For the past 100-125 years or so, Canada and the United States have been the best of friends. That’s why it’s so strange to see political tensions rising between us and our neighbors to the north, and it’s spilled over into sports. Just another complication for Laurier University product and Canadian quarterback Taylor Elgersma, as he goes through the NFL Draft process.
Elgersma won’t be at the Scouting Combine this week in Indianapolis, due to the procedural process of combine invites.
There is nothing political as to why that is the case, it’s just boring bureaucratic nonsense. However, he did go to the Senior Bowl in Alabama, and many scouts in attendance considered him to be the best QB there. Elgersma was the first quarterback not from a college in the United States to attend the Senior Bowl, and he could make history again this NFL Draft.
No player from a college outside of the USA has ever been drafted by a NFL team. And Elgersma is a very underrated prospect that brings a lot to the table.
“Leadership is something I bring. I think I bring a ton of toughness as a passer, and you need a lot of that to play this position at a high level,” Elgersma said in a one-on-one interview with RG. “You have to pair that with being the operator and chief communicator within your offense.”
Taylor Elgersma flies under the radar not just because he plays the Canadian version of football, but because he does so at Laurier, a place most Americans have never heard of. It’s located on the outskirts of the western exurbs of Toronto. You can drive from their home field to the CN Tower in about an hour and a half.
You may know that building from its appearance in a popular music video, one whose title and message reflects the sentiment story of the NFL Draft stock belonging to Taylor Elgersma: “started from the bottom now we here.”
But Elgersma could help get sports fans talking about Canada & America, or Canada versus America on a different topic.
The Four Nations Faceoff, a tournament of their national game, ice hockey, lived up to the hype and more.
We won the round robin part of the competition, over everybody, beating the Canadians in Montreal along the way. However, they won the game that mattered most, beating us in the tournament title game in Boston.
The booing of the anthem, hey, I get it, it’s very understandable, given the political climate right now. However, tensions between us are over the stupidest and most superficial of circumstances possible.
Let’s all just try and move past this.
Sports can help, and we saw that in the 4 Nations Faceoff. We’ve seen that on the gridiron too.
Canadian born players often make their way to the NFL. Look no further than Cincinnati Bengals tailback and Pro Bowl alternate Chase Brown.
And his twin brother Sydney, who is a back-up safety on the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Like Taylor Elgersma, they hail from Ontario. In short, Canadians can ball, so let’s recognize that.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter..