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March 24, 2016

Former Toronto Mayor had impact on pair of Lions

Tributes to former Toronto mayor Rob Ford keep pouring in on the week he lost his battle with cancer at the age of 46. If one thing is clear, the country has lost one of its more passionate and knowledgeable football fanatics.

A former high school football player and coach, Ford was often seen at Toronto Argonauts games and was known to wear a jersey at city hall come playoff time.

The brash politician also developed a unique bond with Lions receiver Marco Iannuzzi who took some time to reflect on how the two first connected on a Lions trip to Toronto in August of 2014.

left to right -BC Lions player #87 (WR) Marco Iannuzzi tries to get away from Edmonton Eskimos player #37 (DB) Otha Foster during the 1st quarter of CFL game action between the Edmonton Eskimo's and the BC Lions at Commonwealth stadium in Edmonton Saturday, Nov 01 /2014 (CFL PHOTO - Walter Tychnowicz)“We got in two days before the game and had time to kill when we arrived,” recalls Iannuzzi. “I was walking just outside the hotel and noticed Ford with a large group of people, taking pictures and signing autographs. He looked up and yelled my jersey number (87) so it was clear he knew who I was right away.”

What immediately followed after that is more like something you would see in an episode of Entourage.

“He quickly said bye to the group and we jumped in his SUV. We went into a little restaurant and straight to the VIP room. He had to leave not too long after but we agreed to meet for lunch the next day”

Over their second meal in a matter of hours, Iannuzzi recalls Ford sharing all kinds of facts and knowledge about the Argos and CFL in general.

“We talked a lot of football, mainly about Canadian content. He knew the name of every team’s two Canadian receivers. He had all kinds of football stuff in his office. He was a football guy through and through.”

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Ford then invited Iannuzzi to his printing factory and then it was on to the Mayor’s house in nearby Etobicoke.

“He wanted to introduce me to his mom. She woke up and made us sandwiches,” Iannuzzi remembers. “Overall we spent four hours together that day. His phone was ringing the whole time but he just kind of brushed them off .”

 

That encounter in Hog Town was not the last time they would cross paths. Ford showed up to support Iannuzzi when he appeared on the CBC reality game show, Canada’s Smartest Person.Marco smartest person

“He was very ill at that time, really physically not well but he still came and held up my game jersey when the camera panned to him in the audience,” the five-year CFL veteran recalls.

The jersey would wind up being framed in Ford’s house. Over time, their friendship grew even bigger as Ford would get in the habit of calling or texting Iannuzzi after every Lions game.

When the former mayor found out Marco’s mother Cathy suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, he did not think twice about helping out the family.

“I was running an MS fundraiser golf tournament and he would make a few hundred dollars worth of donations online. That meant a lot, “ the 2011 Grey Cup champion notes.

As Ford’s public popularity started to fall, Iannuzzi admits he received some negative reaction to their friendship on Social Media, but he would simply just ignore it.

“I saw nothing but a good, charitable man. We talked about family and how the stresses of his job took him away from the kids,” Iannuzzi said.

As fate would have it, Iannuzzi was thinking about his friend’s battle  as it was about to end.

“I left him a voicemail on Monday to thank him for supporting me at Canada’s Smartest Person and supporting me at the Lions games.” Ford would pass away Tuesday morning.

The former mayor’s connections with the BC Lions did not begin or end with Iannuzzi. One of his high school teammates at Scarlett Heights Collegiate was none other than Lions radio colour man Giulio Caravatta of TSN 1040.

images“Rob was one of the offensive lineman blocking for me, and his brother Doug (the former Toronto city councillor) was my tailback,” the former Lions quarterback recalls.

Caravatta echoed Iannuzzi’s statement about Ford’s character. “When I knew him he was extremely passionate about football and an overall quality guy and all of my teammates would say the same thing ”

Despite not living in Toronto for over two decades, Caravatta knows all about the impact Ford had on the city’s working class. “My dad Giulio Senior loved him. Ford would show up at the Italian halls and play cards with complete strangers. While he was mayor he also hosted public barbecues that many would show up for. How many politicians do that? Rob was a politician that wasn’t a politician, and that is how he related to the blue-collar folks, “ Caravatta notes.

The Lions first ever trip to BMO Field in Toronto is August 31st. If Iannuzzi has any say in it, the game ball may very well end up in Etobicoke.