Ritch Dowrey - 3rdDown in dire condition

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A great friend, no bigger fan of the CFL, this news sickens me.

Stay strong bud, we're praying for you.
I'd love you to say it to my face because you'd only say it once...if you ever had the courage to say it at all!! Blitz, 05/24/2008
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David
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Good God. When I read this story in the paper the other day, something in the back of my head thought of "Ritch" even though I didn't really know his last name. I guess I must have read his name somewhere before and it stayed in my subconscious.

This is a very sad story. How someone could do something like that and casually walk away as one media outlet reported it, is sickening.

My thoughts and prayers for a full recovery are with him.

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TheLionKing
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A real hero he is sucker punching someone in the back of the head.
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Lions4ever
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Disgusting. What kind of POS still pulls this crap? Irony: This coward will really get to know what it means to be a "f-----t"........in prison.
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Hambone
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Do you have confirmation that it's our Ritch Derek? I know Ritch does have kids and the age might be about right (although I didn't think he was that much older than me). The article says Dowie but to the best of my knowledge Ritch's last name is spelled Dowrey. Hopefully it isn't one and the same person. Regardless it's a cowardly act.

EDIT: Unfortunately this article seems to confirm the spelling.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columb ... ttack.html
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Also confirmed on his facebook page
I'd love you to say it to my face because you'd only say it once...if you ever had the courage to say it at all!! Blitz, 05/24/2008
Blue In BC
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This is really depressing. What hospital is he in?

He's in vancouver General according to the Province.
Last edited by Blue In BC on Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I just read about this. I don't know Ritch personally, but have posted on many of the same boards as him for many years now and feel like I know him. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. Sometimes I have to wonder about the direction this world is going in. You go Ritch, prove everyone wrong and we all look forward to you joining us again on the boards and at the games!!!!! Get well!
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Any Update?
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Blue In BC
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Hambone wrote:Do you have confirmation that it's our Ritch Derek? I know Ritch does have kids and the age might be about right (although I didn't think he was that much older than me). The article says Dowie but to the best of my knowledge Ritch's last name is spelled Dowrey. Hopefully it isn't one and the same person. Regardless it's a cowardly act.

EDIT: Unfortunately this article seems to confirm the spelling.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columb ... ttack.html
There was a full page with pictures in Friday's Province. So it is our friend Ritch. Here's hoping he'll recover to good health.

This is all so sad
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http://www.theprovince.com/news/assault ... story.html
CFL fan's assault stuns footballers
Avid Lions supporter allegedly sucker-punched in bar remains in intensive care

By Wendy Mclellan, The Province
March 20, 2009

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Ritch Dowrey, who was punched in the head in the Fountainhead Pub and is unresponsive in hospital, is one of the best-known football fans in Canada. His handle on football message boards is 3rdDown.
Photograph by: Handout, Facebook

Canadian football fans were stunned to learn that one of the most vocal CFL fans in the country is in Vancouver General Hospital with a serious head injury.

Ritch Dowrey, 62, was punched in the face at a Davie Street pub last Friday, apparently without warning. The man who allegedly hit him, 35-year-old Shawn Woodward of Vancouver, has been charged with aggravated assault and is scheduled to appear in court today.

Dowrey, the father of two grown children, is in the intensive-care unit with stable vital signs, but remains unresponsive, according to a VGH spokesman.

The Vancouver man is a graduate of West Vancouver's Sentinel high school and Simon Fraser University and active on many CFL fan sites using the nickname "3rdDown."

Many of the sites are filled with dozens of messages of shock over the attack and support for Dowrey, a passionate B.C. Lions fan since the team began in the 1950s, according to one fellow fan.

"Ritch is a legend on CFL fan forums and is loved from coast to coast," said Jean-Guy Dauphinais of Regina. "I've had many great chats with him and he's the type of guy who would do anything for anyone, which is why I can't believe this happened to him."

Matt Giesbrecht, a Winnipeg-based fan, said he doesn't know Dowrey personally, but his passion for football is famous.

"I could talk about what a great CFL fan he is, what a great Lions fan he is and how his love for the game is unparalleled," Giesbrecht said. "He always came across as a genuinely caring guy who went out of his way to make new fans to the game or to the boards feel welcome.

"I am just saddened and angry by this news, and hoping Ritch can pull through."

Coquitlam resident Derek Dale, who runs the fan forums lionbackers.com and 13thman.com, said he knows Dowrey through the message boards and they have met at pregame tailgate parties outside B.C. Place Stadium.

"He could be pretty confrontational -- I kicked him off both my sites -- but that doesn't mean I didn't like him in person," Dale said.

Brian Wawryshyn said Dowrey is passionate about the CFL and the Lions in particular.

"Ritch is a walking CFL encyclopedia and has friends across the country through his travels following the game," Wawryshyn said. "Always smiling, always out to have fun. Ritch is the last person that would start any altercation, and I have no doubt he did nothing to deserve this horrible fate.

"Our CFL community is rocked by this news, and we are all praying for Ritch. He's a strong-willed and stubborn guy, who isn't going down without a fight."

