New Saskatchewan Roughriders' kicker Campbell Fair never stopped chasing his football dream after he was let go by the Edmonton Elks in 2023.
"I basically proceeded like I was still playing on a football team," Fair told voice of the Green and White, Dave Thomas. "Every day I would go to the field, kick, do some running, and then after that I would go to the gym. It was a little bit more of a load because I also had to work a nine-to-five job before. Luckily, the business knew that I was pursuing this, they were very accepting of it, and they were pushing me as much as they could."
Once Fair got the call from the Green and White, he had quite an adventure to arrive in the Queen City.
"I got the call on Monday night around 8 p.m. They told me they wanted me to come out, but it would have to be a bit of a journey. I left around 9:30 p.m. on Monday night, slept in Hamilton for a couple of hours, drove down to Buffalo the next morning and had a few connecting flights. We had cancellations and delays," Fair said. "We had to reorganize everything, but finally got back on Wednesday morning at 3 a.m., then got to kick Wednesday. That went well, I got to kick again Thursday, and that went well as well."
For Fair, he has a straightforward view on how he sees this opportunity with the Riders.
"My mindset is to approach every day like I'm going to be kicking on the weekend," Fair explained. "In case it does happen, that puts me in the best position to succeed -- take it one kick at a time and hope for the best."
Before his pro career, Fair spent time in U Sports playing for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees from 2018 to 2022. He earned the Gee-Gees’ Chris Evraire Award in 2022 for Special Team Player of the Year and was an OUA second team all-star. Later, he would make it to the CFL when the Edmonton Elks selected him in the sixth round with the 51st pick in the 2023 CFL Draft. He split time initially with the Elks before having a shot with the Stampeders in training camp in the same year and eventually spent some time on the Riders practice roster.
"In Ottawa, it was pretty good because I got to work with Lewis Ward, who was the kicker there before me. He stayed in Ottawa, so he came out and would help me and give me some good tips," Fair explained. "I also got to be my own boss there, I was left to myself to work on my craft. That forced me to be self-sufficient and if there was a problem, I had to figure it out on my own."
The Roughriders travel to Calgary to take on the Stampeders on Saturday. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates have the pregame show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen to our comprehensive coverage on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
