It could be said that Mike Benson’s gig – bending at the waste and snapping a football between his legs to a target several yards away – has given him a unique perspective on football and life.
It’s a specialized skill with zero room for error. And it’s a job he essentially fell into way back in his high school days as a linebacker at St. Paul’s, offering to take on the long-snapping chores for the Crusaders.
Now some 18 years later, Benson is still honing his craft and will do so for at least two more years after signing an extension with his hometown Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“It’s super funny, but I look back to that day in 2004 at high school football practice,” Benson began in a chat with bluebombers.com. “I’m just a linebacker going to school in Winnipeg who learns to long snap and all these years later I’m still a long snapper in Winnipeg. It’s nice to think about that journey and how football has come a full circle for me from starting here and now I’m back.
“I wouldn’t trade any of it – playing for the other teams and all the experiences I’ve had because it’s made me the athlete and human being I am today. I’m extremely thankful for all those experiences.”
“To come back in 2021 and help win a championship, that was the full circle. And now to be able to say I’m playing for my hometown team, to be back here living and raising a family and with my football family, too, it’s an amazing thing to think about. It’s been an amazing journey, but I’ve still got a lot of miles left in the tank.”
The 2023 season will be Benson’s third in Winnipeg and 10th in the Canadian Football League after stretches in Edmonton, B.C. and Ottawa. He joined the Blue Bombers in 2021 after initially signing with Montreal in 2020, but having that season wiped out due to the global pandemic.
And what has happened since his arrival – winning a championship while he and his wife Chantal now have a 19-month-old son, Wilder – has been dream-like.
“Never gets old,” he said. “Being able to re-sign with your hometown team never gets old. And the unfortunate outcome of last month is going to fuel anybody who is a pending free agent to come back and get it going again.
“Honestly, though, it’s more than that. Winnipeg is my home, and I was born and raised here, but this team is family. It’s the culture and everything Osh (Mike O’Shea), Kyle (Walters) and Wade (Miller) have done to bring in character guys who are also incredible athletes and team players… they’re family. They’re great people. It’s like a family gathering where you never want to go home at the end of the day. That makes re-signing just that much easier.”
“At this point it almost sounds super cliché, but I just don’t think a lot of people really understand that magic. I spent five years in B.C., then Ottawa and Edmonton in bouncing around from team to team. I’ve played with a lot of all-star and hall of fame players and none of those teams or years compare to the two years I’ve played in Winnipeg. It’s just different.
“I’ve played on teams with incredible athletes and incredible guys but the culture and everything that has formed with this team is unmatched.”
Now a veteran of 121 CFL games, the St. Paul’s/Winnipeg Rifles/Acadia University product has parlayed his specialized skill into a career. That’s not lost on him and, again, it’s all part of Benson’s unique perspective. So many players learn to live in the moment. Benson loves every moment.
“It’s one of the things that come with experience and especially into the later years of your football career,” he said. “When I was in B.C. I was really close with Bryan Burnham and seeing him retire, seeing Travis Lulay retire… a lot of guys I was close with at the time have come and gone. That really, really makes you think about appreciating every single practice. Playing a sport you love doesn’t last forever and you have to be grateful for everything that has happened to get you to the point you’re at. I don’t take anything for granted and I’m grateful for where I am.
“My son will come to practice every once in a while… that’s something I’ve dreamed of. I’ve seen my friends bring their families to practice over the years and thought, ‘I wish I could have that.’ Now I do and that makes me even more grateful for those minutes. Building good memories and being grateful, I use that to fuel my desire every day at practice and every game. It’s about more than just yourself.”