Dowrey was at the West End's Fountainhead pub with a friend March 13 for a game of pool and a few drinks. His friend said Dowrey was standing near the pool table when a man punched him in the face without warning, then walked out of the bar. Witnesses chased him outside and held him until police arrived.

Dowrey's friends say the assault may be a hate crime; the attacker allegedly told people that he punched Dowrey because he was a "faggot" and had touched him.

wmclellan@theprovince.com
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Coquitlam resident Derek Dale, who runs the fan forums lionbackers.com and 13thman.com, said he knows Dowrey through the message boards and they have met at pregame tailgate parties outside B.C. Place Stadium.

"He could be pretty confrontational -- I kicked him off both my sites -- but that doesn't mean I didn't like him in person," Dale said.
Gotta say I'm pissed off at this ...I don't know why the writer would put that in there ... yes I said it but I also said a bunch of nice things about Ritch that didn't get put in the article.

I hope Ritch is doing better, it is a senseless act and this sort of thing shouldn't happen to anyone. Get well soon Rich
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D wrote:

Coquitlam resident Derek Dale, who runs the fan forums lionbackers.com and 13thman.com, said he knows Dowrey through the message boards and they have met at pregame tailgate parties outside B.C. Place Stadium.

"He could be pretty confrontational -- I kicked him off both my sites -- but that doesn't mean I didn't like him in person," Dale said.
Gotta say I'm pissed off at this ...I don't know why the writer would put that in there ... yes I said it but I also said a bunch of nice things about Rich that didn't get put in the article.

I hope Ritch is doing better, it is a senseless act and this sort of thing shouldn't happen to anyone. Get well soon Ritch
I'd like to add that Ritch is confrontational or controverstial "ONLINE" but he is a very nice guy in person ... the nicest in person and is never a rowdy, bully or physical threat to anyone in person. I wasn't trying to imply that Ritch did something confrontational in the situation in this pub. What has happened makes no sense on so many levels. Ritch is a GREAT Guy and when CFL fans from across the country come to town for a game 3rdDown is one of the guys they not only want to meet .... he's on the "MUST MEET" or "gotta see while I'm in town" List.

I also called him stubborn it's a compliment .... the picture I attached is him and I BOTH being stubborn. We were at the first tailgater of the 03 Season ... we had already tailgated the lot under the Cambie Street bridge for 2 years without any incidents. The first game of the season some impark suit shows up and shut down the festivities they had an issue with the BBQ .... Impark had asked me to shut down the BBQ or leave and I said sure give me a refund and I'm out of here .... they said OK ... I waited 30mins for a refund then gave up and decided to fire up the BBQ. All the other tailgaters around left scared that they would be in trouble. When I decided to fire up the BBQ there was strenghth in numbers ... there was about a dozen of us so really what could impark do? Ritch and I were the only two that wouldn't leave ... I can't tell you how much I appreciate Ritch for staying and helping me out.... when everyone else left I then began to think I would be in trouble. but Ritch stayed and we didn't get in any trouble at all .... we feasted of the BBQ and shared a few beers :beer: .. and have ever since. Ritch understood why he was banned from my sites, and being banned from my sites had nothing to do with our friendship.

Ritch showed me his colours that day at the tailgater and has many days since. He is someone you can count on. I don't know much out medical issues but I'm hopeing and praying that Ritch can snap out of this coma so I can sit by my friends side like he did for me that day at the tailgater. If he can get out of that coma he has enough people who know and love him to get him the rest of the way back to good health.

I'm going to post this incase 3rdDown is lurking .... cuz even tho i banned him from the site, i made sure he could read posts here .. we laughed about that at the tailgaters :wink: Hey 3rd snap out of it, your missing some very good threads, and your friends are missing you. Training camp is comin up and we need you
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Here's some news about Ritch as posted by OS99 on another site:
Postby Orangeshoes99 on Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:16 pm
Thanks to Ritch's brother Allan, I was able to visit with Ritch for a short time this morning, and Allan asked me to be the conduit for his CFL friends, who he referred to as "family".

Ritch is still in ICU. He had surgery the night of the incident to relieve pressure on one side of his brain. He came through that surgery, but has remained non-responsive since his arrival. At one point Ritch was removed from a respirator, however he developed a fever and has been put back on and is being treated with antibiotics to get it under control. Once that happens, they will remove the respirator again, and hopefully move him to neurology barring any further complications. At that point I believe it's a wait and see situation.

I talked to Ritch and told him football fans from coast to coast were thinking about him and that he was going to win this fight. The next time I go, I'll bring some CFL articles to read to him.

I have told Ritch's brother that there is already a move to combine our efforts to help Ritch in anyway we can as a community, and he appreciated that.

Please note: At this time, there will be no more visitors, at least until Ritch is out of ICU. The family added me to the list, and my goal is to visit maybe once a week. I'll give updates when I go and as news is supplied from the family. The restriction is mainly due to it being ICU where the nurses first priority is the patient.

Feel free to send me any e-mails and I can read them to Ritch when I visit.

brian@bclionsden.ca
I realize that this comes from a "rival" site, but I did think that people here would want to know what the latest news is.
Enough is enough.
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