Sports


Getting to know Reggie Abercrombie R


Bill Burfoot


eggie Abercrombie is currently in his fifth season with the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Troughout his time with the club, Abercrombie has consistently made spectacular


plays in the outfield while put up great numbers at the plate. . As impressive as his play has been on the field, the man off the field is just as impressive. A constant figure in the community, Abercrombie has become one of the most recognizable and popular sports figures in Winnipeg. We had the opportunity to dig a little deeper, and find out a little more about the Gold- eyes star outfielder.


Q: Where is your hometown? A: Columbus Georgia


Q: What attracted you to baseball when you were younger? A: My high school football coach was actually the high


school baseball coach too and he just told me I had to play just to stay in shape, so he’s the reason I started playing baseball.


Q: You talked a little about it, but did you play a lot of other


sports growing up? A: Yeah I played a lot of football growing up and a little bit of baseball, but my main love growing up was football.


Q: Who was your favorite team? A: Atlanta Falcons


Q: Who were your favorite players growing up? A: It had to be Deion Sanders and Andre Rison. Q: Is there significance with the number 11 that you wear


with the Goldeyes? A: My number used to be number 1, and one day my son


said to me ‘Daddy, why don’t you get two number one’s?’, and I said but that would be number 11, and he said ‘No, it would be two number one’s’, and so I started to wear number 11. Or two number ones.


Q: What are some memories that stand out to you in your


career? A: When I was drafted in by the Los Angeles Dodgers in


1999, and when I had the opportunity to play in the big leagues were probably some of my best memories (Abercrombie played parts of three season in the majors with Florida Marlins in 2006/07 and Houston Astros in 2008).


Q: Te road trips are pretty long in the American Associa-


tion, especially for the Goldeyes who are the only Canadian team in the league. What are some of your must-haves when you go on the road? A: Oh, I’ve got to have Funyuns, potato chips, a sprite or


7-up, and I don’t know if you’ve heard of these things but Vi- enna sausages, they come in a can and are delicious, I’ve got to have those and crackers.


Q: What is your favorite pre-game meal? A: Tat has to be Clay Oven chicken strips, but they’re only


available on the kids menu, but man they’re delicious. Q: Do you have any superstitions that you do before a


game?


Reggie Abercrombie continuously gives his time to the community and has become one of the most recognizable and popular sports figures in Winnipeg. Photo by Dan LeMoal.


A: About an hour before the game I take a shower, lo-


tion up with some women’s body lotion. I actually started this with Tara (Tara Maslowski, Manager, Community Relations & Promotions with the Goldeyes), I stole some of her lotion one day because it smelled good, and I ended up hitting two home runs that game, so now I put lotion on all the time after that. After that I go hit with Tom for a couple minutes, put my headphones in and get stretched out. When the game is about to start I catch the first pitch and then myself and Goldeyes GM Andrew Collier have to hug it out.


Q: What do you do in the off-season when you’re done


with the Goldeyes. A: If I don’t go play winter ball, we’ll usually take a vaca-


tion somewhere, maybe to Florida and try to do the whole Sea World, Disneyworld thing.


Q: What are some of your favorite things to do in Win-


nipeg when you get free time? A: I love the Forks because they have all kinds of food


and there's always something going on there. And I love Wendy’s hamburgers, especially the Wendy’s by Polo Park, it’s the best Wendy’s in the city.


Q: What’s your favorite thing about playing for the


Goldeyes? A: It’s the fans. Te love I get from this community and this city is unreal. I can’t explain the love that I get here is


unbelievable. Just to go out here and play a game that I love to play, and have people cheering my name just because I love playing this game, I love this city for that. I love every fan out here and I it's why I love coming back here to play every summer. It’s a wonderful place to play.


Q: You’re always out in the community, giving back to


people in Winnipeg. Why is that so important to you? A: I love being in the community. I love kids and I love


people. We as players have to realize that this game is short, and some people don’t have the opportunity to do what we do, so sometimes you have to just go out and let people see you. We get paid to do something we love because the fans pay the money to come see us, so to give back to the com- munity should be nothing for us. As athletes, or anyone in this world really, we shouldn’t shade off other people just because we’re different than other people, it doesn’t matter, we’re all people. My mom always taught me that I’m never better than anybody else. I’m always going to be Reggie. I’m always going to have fun. I just love going out to see people, and that’s not going to change.


Q: What advice would you give to an aspiring baseball


player who comes to the games and hopes to one day put on a Goldeyes jersey? A: Just play your heart out. Let this game provide for you


and be the best you can be in it. And always be sure to give back because you always want to be that person who gave back. Not just in baseball, but in all aspects of life.


Shooting for goal: why professional soccer will work a second time


Adam Johnson


mier League, set for play next spring. Pro- fessional soccer this time is set to have a prosperous future, despite some possible challenges. Winnipeg’s past professional soccer


O


history has been spotty at best. From the Winnipeg Fury, who lasted six seasons in the Canadian Soccer League from 1987 to 1992 (and who won the last league championship, the 1992 Mita Cup), to the failed attempt of professional indoor soccer with the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League’s Winnipeg Alliance from 2007 to 2011. This time with ownership from the


Winnipeg Blue Bombers, an organization who has a wealth of sports management experience, professional soccer with Val- our FC has an excellent chance of lasting not only longer than past incarnations but also for future generations to come for these reasons: 1 It's Not 1992 Anymore, Its 2018!: Win-


12 Manitoba Post


n June 6th, professional soccer was reborn in Winnipeg with the launch of Valour FC of the Canadian Pre-


nipeg in 2018 is different than in 1992. We as a city continue to grow thanks to immi- gration. Immigrants coming from various parts of the world including Africa, Europe, and Latin America to Winnipeg do not con- sider hockey as their first-choice sport and prefer other sports, including soccer. Factor 27,000 registered participants among the Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association, mak- ing it the most popular sport amongst our cities youth. Tese two components make us a more diverse sports city while helping it set the stage to become a soccer city. 2. Generation Y: The Net Generation


Gets It: A SportsNet poll last year during Canada’s 150th Anniversary celebrations said soccer was millennials favorite sport to watch was soccer, only behind hockey. Tese results should not surprised consid- ering millennials are the first generation who lived on the World Wide Web and the 500 Channel Universe. Tis has allowed this generation to access the beautiful game from every aspect, ranging from watching games from top leagues on spe- cialty channels geared toward soccer, on- line news publications, to playing the FIFA video game. Its this unfettered access to the world's game which makes this generation the most passionate, knowledgeable about


just saw the Winnipeg Jets in their longest playoff run, yet. However, despite the challenges to come,


Valour FC's entry in the Winnipeg sports market is something fresh. With over 900 member deposits already for season tickets for next year (Tis allows members the op- portunity to buy a maximum of 8 season tickets for 14 home games. Tis means likely a good chance 2,000 or more season tickets will likely be sold. Te team is looking to average 5,500 to 6,500 per game. Valour FC is already on the right track, ten months ahead of the start of the season. Now is the right time to support profes-


sional soccer in Winnipeg. Now is the time to put your investment down on a deposit for season tickets next year. Now is the time to get involved with Red River Rising, the local supporters group of the team as we get ready to back our new club to glory. Thanks to a more diverse city, and a


soccer in Canada and will be the catalyst of Valour FC supporters. While we as soccer supporters await the


kick off of Valour FC’s first home game in 2019, there is still lots of work to do. We face a competitive sports market, with four other teams, in a rabid hockey town, which


www.manitobapost.com


younger generation of passionate and knowledgeable fans, professional soccer will break out and hit the target of success this time around. Adam Johnston is a member of Red River


Rising, the local supporters group of Valour FC. For more information go to www.redriv- erising.ca.


July 2018


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