Chris Getzlaf fought for roster spot at every level of football

Everywhere Chris Getzlaf played football, he had to work his way up the depth chart.

“Every level of football I ever played I started on the bench and then worked my way onto a starting role,” Getzlaf said.

But with a competitive spirit cultivated during his childhood, Getzlaf eventually helped his hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders win their fourth-ever Grey Cup.

“Growing up here, you have so many different connections, family and friends that all live in the city and go and be at the game so being able to share that with them after is pretty special,” Getzlaf said when asked about the 2013 Grey Cup.

Born in Regina, Getzlaf always bled green when it came to CFL football.

“Even though I was super young, the ’89 Grey Cup was super big in the province,” Getzlaf said “The legendary names. You have (running back) George Reed, your (Ron) Lancasters, (Don) Narcisse, (Ray) Elgaard, being able to see some footage of them was pretty special with what they were able to do.”

Getzlaf and his brother Ryan always had sports play a major role in their lives.

“That just started with our parents. They were very involved in sports for the bulk of their lives into their 50s. They allowed us to play whatever we wanted and try multiple things and supported us in doing that no matter what we were trying to do,” Getzlaf said.

“The competitiveness in the household was kind of off the charts and everyone trying to one-up everyone.”

While Getzlaf played baseball and hockey, even trying out for the Pat Canadians SMAAAHL team, he decided to focus on football heading into his final year of high school.

“I just grew to love football and enjoy it more than hockey. Football became more of a passion at that time so I just wanted to focus on it,” he said.

After high school, he wanted to continue playing football and one of the only teams to show interest in him was the Regina Thunder.

After four years of junior football, Getzlaf elected to join the University of Regina Rams. While he was able to declare for the CFL draft after just one year because he attended classes while playing with the Thunder, he decided to play an extra year.

And while many players would have stayed glued to their computer screens waiting to see their name show up on draft day, Getzlaf was actually travelling to California to visit his brother Ryan, a member of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

When the draft started I was still on the plane and then when I landed, at that time I didn’t have access to be able to listen, and it was a couple (of hours’) drive to get to my brother’s place,” Getzlaf said.

“Ironically enough I had just gotten to my brother’s who was also watching online so I actually got his place when my name was actually announced.”

Getzlaf was picked by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the fifth round, 33rd overall.

But it wouldn’t be long before the Roughriders would trade for his rights. Getzlaf was traded to the Roughriders with running back Corey Holmes in exchange for slotback Jason Armstead on Aug. 19, 2007.

“I had just finished bye week with the Ti-Cats and I had flown home (to Regina) and bought a new vehicle and drove it back to Hamilton and two days after getting back there I got called into (head coach) Marcel’s (Bellefeuille) office and he had told me I got traded to Saskatchewan after driving 32 hours,” Getzlaf said.

But with the Roughriders having a lot of Canadian depth, Getzlaf found himself in a familiar position trying to prove himself to the coaching staff.

“I think my experience throughout my entire football journey really helped me with that. There’s a lot of guys that make it to the professional level that were always the guy. They were always one of the better players on the team and in a star role then when you get to the professional level it’s not really the same because they have to start from a practice roster position or on the bench and try to find a way on which lots of them may not have been used to,” Getzlaf said.

Getzlaf spent the 2007 Grey Cup-winning year on the practice roster but would finally get an opportunity in 2008 and he wouldn’t look back.

Along with fellow Canadian receivers Andy Fantuz and Rob Bagg, the trio would become known in the CFL as the Canadian Air Force.

“We were all kind of at the start of our careers and were able to develop into starting roles. We kind of grew together and was able to put it on the field and it’s nice to be able to get special name recognition for a group that’s out there and for us to have that was something that was pretty cool,” Getzlaf said.

He spent eight full seasons with the Green and White.

During that time he dealt with the lows of the 2009 Grey Cup, a 28-27 loss to the Montreal Alouettes that lives on in infamy for Roughriders fans.

“It was devastating. You work so hard with a group of guys each and every day to get to that point and you play a really good football game and in a span of six or seven minutes, you just watch it all dwindle away and end the way that it did,” Getzlaf said.

But also the highs of winning the 2013 Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium.

“(That season) had its up and downs. We started off pretty damn strong but went on a four-game losing streak. We had some outside distractions with some players who got in trouble outside of the game and for us to be able to come together and stick together for the ultimate goal, and for that goal to happen at home, was pretty special,” Getzlaf said.

In the second quarter of the game, Getzlaf caught a ball at the one-yard line and went out of bounds just short of scoring a touchdown.

“I give Durant a hard time all the time. I ran a great route and he did throw a great ball but I just always tell him, ‘You couldn’t lead me a few more yards.’ ”

While he didn’t score the touchdown, the Roughriders won the game 45-23 and Getzlaf was named the most outstanding Canadian.

Getzlaf enjoyed a lot of success with the Roughriders but would not be re-signed after the 2015 season.

“I’d been there for so long and you don’t see yourself playing with another team after being a part of an organization for as long as I have been. That’s the way professional sport works. As long as they’re willing to have you, I definitely would have been here,” Getzlaf.

He signed with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2016 but would get released midway through the 2017 season.

He re-joined the Roughriders in 2017 and played in a playoff game that year.

On Jan. 4, 2018, Getzlaf decided to hang up the cleats and retire. He finished with 414 catches for 6,192 yards and 41 touchdowns.

He still says having to work up the depth chart everywhere he went had a profound impact on his career.

“You’ve got to show them what you can do in practice before you’re able to get a chance on the big stage and hopefully you’ve prepared yourself to a point where you’re able to grasp it and hold onto it,” Getzlaf said.

And as he looks back on his career, it calls it an “absolute blast.”

“I got to play a sport in my hometown for my hometown team. I won a Grey Cup and was a part of four different Grey Cups in one way or other, a bunch of winning seasons. Most importantly I got to go to work every day with a bunch of buddies and play a game,” Getzlaf said

This Rider Alumni feature is appearing the day the 2020 Roughriders were scheduled to play the Ottawa Redblacks. The 2020 season is on hold due to COVID-19.