Geroy packing it in

[South Pender]

Well, as I alluded to in my previous post, I think it's possible he'll return to the Lions on a one-day contract to retire a Lion. I could be remembering this incorrectly, but I seem to recall a comment to that effect from someone in the Lions' hierarchy last year (before last season). This wouldn't surprise me at all. I don't think he's burned his bridges here anywhere near to the point that he will be persona non grata in Vancouver.

[Shi Zi Mi]

Agreed.
I would be interested to know if he thinks it was worth it. Sure he got his ring but he did it for a team that really didn't use him much excepting for the Grey Cup. Does a ring really make up for the life time city hero status that he would have had if he had remained a Lion? His departure from the Riders will be a non event compared to what it would have been as a Lion. The loss is irrevocable IMO. He might have been traveling in the same circles as Willie Flemming and Lui Passaglia as revered personalities in this city but not anymore. He traded a lifetime of respect for a moment of glory and I guess only he will know whether it was the right choice or not.

All that and possibly forfeiting a coaching career with the Lions .

I think you guys and others here are over reacting and being way too harsh. I had no problem with Simon getting a last big paycheque in his final year. I like that it was the Riders that picked up that tab that was way too much $ for the low regular season yards and TDs that he came up with. Over paid by 50 or 60k maybe more. I was also glad that he scored in the Grey Cup and that the victory made the season worthwhile for him. He earned the Grey Cup $.

Does anyone think that the San Francisco 49ers fans think any less of their superstars, Rice and Montana because they finished their careers on other teams? To those who seem to hold a grudge against Geroy, I say GET OVER IT.

However you feel about how Geroy ended his career, you should not let it diminish the great memories of so many fantastic plays he made as a B.C. Lion.

Exactly......Buono was unwilling to pay the money....Saskatchewan wasn't. Was Simon a little bitter about that? You betcha.....and he let his emotions get away from him a bit and said things that he would probably love to take back. He also gets a GC ring with a significant contribution in the 2013 GC and gets to go out a winner.....I don't see how anyone could begrudge him that.

Whether retiring a Lion is in the cards or not, it would be a tragedy if the Lions don't find a way to recognize the SIGNIFICANT contributions that Geroy Simon made to the BC Lions.

[notahomer]

I was a little dissappointed with his reaction after TWO BC Lions games (the home game here and the Western Semi). Its an obvious storyline when a guy who is either the GOAT (or in the debate, anyways) is playing against his old team.

I'd like to see his presser. I hope/think he'll be the Geroy I cheered for as a Lion.

[Shi Zi Mi]

Taman has confirmed that Geroy will retire:

Murray McCormick ‏@murraylp 18m

Taman confirms that @geroysimon will retire, Official announcement later in the week #riders #cfl

[Shi Zi Mi]

IMHO, if the Riders had ANY class at all.....they would release him, so that he could sign a 1 day contract and retire a BC Lion

[South Pender]

IMHO, if the Riders had ANY class at all.....they would release him, so that he could sign a 1 day contract and retire a BC Lion

We can hope (at least I hope) that Wally and Taman are discussing this in a way that would allow Geroy to retire as a Lion. In my view, his comments this past season should not be allowed to overshadow his phenomenal career with the Lions and the value he brought to the team for so many years. At the very least, I would hope that Wally proposes this to Taman and Geroy. If Geroy refuses, and would rather retire a Rider, then so be it; it will be his decision. I think it would be unlikely that Taman would refuse if this were proposed and Geroy wanted it.

[Don Miller]

I thought Geroy would retire a Lion. Obviously still harbouring bad feelings towards the Lions organization. The Lions gave him a chance to be star in the league not just a number on the field like he was in Sask other than the Grey Cup game. Too bad your ego got in the way Geroy.

[pennw]

How do we know Geroy wants to retire a Lion ? Has there been any such indication ? If that were to happen then I think most fans would be supportive of it . But should he be harboring ill will towards the Lions still , then, well let him retire a Rider , where he'll soon be forgotten . I don't see his number going up on the wall there . Respect is a mutual thing , Geroy does need to say a thing or two to regain some of what he lost in BC with some of the stuff he said last season .If he wants to retire a Lion isn't the ball in his court ?

[Sir Purrcival]

I don't think there is anything that is over reacting or harsh in what I said. The simple facts are that he chose to leave the team and the community and then had some not too classy things to say after the fact. Nobody forced him out. He made a choice and I think many feel that he turned his back on the team that helped make him a star and gave him top billing for for so many years. If you think that somehow doesn't affect how people feel about him, well, you are a better man than I. I don't call him names or begrudge him a bigger paycheck but it seems pretty clear that business was more important to him at the time and since that is where he put his allegiance, then that is how he should be treated. You reap what you sow. He will be remembered as a great receiver but he will also be remembered as the guy who put his self-interests ahead of the team who made his career and whom he could have helped. The sad thing is that based on his contributions overall for the Riders, it appears that Wally was right in wanting to give him a reduced role. Geroy just didn't want to see it. The Riders gambled that there might be something there to help them out and maybe in the Grey Cup game there was. Now that they aren't gunning for a cup, clearly they seem more that ready to cut ties even on a receiver depleted team.
If the Lions chose to let him retire a Lion, that is their choice. But it won't have anywhere near the impact IMO that it would have if he had chosen to stay a Lion and that is the way of it. As I said initially, only Geroy will know if it was worth it.

[TheLionKing]

How do we know Geroy wants to retire a Lion ? Has there been any such indication ? If that were to happen then I think most fans would be supportive of it . But should he be harboring ill will towards the Lions still , then, well let him retire a Rider , where he'll soon be forgotten . I don't see his number going up on the wall there . Respect is a mutual thing , Geroy does need to say a thing or two to regain some of what he lost in BC with some of the stuff he said last season .If he wants to retire a Lion isn't the ball in his court ?

