Recently announcing his retirement after 21 seasons of professional football, Doug Flutie remains the most electrifying playmaker that I have ever seen play in person.

I remember my father and I siting in the upper deck of a sold-out BC Place in 1991, having witnessed the BC Lions go into the 2nd quarter down by 21-3 to the Toronto Argonauts. The stadium was hosting a capacity crowd for the first time in perhaps a decade in large part due to the Argo’s stunning signing of Raghib ‘Rocket’ Ishmael, who by all accounts should have gone number one in that year’s NFL draft but had decided to play in Toronto after being offered an enormous contract. Vancouver had never been more excited about a CFL game in recent memory and we were horribly behind at the quarter mark. But once the 2nd quarter began, the Lions began to awaken and then Doug Flutie siezed the game in the second half..

In those 3rd and 4th quarters it suddenly seemed as if the diminutive Lions quarterback had everything suddenly click into place. I look at it now as perhaps the moment that marks Flutie’s emergence as the CFL’s dominant player. Perhaps it was sheer talent or a profound competitive spirit, but the way Doug Flutie resurrected the Lions offence with his scrambling, passing and sheer force of will was magical. He would instinctively know when to break out of the pocket, spin away from pursuit and checkdown to his fourth receiver before releasing a pinpoint pass while on his back foot. He would continue to do all this on nearly every down in order to make a play.

Flutie succesfully rallied the Lion’s offence to overcome an initial three touchdown deficit and replied to each of Toronto’s scoring drives, including a last minute drive in order to send the game in to extratime. The Lion’s special teams went on to capitalize on the comeback that Flutie had delivered and the Lions ended up victorious with a score of 52-40. More than just a win, the resurgent Lions endeared themselves to their fans and helped get the franchise and the CFL back on the map in Vancouver.

To this day, it remains the best football game I have ever seen in person, and I owe that experience to Doug Flutie.