As a member of the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, Keith Shologan has more than made a name for himself.
The Rochester native, now in his fourth season in the CFL, has become one of the league’s preeminent defensive tackles. After four successful years at the University of Central Florida, he was drafted by Saskatchewan in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2008 entry draft. He tried out for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League before settling in with the Roughriders, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Of course, the same can’t be said for the ball carriers he routinely brings down in game after game. If you’re trying to score a touchdown against Saskatchewan, you know Keith Shologan. His impact on the league was recognized last year when he was named the Most Valuable Canadian in the 2010 Grey Cup game. His Roughriders lost that tilt to the Montreal Alouettes, but it was a statement game for Shologan.
This year, Shologan’s Riders have struggled out of the gate to a record of one win and four losses, putting them ahead of only the winless B.C. Lions in the CFL’s West Division. But there’s plenty of football left.
“We’ve had our ups and downs and our record is not very good right now. The first couple games we didn’t look very good at all, but the last two games the defense has come alive,” said Shologan, on the line from his home in Saskatchewan. “We need to get together as a team, one big unit, and play with emotion and heart.”
Shologan pointed to the team’s lone win of the season, a 27-24 triumph on the road in Montreal on July 24, as proof that this year’s Riders have what it takes to compete with the best teams in the league.
“If we play with the same emotion that we did against Montreal, we’ll start to rack up some wins.”
The Montreal game may have been a bit more personal for the Roughriders, since it’s the Alouettes that defeated them in last year’s Grey Cup. But Shologan says that a lot has changed in ‘Riderville’ since that game.
“When you go to the Grey Cup two years in a row, everyone expects you to do extremely well. But we lost some of our big key fundamentals that got us to those Grey Cups,” he said, naming departed players like Jeremy O’Day and Chris Szarka as examples. “Losing those guys is hard. Add in a coaching change and a new (head office) regime and a lot of things have changed. It’s a completely different team.”
That said, neither Shologan nor any of his teammates expected these kinds of struggles. But all professional athletes know that success is a moving target, and where you are after five games isn’t necessarily where you’ll be at the end of the season. It’s important to remember that when you’re playing in a football crazed province that can lose its patience with an under performing team very quickly.
“You’re always going to have your naysayers,” he said. “They’re good fans and they’re always going to cheer for you. When you’re losing they’re a little more vocal, (but) you love to have fans that care about you. They want you to be winning, they’re so passionate about it.”
And there’s probably no Riders fan anywhere that wants the team to win more than Shologan does.
“When you’re 1-4 there’s always going to be tension. We need to stay as positive as we can and always have an upbeat attitude. The CFL is so tight and close together, any team can win. As long as you get out there and give it a good effort, it’s going to come down to the wire,” he said. “Hopefully the balls start bouncing our way and we start getting some wins.”
Football is a game of inches, and last week’s best team can easily become this week’s worst, and vice versa. So the Roughriders could start winning games and wind up in their third straight Grey Cup. Conversely, they could continue to struggle and have a disappointing season.
Whatever happens in the Canadian Football League this year, Keith Shologan is happy to be there.
“Saskatchewan is one of the best places to play football,” he said.
“Your CFL career is not very long, so you’ve got to love what you’re doing.”