Well said

[JohnHenry]

It could be Geroy would prefer to retire as a Rider. The Riders stepped up, saying they wanted Geroy and paid him a premium starter's salary. Geroy got neither in B.C. last year...only that his role would be diminished along with his salary. That has to be pretty humbling for the best receiver in league history. Just like any other aging Lion's player who's reached his "best before" date...it's basically "thanks for your years of dedicated service, here's an apple and a roadmap."

[Toppy Vann]

Glen Suitor article says it was not the money and word is leaking that he will stay in football but Suitor doesn't say what the leak says but does add Geroy has indicated TV is an interest. Maybe TSN came calling.


http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/glen_suitor/?id=453750

Retiring with the team you've played for the bulk of your career with has become ordinary practice for most athletes in all sports. However, since entering the league with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Simon has been anything but ordinary, and has followed his own path. Last year he played for the Roughriders, and his best game of the season was the most important game of the season, when he had two touchdown catches in the Grey Cup against Hamilton, so he will retire a Rider.

It makes sense to me that he retires as a Rider - GC champions - and that was his last game and he did get two TDs - so why not.

My own view is that players going back to their old team and retiring without playing is sort of silly. I respect others prefer the current model which I think all pro leagues do where the player gets back to the team who traded him or dumped him and retires there.

Geroy is a proud guy and to ask him to forget that last game of his career as to what team he retires from should be respected.

I hold no grudge against a player who makes his own decisions on these things for their own reasons.

My only ever critique of Geroy was his part in the receivers going to WB then HC and asking for a stronger role for JC and undermining the co - OCs.

I am sure Geroy when he does a media conference which it sounds like he will do will say good things about BC as he has about other places he played. He seems not one to forget where he came from and who helped him. He always gives Stegall kudos for his help.

[DanoT]

Glen Suitor article says it was not the money and word is leaking that he will stay in football but Suitor doesn't say what the leak says but does add Geroy has indicated TV is an interest. Maybe TSN came calling.


http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/glen_suitor/?id=453750

Retiring with the team you've played for the bulk of your career with has become ordinary practice for most athletes in all sports. However, since entering the league with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Simon has been anything but ordinary, and has followed his own path. Last year he played for the Roughriders, and his best game of the season was the most important game of the season, when he had two touchdown catches in the Grey Cup against Hamilton, so he will retire a Rider.

It makes sense to me that he retires as a Rider - GC champions - and that was his last game and he did get two TDs - so why not.

My own view is that players going back to their old team and retiring without playing is sort of silly. I respect others prefer the current model which I think all pro leagues do where the player gets back to the team who traded him or dumped him and retires there.

Geroy is a proud guy and to ask him to forget that last game of his career as to what team he retires from should be respected.

I hold no grudge against a player who makes his own decisions on these things for their own reasons.

My only ever critique of Geroy was his part in the receivers going to WB then HC and asking for a stronger role for JC and undermining the co - OCs.

I am sure Geroy when he does a media conference which it sounds like he will do will say good things about BC as he has about other places he played. He seems not one to forget where he came from and who helped him. He always gives Stegall kudos for his help.

Nice post Toppy Vann. I agree 100%.

Fans need to realize that in this Free Agency era and no guaranteed contracts, fans have a lot more loyalty to teams than players. It is a fact of life that a growing number of players play for more than one team in their career.

One of the things that Geroy enjoyed about playing for the Riders is that he really enjoyed the total football culture that is Regina and all of Saskatchewan. I say good for him and I also say good for us that he spent 12 prolific years with the Lions. Congrats to Geroy.

[WestCoastJoe]

Geroy retiring as a Rider? Does not seem right. His glory years were here in B.C. But it is his choice.

I understand fans being upset. I would say the comments critical of Geroy on this board are mild. For my part, I have very little reaction to Geroy leaving. Part of the game and the business. And he was always very friendly to me, even if I did not always sing his praises on here. He was a real pro in his approach to the game. Hall of Fame all the way.
............

I recall reading about extreme fan behaviour, and hatred over some decisions made by athletes. Gale Sayers chose Kansas over Nebraska. To this day, he gets hate mail from Nebraska fans. He chose the Chicago Bears over the Kansas City Chiefs. He gets hate mail to this day from Chiefs fans. It is in the blood of fans to react strongly. And it is in the DNA of proud athletes to not want to hang up the cleats, and to break the mold of how aging athletes are retired. As noted on here, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice retired away from the team of their glory years, the 49ers.
............

It took so long for the Canucks and Pavel Bure to patch things up. I was very, very happy to see it happen. Very happy. He must be the greatest athlete, the most exciting, to ever play for this city, in any sport. It was very nice for this fan to see how much it meant to him. From his first game, from his first shift, he brought the fans out of their seats.
.............

Geroy choosing to retire as a Rider? Well, that shows some damage to the relationship with the Lions, it seems to me. Hopefully it won't take a decade or more for the rift to heal.

I well recall, back in 2003, Wally's first year here, seeing Geroy take a pass over the middle, and just run away from guys as he turned the corner. Smooth as silk. And on he went, year after year.

[Rammer]

He burned the bridge back to the Lions, to accept him at this point would be showing all the other players that it is fine to call out the Lions as a whole and be accepted back. No thank-you Geroy, retire a Rider, they did everything for you that Wally didn't see you doing for the Lions...not. No love loss from my perspective once he let it be known truly how he felt about the Lions. The way he left it seemed to be about extending his career/catches, which was understandable, but when he called out the Lions in poor form, he burnt that bridge in one interview.