The business of professional football, as unpredictable and unforgiving as it can be, has not diminished Eric Lofton’s passion for the sport.
If anything, it only grows — five stops into his CFL career.
“My love for the game always kept me wanting to keep playing,” says the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 30-year-old offensive tackle, who hails from Lumberton, N.J.
“Also, I grew to love Canada because, at first, a lot of guys down south don’t know how amazing of a country this is. Then, when you get here, it’s, ‘Oh, man!’
“It’s cold — it’s cold as hell — but it’s nice. The people are really nice. I feel like every city has been passionate about their team. You can go into the grocery stores and everybody’s nice to you.
“You just want to be a part of it, so it’s like, ‘Man, I’ve got to get back up there. I don’t care what team it is.’ ”
Lofton had CFL stints with the Ottawa REDBLACKS (2017 to 2019), B.C. Lions (2019), Edmonton Elks (2019 and 2020) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2022) before signing with the Roughriders as a free agent on Feb. 10.
Until this season, Lofton had played in only seven CFL games — one in 2017, three in 2018, two in 2019 and one last year.
He has already matched that games-played total in 2023, having started twice at right tackle before making five appearances on the left side.
At the latter position, he has appeared in each of the past four games — over which Saskatchewan has allowed only six sacks.
After a long wait for such an opportunity, Lofton appreciates the faith placed in him by the coaches and football-operations personnel.
“I tell them ‘thank you’ every day,” he said with a smile. “I’m very grateful that Sask brought me in to compete and entrusted me to protect the quarterback and be a part of this.”
This extends far beyond the playing field and the locker room and pertains as well to Rider Nation as a whole.
“I’ve been around,” he says, “and I know that, coming here, it’s always tough to play. As soon as you walk out of that tunnel, you look up and say, ‘Oh, man … Sask is crazy.’ Everybody is passionate.
“Of course, there’s also the opportunity to compete and really just be part of something special that’s going on.”
That sentiment was reinforced on Sunday, when Saskatchewan posted a 32-30 overtime victory over Winnipeg in the 58th Labour Day Classic.
“It was wild,” Lofton marvels. “Being on the other side of it for the first time was amazing to experience. You truly find some of the best fans in the world.”
Lofton saw the Roughriders-Bombers rivalry from another perspective while with Winnipeg last year.
“It was tough playing against Sask because it’s such a big rivalry and it means so much to the two places,” he says. “Luckily, I’m on the right side of things now.”
