If you are well acquainted with the movie Field of Dreams you may remember a touching moment when the young Archie "Moonlight" Graham gets his chance on Ray Kinsella's Iowa cornfield to have a major league at bat. He hits a sacrifice and tips his hat to the crowd on his way back to the bench. Then - the key scene - he exchanges a knowing glance and smile with Ray: a look of fulfillment and gratitude.
This moment passed between myself and Mr. Braley prior to a Lions - Argos game at the SkyDome in 2011.
I had purchased the game tickets two weeks before the game from a vendor in Ottawa. Remember there was no team in Ottawa at the time and attending a live game was a big deal. I was taking my wife and two children.
I lost the tickets somehow between the kiosk and home and was unable to afford to replace them. I wrote to David Braley care of the Argos and told him the circumstances and how much we cared for the CFL. I told him where we had chosen our seats - southeast goal line field level - and invited him to come and say hello to us if we managed to straighten out my snafu with the tickets.
Prior to kickoff and during the warm-ups Mr. Braley was indeed walking on the sidelines near our seats. For a fleeting moment our eyes met and there it was, the Field of Dreams look that passed between a man and another who had granted his inmost wish.
I probably imagined that he saw me but I prefer to think that he did.
Especially now.
Peter Boyle.