they have food in front of them they're pretty quiet," he said.
"We have a good time together," said Koch. "We joke around and have a lot of fun with each other. We go out together. We have beers together. We eat food together. We'll go to the Royal Buffet together ..."
Together, 1,574 pounds of offensive linemen spread over five bodies walking through the door at Royal Buffet is a manager's worst nightmare.
But now they're a worst nightmare to opponents.
"They've been unbelievable," said Ray. "We're getting big chunks of offence because of them. Big runs. What they're doing has made Whitlock a big weapon for us. In the last two weeks I haven't even been touched."
Why now? Where were these guys in those first two embarrassing games in McMahon Stadium?
"I don't know what it is," said Ray.
"They've been pretty consistent all season but right now they're taking it to another level."
They're the key to what's happening here if, indeed, something is happening here.
'WHERE IT STARTS'
"The offensive line is where it starts," said Ray.
It started with five guys staying healthy and playing 18 games together while there was change all around the rest of the roster.
"Lately I think they just collectively made up their minds that this is what they're here to do," said Hall.
"Just shut up and go play and be physical.
"I think they just figured out that we're only going to go as far as they're going to take us. Everything starts with these guys."
"We started to find consistency and now we're finding credibility," said Fiacconi.
"We're a young group, all about the same age and now we're developing a bit of an attitude together. It took time for us -- the better part of the season."
McGrath said he saw it coming back at training camp.
"From Day 1, I thought we could have the best offensive line in the league and that we'd show it sooner or later."
It was later. But they're showing it.
TERRY.JONES@SUNMEDIA.CA
