Calgary Stampeders get their closeup on NBC sitcom recalling movie star's CFL days
The Calgary Stampeders were ready for prime time this week.
That's because the Stamps and Calgary, were the focus of Tuesday's episode of Young Rock, an NBC sitcom based on the early years of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
It's no secret that Johnson has a strong Calgary connection, and the season premiere of the series paid hilarious tribute to Johnson's short time as a Stampeder.
"After not hearing my name called by the NFL draft," Young Rock said in the episode, "I was signed by the Calgary Stampeders."
And art imitated life, as the real-life rookie told CTV News' Glenn Campbell in a 1995 interview.
"As one of the newest members what do you have to say to the fans?" Campbell asked young Dwayne Johnson, an aspiring defensive tackle.
"Now we gotta do that here, go 18 and 0, go all the way to the Grey Cup Nov. 19," Johnson told Campbell.
On the show, Young Rock was asked the same question.
"We're going 18 and 0, wooo!" he said.
'ITS AN ADJUSTMENT'
The Rock didn't exactly thrive in his brief stint as a CFL player.
"It's an adjustment (for players)," said Stampeder historian Darryl Slade. "I think a lot of American players have (to make one) when they come up here. I mean, the field is bigger in Canada. There's one more player on the field."
While he struggled to make a dent in the CFL, Slade thinks Johnson's Calgary experience clearly stuck with him.
"I think he liked the people and the city itself," Slade said. "If he had stayed around, he probably would have made a good CFL career."
The show also had fun with the CFL's famously low salaries.
"Practice guys make 350 a week," said the actor playing coach Wally Buono in Tuesday night's episode.
"Dollars?" asked Young Rock.
"Loonies," said fake Buono.
"The CFL is not known for high salaries," Slade said. "Dwayne and about five or six guys were staying in one of the rooms in the motel village (near McMahon Stadium)."
Through flashbacks, fans got a glimpse of memories with coach Wally Buono, as well as teammates Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia, both of whom went on to have successful NFL careers.
"I think it's really nice to see that being featured down in the U.S.," said Slade, who wrote a book about the history of the Stampeders.
The episode was a tribute to a city and team that left an indelible impression on the former WWE wrestling star who went on to be one of Hollywood's top movie stars – and named his production company, which produces the show, Seven Bucks because Johnson said that's how much money he had when he left Calgary.
The rumour is that there will be more Calgary Stampeders on next week's episode.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.