By Journalism student Steph Crosier
Playing in front of thousands of screaming fans, family and friends for the biggest game of his life, nothing fazed 26-year-old Akwasi Antwi as he played in the 100th Grey Cup Championship game on Sunday, November 25th.
“It was an amazing feeling,” said Akwasi who had 11 special teams tackles for the 2012 season. “It just didn’t turn out the way we wanted.”
Drafted in 2011 to number 47 as a linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders, Akwasi dressed for all 18 season games, led the Stamps with 17 special teams tackles, six defensive tackles, and one fumble recovery.
Akwasi is proud of his professional football stats, but one can also hear the pride in his voice when he talks about his educational achievements, including graduating from Loyalist College’s Customs and Immigration program in 2008.
After moving to Scarborough from Ghana at the age of eight, and then on to Etobicoke, Akwasi played soccer and basketball. In fact, Akwasi did not seriously hit the football field until his last year of high school.
“I never gave football a chance because it wasn’t something that I was introduced to when I first came to Canada,” explained Akwasi. “With my family being from Africa, soccer is second nature. I never gave football a shot until my high school coach asked me to play, saying ‘you’re big, you’re fast.’ So in my last year I went out and I thought ‘yes I can do this, why not?’”
When Akwasi was deciding on colleges he knew that he wanted out of the city, away from the fast-paced environment of Toronto, for his education. He found Loyalist through a friend who was attending the college, and he never looked back.
“I really enjoyed my time while I was there,” said Akwasi. “Loyalist is a small school but you actually get to meet your classmates and it’s more of a community.”
While at the College, Akwasi used the gym to train with help from Professor Larry Cook, who tried to get him on the rugby field.
Instead, Akwasi played junior football in Burlington, a city that is two-and-a-half hours down the 401 just beyond Toronto. Because he only left Loyalist on the weekends, Akwasi wasn’t able to practise with his team. For away games, the team picked him up on the way to Ottawa or Montreal.
During the week, Akwasi would time-keep basketball games, work at the gym, and at the Shark Tank Pub as a bouncer Thursday nights.
After graduating from Loyalist, Akwasi decided to continue his post-secondary education in Business at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB.
“Being at Loyalist put my foot in the door in terms of what to expect going into university,” said Akwasi. “It’s all about balancing your time.”
Akwasi was drafted to the Stampeders in 2011 during his third year at Mount Allison, after being chosen to play in the East-West Bowl, an all-star game for Canadian universities.
A year later, recovering from a close win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Akwasi was confident charging against the BC Lions for the Western Final.
“The only expectation was to win and that’s what our mentality was heading into playoffs,” explained Akwasi.
The Stampeders and Akwasi did not go home that night. They beat the Lions in another close game 34-29.
“It was exciting going into the Grey Cup and to play it in front of friends and family,” said Akwasi.
Unfortunately for him and Stamps fans, Akwasi and the Stamps fell to the Toronto Argonauts 35-22.
“We chose the wrong day to not show up and play,” explained Akwasi of the hard loss. “They capitalized on our mistakes.”
Now Akwasi will head home for Christmas but in January he will start his final semester at Mount Allison.
“Education is really important to me,” said Akwasi. “Playing football is a great thing, but it’s a matter of fact that it can be taken away at any given moment. My education has given me something great to fall back on.”