Ty Long (1) of the BC Lions during the game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, BC., on Friday, July 21, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)
Black Friday is in the rear-view mirror and Christmas is right around the corner. Trees have been decorated and lights have been hung, but thankfully there is still plenty of time to put off wrapping gifts.
Here at BCLions.com, we are catching up with some of the players and coaches from your BC Lions to find out their favourite things about the holidays. Recently we had the chance to talk with the Lions’ quick-witted kicker/punter, Ty Long.
Ty excelled in his debut season north of the 49th parallel. The UAB graduate led the league with an average punt of 47.9 yards en route to earning a spot on the CFL All-Star team in 2017. Long also split the uprights on 88.6% of his field goal attempts and 81.8% of his point after attempts. The 24-year-old was the Leos nomination for Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player this year.
Q: What do you look forward to most about the holidays?
A: “Every year, I just look forward to getting back home and spending time with my family. It’s great to see my friends and have some time off. The best part of the holidays is spending time with my family and to literally put everything aside for a second and focus on what’s important.”
Q: Do you enjoy decorating the house for the holidays?
A: “Christmas is my favourite holiday. The first thing we did after moving into our new place was setting up the tree and getting all the decorations out. We wanted to get the Christmas vibe going right when we moved in and for me, that means getting all the decorations up.”
Q: Do you have a fake Christmas tree or a real Christmas tree?
 A: “I prefer a real tree, but this year we went with a fake one. My fiancé, Cara, wanted to go with the artificial one. I’ll let it slide to keep her happy this year, but next year we are going all out.”
Q: Do you have a Christmas tree ornament that is particularly special for you?
A: “I personally don’t, but Cara actually collects ornaments and that sort of stuff. I don’t even really get to touch the tree because if I decorate it, I do it wrong. I let her be the boss and do it. I care more about the gifts under the tree.”
Q: What is the best gift you have ever given?
A: “Probably an engagement ring. I got engaged to Cara in November and I told her that the ring counts as a present this year.”
Q: What is the best gift you have ever received?
A: “When I was a kid, I wanted to play hockey and my parents got me all the equipment so I could play. I didn’t play hockey for very long, but I’ll never forget getting all that gear. It was a lot of fun.”
Q: What is your favourite Christmas movie?
A: “Hands down, it’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It’s a classic and we watch it every single year.”
Q: What is your favourite Christmas song?
A: “I can tell you a Christmas album I don’t like that my fiancé plays every year, the Justin Bieber Christmas album. Personally, I am all about listening to Michael Bublé around Christmas.”
Q: Are you planning to do any traveling during the holidays?
A: “This year, Christmas will be even more hectic. I will be spending Christmas morning in Birmingham where my fiancé’s family lives and then we will drive all the way to Atlanta to spend mid-afternoon with my Grandma, and then head to my family’s place in Atlanta at night. We are just going to cram everything into that one day. I’ll even have my dog with me, so it will be interesting.”
Q: What kind of food do you eat for Christmas?
A: “For Christmas morning, it’s usually the southern style food. We have casseroles, mac and cheese and stuff like that. At night, it is more of a steak and lobster dinner. Christmas Day is a good day of eating with my family.”
On behalf of Ty Long and the BC Lions, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Be sure to check back with us when we talk to Micah Awe about his Christmas traditions.