Former Ottawa Redblacks beer-chugging Jon Gott part of All-Decade Team

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Remember the day that Jon Gott chugged a beer, then crushed the can on his helmet during the final regular-season game of the 2018 season?

The former Ottawa Redblacks centre laughs when asked about it leading up to the introduction of several members of the Redblacks’ All Decade Team during Saturday’s home game (tickets still available) against the B.C. Lions.

In that final game (with the Redblacks heading to the playoffs), Gott ran to the back of the end zone after a third-quarter touchdown. After being handed a tallboy by girlfriend Nicole Hilstob, he guzzled the beer. The viral video got millions of views on ESPN and on the Redblacks’ website.

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“A lot of people still bring up that moment,” said Gott, now 38. “I knew it was going to be my last game. I had planned it for a couple of years. The league got rid of the props rule, so it was fair game.

“It just lined up. We were in the right end zone. My girlfriend was there (sitting in the Subaru Log Cabin) with the beer. I didn’t know who scored. I just took off for the log cabin and the rest is history. I didn’t think it would take off like it did.”

Beer chugging aside, Gott was a very good football player. He played with the Calgary Stampeders from 2009-13. The Redblacks picked him up in a draft-day trade in 2014, giving up their first-overall selection (Pierre Lavertu). Gott was a Redblack until 2018.

That final season, Gott was benched a few times after starting 46 straight games — it didn’t sit well with him. He watched the Grey Cup from the sidelines as the Redblacks lost 27-16 to the Stampeders.

“It was a difficult season for me,” Gott said. “In my mind, I thought I could still play. It’s a business, you see the writing on the wall — and I sure saw it that season.”

Rewind to 2014, when the Redblacks, an expansion team, finished with a 2-16 record.

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“I was excited (to play in Ottawa),” he said. “I’d been living here that off-season, my girlfriend had been hired by OSEG. So, I felt the excitement from the fans.”

The fan support remained through that dismal opening season — TD Place was sold out each game — but Gott said the team’s poor performance wore on him.

“I remember thinking, ‘This ain’t happening again,’” he said. “It was the worst season I’d had. It was tough to come in sometimes. We were out of the playoffs by the halfway point of the season, I’d never experienced that before. It really pissed me off.”

In 2015, the Redblacks got a lot better. A superb free-agent class that included offensive lineman SirVincent Rogers and receivers Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli, Chris Williams and Ernest Jackson made a huge difference.

With a 12-6 record, the Redblacks may have been the best team in the league, but they lost to Edmonton in the Grey Cup.

“Hands down, that was the best Redblacks team we had,” Gott said. “We were 12-6 (in the regular season) and it could have been even better. It was a fun season, it was the start of everything.

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“One guy that doesn’t get enough credit is (offensive co-ordinator) Jason Maas (now head coach of the Montreal Alouettes), he was probably our biggest acquisition. He brought that mentality of, ‘We’re not screwing around, we’re going to take it to them.’ Maas put a lot of responsibility on the players where you had to know what you were doing or you were going to be called out.”

Then there was the 2016 season: The Grey Cup, the first for Ottawa since the 1976 Rough Riders won the title. The Redblacks beat the Stampeders 39-33 in overtime.

Said Gott: “It was my third Grey Cup, I was 0-2 and I’m thinking, ‘At some point, it’s got to happen.’

“There was shock when it ended, it was chaos. You found the nearest teammate or coach and you’re going crazy. Once you got into the locker room, you could sit back and think about it, ‘We just won.’”

Asked about the post-game locker room scene, Gott said with a laugh: “I had a cigar in my mouth, the first thing I was going for was the champagne, then I was scooping up as many beer cans as I could. I knew there was only so many. I made sure I had as many as I could until I got to the hotel where the team party was.”

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And, how about the Grey Cup party, which extended into the wee hours of the morning in Toronto?

“Most of the guys made it until hotel security shut it down, it was something like 4 or 5 in the morning,” Gott said. “It was a good thing they had the party in the basement.”

A couple of days later, there was a parade in Ottawa with more than 40,000 people lining the streets.

“It was unbelievable, a once-in-a-lifetime moment for me,” Gott said. “We got onto Bank St. and the sidewalks were packed. I wasn’t expecting that many fans.”

Gott, who moved back to Ottawa in February, played 10 seasons in the CFL. The full beard is gone and he has dropped about 50 pounds.

“Looking back, I’m happy,” he said. “I had a lucky football career. I played Division 1 in the U.S., I played in some big bowl games. I got drafted in Calgary, had a good career there and when I came to Ottawa, it set my career off. I can’t complain.”

Asked about reuniting with former teammates over the next couple of days, he said: “There’ll be some good stories, some laughs over some of the dumb stuff we did.”

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And, about being named to the All-Decade Team and walking onto the field Saturday?

“It’s huge to be recognized. All I can do is say thank you. I tried to play the game the right way,” he said. “Ottawa is still home. I still picture myself walking out of the tunnel and onto the field. It’ll be good to do it all over again.”

THE ALL DECADE TEAM

Quarterback Henry Burris. Running back William Powell. Fullback Patrick Lavoie. Offensive linemen SirVincent Rogers, J’Micheal Deane, Jon Gott, Nolan MacMillan and Jason Lauzon-Seguin. Receivers Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli, Chris Williams, Diontae Spencer and Ernest Jackson. Defensive ends Lorenzo Mauldin IV and Avery Ellis. Defensive tackles Moton Hopkins and Cleyon Laing. Linebackers Damaso Munoz, Avery Williams and Jerrell Gavins. Defensive backs Brandyn Thompson, Abdul Kanneh, Jonathan Rose, Jovon Johnson and Antoine Pruneau. Long snapper L.P. Bourassa. Punter Richie Leone. Kicker Lewis Ward. Returner DeVonte Dedmon. Coverage Nigel Romick.

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