Andrew Bighill taught his son Adam a ton of important life lessons over his seven decades-plus on this planet, with many of those teachings visible from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker every single day.
Those traits are built around the basic ethic of hard work and are represented in Bighill’s leadership and his unrelenting pursuit of excellence. There’s a respect from teammates and coaches that comes from seeing that repeated over time, too.
Incredibly, the respect for Bighill in the Blue Bombers locker room – already in the stratosphere – jumped to new levels over the past week.
Bighill lost his father Andrew on June 27th due to a sudden illness, not long after he had arrived to be at his side in a hospital in Portland, Oregon. A few days later, Bighill was back with his teammates in Montreal, doing his thing in a 17-3 victory over the Alouettes.
On Thursday following walk-through practice in advance of Friday’s home date with the Calgary Stampeders, Bighill spoke to the media of his father’s influence and his legacy.
“Just to be honest, I’ve been a lot of better. It’s a point where I’m a bit numb,” Bighill began. “There’s been lots of emotions – sadness and crying and then it’s lots of emotions of happiness and joy of happiness and joyous memories in reliving and celebrating my dad. Then there’s the in between where I’m kind of at now because I’ve done so much over the last week. I just feel a bit numb in the middle now.”
“I’ve been a lot better, but I’m thankful for the family I have back home and to be able to spend time with me and just my teammates and my family here who have all reached out to give their support and condolences. That stuff helps. A lot.”
Bighill’s drive to succeed comes from his parents and especially his father, who inspired him to worker harder than everyone else and to set a standard higher than everyone else. And he did it with so much love it left an indelible imprint on his son.
“He was the most unselfish person I’ve ever known,” said Bighill. “He gave everything he had to ensure my success and be there for me.
“I told him when I was seven that I was going to play professional football. He gave me the words of encouragement and the tools to be able to do so and it was my job to run with it and I did. When I talked to him when I was there (at the pro level) I told him, ‘We did it. We made it here.’
“No matter how many doubted me, what cards were stacked up against me, we made it because we made it happen. I’m just really thankful he gave me every opportunity he could to help me along the way and I did the rest by honouring him and putting in the work.”
That’s why it was so important for Bighill to travel from Portland to Montreal for the game on Canada Day. It was a tribute to his dad, but also his way of honouring and respecting what his father would have said if he was still alive – play the game.
“It was very important just because I know my dad would never want me to miss a game,” said Bighill. “He was a very unselfish person who didn’t want anyone to worry about him. He wanted me to be at my best and didn’t want anything to take away from my performance or my ability to do what I do.”
“The fact that he would have wanted me out there playing, it was important to take care of all the business I needed to take care of when I was back home but be able to get my mindset back to be able to play a game. That, in the most important way, was honouring him.”
That effort and performance – in the wake of losing his father – wasn’t lost on Bighill’s teammates.
“I can’t say enough good things about Adam Bighill,” said quarterback Zach Collaros. “He’s the consummate professional, he’s somebody I look to for leadership, for mentorship – whether it’s a football player in the building or being a dad or being a husband or just living everyday life.
“I know it was difficult for him. I’m sure he admitted that to you. He had a special relationship with his dad and any time somebody goes through something like that, it’s tough. Obviously, it’s tough on him and everybody takes a step back and thinks about their own life and puts things into perspective.”
Amidst the emotion, Bighill also spoke with a great deal of pride about his father on Thursday. Asked what he will remember most about his dad, Bighill didn’t hestitate.
“It’s pretty simple – love,” he said. “His love and unselfishness are the biggest things that stick out to me and those are the things I want to carry forward as a legacy for my family. I want my kids to have those feelings.”
More on the Blue Bombers vs. Stampeders in this week’s Playbook…
TOWERS OF POWER:
It’s no coincidence the Blue Bombers’ defensive front was an absolute force in the win over Montreal last week, for when veteran Jackson Jeffcoat is on the field at the same time as Willie Jefferson, QBs and offensive linemen quiver in their collective cleats.
That’s not a shot at rookie end Celestin Haba, who has been so solid to start this season, but having Jeffcoat back and part of the D-line rotation is massive.
“It’s definitely frustrating missing games, but that’s just how football works sometimes,” Jeffcoat told bluebombers.com this week. “All I can do is control what I can control and keep moving on. If I fixate on it and wonder what’s wrong right now, then I’ll drive myself crazy.
“I’m back and I’m trying to do everything I can to help us win football games. That’s really the only thing I can do right now.”
Jeffcoat officially didn’t record a stat in the win over Montreal, although – apparently – the updated statistical package will indicate a sack originally credited to Ricky Walker will now go to him. In any case, his presence was noticeable against the run, in containing and in pushing O-linemen back into the pocket.
“I was running all over the field trying to make plays, trying to get pressure on the quarterback, taking on doubles or chips or whatever they sent my way,” he said. “I was just trying to get there whatever way I could. It was my first game back and so there’s always something to improve on.
“I have to keep looking ahead because I’m in it now. I’m doing what I want to do. I’m back to playing, back to being out here with the guys. Ultimately that’s what makes me happy. I’m here to play and do what I can do. The injuries are in the past and we’re just going to keep working to get better from here out.”
“Having Jackson back on the other side of me helps the defence out a lot,” said Jefferson. “It helps us because teams aren’t able to just slide to one side and double-team me, because if they do then Jackson is going to have an amazing game. If they do the same thing to Jackson then I’m going to have an amazing game. So, pick your poison.”
BRILLIANT BRADY:
Ladies and gentlemen, leading the CFL in rushing through the first four weeks of the season… Brady Oliveira of the Blue Bombers with 327 yards, including a 120-yard effort in last week’s win over Montreal.
“My main goal is to be available every single week,” said Oliveira when asked by Calgary play-by-play man Mark Stephen how much of an honour it would be to win a rushing title. “That’s for my teammates. I want to go out there and honour my teammates every single week and battle with them in the huddle and go out there and give it my all.”
It’s been quite the transformation for Oliveira, who this time last year was struggling with the expectations of replacing Andrew Harris as the team’s feature back before rebounding to crank out a 1,000-yard season.
“I look at where I was last year at this time to where I am now and it’s night and day,” he said. “It’s a totally different Brady, a totally different running back. When I’m on and this offensive line is on, we do such great things in this offence. It’s about stacking good games after good games and stacking the experiences from every single game because there’s nothing better than game reps and seeing a whole variety of looks. It’s about getting that vet savviness and it’s starting to come to me now. I’m playing a lot cleaner, a lot smoother, a lot faster because I don’t have to think as much.”
MORE TO GIVE:
The Blue Bombers will be facing a Stampeders team coming off an OT loss to Saskatchewan and a bye week. Interestingly, for as good as the defence was in Winnipeg’s win a week ago, that crew also spoke all week about the plays they left on the field.
“The next step from last week for the defence is just to be better,” said Jefferson. “We had a lot of missed opportunities we’ve just got to finish and get off the field to end drives. We’ve got to limit the mistakes. You’ve got to find the little things and work on those things, too.
“We just build off the energy; off the camaraderie that we built that week. We finished that game offensively, defensively, special teams on a high note. We just want to bring that same energy, motivation, and outlook into this game.”
