From Victoria General Hospital in 1998 to the 2022 Canadian Football League MVP. Nathan Rourke’s umbilical connection to his hometown and home province is tenuous at best. His family left when he was three and he grew up in Oakville, Ont., and finished Grade 12 at an academy in Alabama. But the birth certificate and passport he carries around will forever read “Victoria, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½”
“It will definitely have a special place for me [because of that],” said ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Lions quarterback Rourke.
Still, Lions receiver Kieran Poissant, a graduate of the junior football Westshore Rebels, and Langford-raised Ottawa Redblacks offensive lineman Dontae Bull, the Belmont Secondary Bulldogs graduate and first overall selection in the 2023 CFL draft, have more Island lineage heading into Saturday’s Touchdown Pacific game at Royal Athletic Park.
But there will be a very special Island connection when Rourke leads the Lions into battle Saturday at an expanded and sold-out 14,000-seat Royal Athletic Park against the Ottawa Redblacks.
Rourke’s 99-year-old great-grandmother Evelyn of Victoria, who became a bit of a TV sensation as cameras showed her toasting from stadium fan boxes her great-grandson’s success in 2022, will be on hand Saturday at Royal Athletic Park.
“She’s doing well and is fired up to be at the game,” said Rourke.
“I think it’s really cool because we are the British Columbia Lions. It’s great to represent all different parts of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Mr. Doman [Lions owner Amar Doman of Victoria] has done a great job of getting it to as many different fans as possible. And this is a part of that. That fact that I get to play in this game is really cool. The experience will be a lot more memorable if we get a win.”
Touchdown Pacific is as much a celebration and festival in downtown Victoria at Ship Point, but in the end, it’s still a football game between the free-falling Lions (5-6 after a 5-1 start) and the surging Redblacks (7-2-1).
“It’s great to show our American players the beauty of our country, and Victoria is no different. But this is not a vacation but a business trip. It will feel better to get a win Saturday,” said Rourke.
“We are on a five-game skid and we need to turn that around. What better place to do that than here?”
The Touchdown Pacific game sold out in less than an hour when the 14,000 tickets went on sale.
“Obviously, the fans are very passionate and love the game of football and it’s cool to be a part of it,” said Rourke.
Rourke returned to the Lions on Aug. 13 after NFL stints or tryouts with the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons through 2023 and the early part of 2024. Rourke has started the last two Lions games with three interceptions and no touchdown passes in losses to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Redblacks. But the budding feeling among the Leos faithful is that the magic and dynamism from 2022 is just bubbling below the surface and could be ready to erupt Saturday in his putative hometown.
