Former Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Mike McCullough wants to set the record straight when it comes to people thinking A.J. Ouellette's bye week plan with his teammates is something new.
"Did we do it? We started it, A.J. The new 45 can not take credit for it because the old 45 was a part of organizing it," McCullough said while chuckling on the SportsCage.
"Our first one, I think it was in 2005, current GM Jeremy O'Day organized it, I think it was six or seven of us. It's good to have a GM who understands how important camaraderie is because that six or seven person fishing cabin trip morphed into about 60 guys coming out to Bon Echo and things like that. It was that the guys looked forward to that, even the guys who aren't real fishermen or outdoors types would be talking about it for weeks leading up. It was a big event because no wives or girlfriends were allowed, it was the guys. It was a great time to get to know each other."
McCullough made sure to credit O'Day and detailed what happened after the initial outing in 2005.
"I'll give credit to O'Day because he started it, but after a few years off then I kicked it back up going to Bon Echo," McCullough detailed. "I think the guys carried it forward for a number of years after I left."
After the Riders lost 48-31 to the Montreal Alouettes in Week 15, Ouellette told the 620 CKRM post-game show what his bye week plans were.
"Chilling for the first couple of days, I'm gonna hang out here, watch a little bit of film, recover. Then I think we're gonna go on a little cabin trip with a couple of the guys, three hours northeast of here, still in Saskatchewan, not Manitoba," Ouellette said. "Gonna enjoy some of the land. Hopefully, there's a lake around there. I'm not too sure about the area yet, fishing or hunting maybe."
McCullough believed the game against Montreal would be a challenge.
"I even talked to some people before the game, I thought it was going to be one of those catch-me games," McCullough said. "It's one of those games where they expect to crush them going into the bye week. You're already thinking of plans, flights, what you're doing, you get distracted and it happens. It was to be expected."
McCullough experienced a similar situation when he was playing with the Riders.
"It was the big thunderstorm rain game in 2007, I think it was delayed. We had to go back into the tunnel or back in the locker room for about an hour. The guys had flights that night, so they weren't even concerned about the game. They're like, 'I've got to fly in two hours. If that's the case, I'm leaving. If they've got to reschedule the game, I won't be here,'" McCullough recalled. "Guys were pissed off because they came in and said, 'If we don't get going in 10 minutes, we've got to delay to tomorrow.' We had about 10-15 guys say I won't be here, I'm going home to see my family. It was a bit of a scene. Luckily, we got started just in time. Those guys as soon as we finished the game raced to the airport and got their flights for the bye week."
That game McCullough mentioned occurred on August 18, 2007. There was a thunderstorm that caused a blackout and led to a 59-minute delay. Saskatchewan ultimately won the game against the Edmonton Elks 39-32 after the delay.
The Green and White selected McCullough in the third round, 23rd overall during the 2003 CFL Draft. He won two Grey Cups in his career with Saskatchewan, the first in 2007, followed by the other in 2013. McCullough was the inaugural winner of the Jake Gaudaur Veterans' Trophy in 2010. During McCullough's spare time in his playing career he volunteered his time and was rewarded with the Mosaic Community Award in 2008 and 2009.
McCullough hung up his cleats in 2014. Altogether in his CFL career, he accumulated 187 defensive tackles, 113 special teams tackles, 11 quarterback sacks and one interception. Saskatchewan enshrined McCullough in the Plaza of Honour in 2022.
The Riders return to action on Saturday, September 27 when the team travels to Edmonton to take on the Elks. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates bring you the pre-game show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen to our thorough coverage on 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
