Two months after the mother of all Regina-based Grey Cup Festivals, Chris Best became a father for the first time.
His daughter, Libby, was born in January of 2014.
“I have pictures of her as a newborn in the Grey Cup, actually,” Best recalls from Victoria, B.C. “Everything goes fast when you have kids.”
Consider how quickly nearly 10 years have elapsed since Best helped the Roughriders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 at historic Mosaic Stadium.
That championship team, the fourth in franchise history, is to celebrated on Oct. 7 — Legends Night, presented by Purolator — when the Roughriders oppose the Tiger-Cats (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
At halftime, tribute will be paid to this year’s SaskTel Plaza of Honour inductees — the 2013 Roughriders (in the team category) and the late Wendy Kelly (builder).
Best knows the routine.
He was also a member of the Grey Cup-winning 2007 Roughriders, who entered the Plaza in 2010. The 1966 and 1989 championship teams were also enshrined that year, when the Roughriders’ 75th anniversary was commemorated.
Best, Darian Durant, John Chick, Chris Getzlaf, Neal Hughes, Mike McCullough and Rey Williams are the only players who were with the 2007 and 2013 Roughriders.
As a CFL rookie in 2007, Best played in three games. By the time Saskatchewan began what would be its next championship season, he was an established starter — someone who had been named the team’s top offensive lineman in 2011.
With Best at right guard, Saskatchewan won seven of its first eight games in 2013. However, a torn arch in his left foot sidelined him for the next nine contests. He returned to the lineup for what proved to be a meaningless game in terms of the standings — a 30-26 loss to Edmonton in the regular-season finale.
Best then helped the Roughriders win all three of their post-season games by a combined score of 109-61.
After rallying for a 29-25 victory over the visiting B.C. Lions in the West Division semi-final, Saskatchewan upended the host Calgary Stampeders 35-13 to earn a berth in the 101st Grey Cup game.
The one-sided win over Hamilton gave the 2013 Roughriders a 10-1 record with Best in the lineup for games of consequence.
He was part of a formidable offensive line that also featured left tackle Xavier Fulton, left guard Brendon LaBatte, centre Dominic Picard and right tackle Ben Heenan.
Offensive linemen Patrick Neufeld (who was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Oct. 6, 2013), Dan Clark, Devin Tyler, Corey Watman and James Lee also saw regular-season action for the 2013 Roughriders.
“It was a really great group of guys,” Best says. “We really got along well.
“We never had issues with our extra meetings or getting our weights in. We really had a group that wanted to do the extra stuff together, which is so important at that level.
“It was a very special group and I’m really happy to have been a part of it.”
The offensive line provided quarterback Darian Durant with airtight protection while also clearing holes for Kory Sheets, who rushed for 2,040 yards in 18 regular-season and playoff contests in 2013.
“Even though we were in a stacked West Division, we knew we had the horses in the room to make it happen,” Best says.
“At times, it was almost like, ‘All right, guys, let’s not screw this up. We know we’re good enough. Let’s not be our own worst enemy.’
“Luckily, we found a way and everything went the right way for us. Luck is an incredible part of that. Of all the teams I was a part of, that was probably the most special.”
The same description applies to the lead-up to Grey Cup 2013.
“We were mostly sequestered in the hotel that week — and I was good and I stayed in that hotel — but you could just feel the energy in the streets,” Best says.
“Everybody was so excited. Everyone was aware of the history, too, in terms of the lack of success, given the amount of time the Roughriders had been playing.
“At that point, Saskatchewan had won three Grey Cups. I thought, ‘Wow. We are destined to win this game. Do not screw this up.’ ”
No worries.
The Roughriders assumed a 31-6 lead at halftime en route to beating Hamilton by 22 points — equalling the combined margin of victory in Saskatchewan’s first three Grey Cup conquests.
“We subbed out Kory Sheets and put in Neal Hughes back behind us to run the ball and run out the clock,” Best says. “We knew the game was in hand then and it was such a relief.
“Then the fans started coming on to the field and all the pageantry started happening. It was just a really special team.”
A most eventful off-season ensued.
“I was on the Grey Cup tour for a little while,” Best says. “Then my wife started reminding me, ‘You’ve got a kid coming really fast here. I don’t really want you up in Prince Albert with the Grey Cup. I kind of want you here,’ so I missed out on a lot of the Grey Cup tour — which is probably for the best.”
Chris and Emily Best now have three children — Libby (age nine), George (five) and Evelyn (three).
The family moved from Regina to Vancouver Island slightly more than two years ago.
An engineer, Best is now a project manager for AME Consulting Group Ltd. Rob Walter, who founded the firm, is originally from Fort Qu’Appelle.
Beginning in 2010, Best worked as an engineer during the Roughriders’ off-seasons. He announced his retirement from football on Feb. 13, 2017.
“Construction timelines are long,” Best says. “So when I was working half-and-half, I’d do some stuff and go away and figure out what happened later, whereas now it’s a full-time job versus a part-time job. It’s a different level of responsibility — and one that I welcome, of course.
“Deep down inside my heart, I always knew I was going to be an engineer. My dad was an engineer, his dad was an engineer, and I believe my great grandfather was a form of engineer. I was always going on this career path.”
Very soon, one path will lead him back to Regina for Legends Night and entire 10th-anniversary celebration of the 2013 team.
“I’m really excited,” says Best, 40. “I was lucky enough that we memorialized the 2007 team while I was still playing. It was special, but it felt kind of like the same sort of stuff I was always doing, whereas in this case I’ve gone away and I’m coming back and seeing all the guys again.
“It definitely feels like a homecoming, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
