Football
Geroy Simon Night
It might have taken a while but the BC Lions are as professional as any major league team in any league both with community involvement and giving back.
This night is special, not only to the team and the fans, but to one individual who has taken the Lions to a whole new level within the community.
Geroy was born in 1975, attended Maryland University and was acquired by the BC Lions as a free agent in 2001 and served as a backup at the slotback position.
enjoyed great success as a basketball player at a young age. He also took up baseball and track, but became attracted to football after watching Walter Payton play.
In 2002 he led the Lions with 50 receptions (his first full season) finishing with 754 yards and also threw for a 71-yard TD toss in his only attempt of the season and also established career highs in kick returns with 51 punt returns for 464 yards.
In 2003 he recorded his first 1,000 yard receiving season with 1687 yards and was named both a Western and a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career.
In the same season he was also named Offensive Player of the Week for Week #16 and also scored his first two-point conversion on a five-yard reception play.
On January 24, 2013 he was traded to Saskatchewan Rough Riders for Justin Harper and Saskatchewan’s third round pick in the 2014 CFL Entry Draft.
Simon is the all-time career leader in CFL receiving yards with 16,352 yards, first in pass receptions with 1,029 and third in touchdown receptions with 103.
It goes without saying that this trade never sat well with several BC Lion supporters and it was reported that Saskatchewan signed him to a contract for one year plus an option worth $170,000 per year plus bonuses.
Was this more that the Lions would offer or was this a move that was made so as to develop the youth the Lions are developing in the system? We will really never know?
In week 9 Simon became the first CFL player to have 16,000 receiving yards Simon missed the first 3 weeks of the season which was stated as a lower body injury.
Week 8 (August 17 2013) saw him (Simon) became the 3rd player in CFL history to have 1,000 career receptions: The other players that hold this record are Ben Cahoon and Terry Vaughn, whose names speak volumes in the football world.
This night belongs to Geroy and quite honestly, it means something special to everyone who watched him play as a member of the BC Lions club.
It’s great to see his Parents in the crowd. Class ACT!!!!
Thanks to the BC Lions for doing it up RIGHT!!!!