Football is in his blood. Although he was too young to fully remember or appreciate it, Maxx Forde was in attendance at the 1994 Grey Cup when his father Brian helped the Leos complete one of the best Cinderella stories in pro football history, a 26-23 win over Baltimore on Lui Passaglia’s field goal as time expired. Brian, a middle linebacker who previously spent time in the NFL with New Orleans and Atlanta, played two seasons in the den.
“I don’t remember it much,” the younger Forde admits. “ I was three years old when that Grey Cup was played. I know I was there and we have a couple of pictures. I got to come down to the locker room a lot after games and some of my Dad’s teammates would mess around with me, but I don’t remember much of that anymore,” he said with a laugh.
Age is just a number. So is the position you get drafted. Despite not being selected by the Lions until the seventh round (58th overall) in 2015, Forde emerged as one of the most improved players at this year’s training camp and that allowed the club to cut ties with last year’s first round selection, Ese Mrabure. Despite emerging from Kamloops with a spot on the active roster, Forde is taking nothing for granted as he battles it out on what the club feels is the deepest defence on paper they have had for quite some time. His status as a non-import, Brian was born in Montreal, also gives the Lions more ratio flexibility on the defensive line.
Spending all of his rookie season on the practice roster also proved to be beneficial in his preparation for camp number two in Kamloops. “That definitely helped,” the 24-year old defensive lineman said. “To go against the starters every day and getting pointers from the coaches on what’s going to work and not work, I tried to take that to heart and get better with all of those pointers. I think I had a pretty good camp. I just have to keep improving and I want to do everything I can to help this team,” Forde added.
So it only seems natural the younger Forde would follow in his Father’s footsteps, right? The pride of Woodinville, Washington says it wasn’t necessarily planned from the start and that he actually wasn’t allowed to strap on the pads until after his thirteenth birthday, safety being just one of the reasons.
“He never really forced it on me,” the former Idaho Vandal said. “It was definitely something I wanted to do because I saw him do it and thought it would be cool. My Dad didn’t want me to learn bad techniques that might hurt me or also hurt my development. You see kids who start playing at the age of five and become burnt out by high school. So it was a combination of all of that and I have grown to love the game.”
Adding more intrigue to Forde’s development is the fact his defensive line coach Robin Ross also coached Brian at Washington State in 1986 when the elder Forde set a single season school record for tackles (157) that still stands today. “It’s funny, last year in pre-season Brian came up to UBC when we played Edmonton and I hadn’t seen him in 30 years and now I am here coaching his son,” Ross said. “It’s a small world. Brian was a great player for us at Washington State and that had a career in the CFL.”
Despite not playing competitive football until his teenage years, Forde made up for the late start by studying film of Reggie White and Deacon Jones, two of the most dominant defensive linemen of their respective eras. Although he doesn’t remember much about seeing Dad lace up the cleats, he still considers him his all-time football idol. After all, he is currently wearing the same number 48 Brian donned in his time with the football club.”Hearing from people I know, they say he played the game the right way. I wouldn’t be here without my Mom either. She did a great job raising me.”
As someone who has been coaching for almost four decades, Ross can no doubt appreciate how much a player like Forde has progressed in the last year alone. “He did a great job of improving,” Ross added. “He worked hard in the off-season and made a lot of plays in pre-season. He weighed 260 last year, now he’s up to 280 so he has improved physically and mentally. It shows if you work hard and have goals set, you can achieve those goals. It’s a credit to him and his work ethic.”
After turning heads for a few weeks in Kamloops, you can bet the younger Forde has his sites on being part of a Grey Cup he can remember for years to come. “It’s an exciting time. The group feels ready. I’m excited to get back out there for game action.”
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com