For a while, Ismail did sound like he had quite a set of pompons. “I’m here to have some fun in the great north,” he reportedly said, while his fellow Argos, whose combined salaries do not equal his, sweated through camp. “It’s just not that serious a thing.” Ismail’s very contract, which called for him to receive a $50,000-$100,000 car and a part ownership of the franchise, looked like an act of arrogance. Any blame for that, though, belongs to Bruce McNall, 41, the Los Angeles coin dealer who owns the team in partnership with hockey star Wayne Gretzky and film comedian John Candy. McNall appears to be gambling, as he did, successfully, with the L.A. Kings of the NHL, that one player of Gretzky-like appeal can turn the operation around. The Argos arrangement certainly started well: after Ismail signed, season-ticket sales doubled to 25,000.
Love could bloom again between the Rocket and the fans. If he plays, as expected, this week, all may be forgiven. The criticism, he says, is “nothing I didn’t expect” and he is confident he’ll be effective. “Once they see me play,” he says, “the other players will bring up their level.” Grover Covington, a defensive lineman for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, already sounds psyched. “The thought of hitting someone who earns that much money appeals to me,” he says. “It’s something I can tell my grandchildren.” If the Rocket lives up to his potential, though, he may be bragging that he just got close.
