Thursday, 26 May 2022. 07:07
(Update : Thursday, 26 May 2022. 10:53)
MONTREAL – “After that game, I remember crying in my mother’s arms! A few years later, I can laugh regarding it, but this guy made me cry while we were eating at Cosmos on Grande Allée. »
Matthieu Proulx is amusingly smiling, and honest, when telling this anecdote. This is explained since, once morest all odds, his executioner for a day, Dave Stala, became one of his best friends when they ended up together with the Montreal Alouettes.
But, at that time, Proulx was in his first year as a starter with the Laval University Rouge et Or and he never expected to be pushed around by this formidable receiver who also acted as a kicker.
Red and Gold – Saint Mary’s Huskies
“I had been dominating for two games, I was playing really well. And there, Saint Mary’s arrived in Quebec, I was the defensive back in front of him and he ate me up! When I say all round, they won and he got almost all of his team’s points. He did everything on the field and everything at my expense, ”retained Proulx (see the touchdown of 88 from the 13th second in the video).
The Rouge et Or helped us trace the statistics of the match. In a 26-24 win, Stala scored 20 points (6 via a touchdown once morest Proulx, 12 via 4 field goals and 2 through conversions) while catching 4 passes for 84 yards.
“I was on top of the world, I practically thought I was going to be a star. And there, he passes and he breaks me! I started to work even harder and to be more humble,” Proulx said when this dose of humility was only Stala’s first impact on his life.
Three years later, the Alouettes drafted Proulx in the fifth overall and he was quick to join the club while Stala was a receiver on the verge of excelling.
Despite what had happened on the grounds of the PEPS, the two men became very good friends. If it may seem surprising at first glance, listening to Proulx talk regarding Stala, we understand how endearing he must have been.
“Dave was a crazy teammate! He didn’t take anything seriously. For him, life is a trip, it’s fun. He is always having fun, he is smiling and he makes everyone laugh. He’s the guy who makes jokes all the time,” Proulx described, adding a crucial clarification.
“At the limit, for coaches, it can get annoying because he’s a jester, but he’s also the guy who knows all the lines of all games and for all positions. You need someone to play anywhere as a receiver, he’ll do it. You can put him as a quarterback, he’ll know what to do. He was also the reserve kicker. In short, he knows football like the back of his hand so you can hardly blame him for anything because he was never wrong “, boasted the one who has a fabulous career (player, lawyer, analyst, descriptor and animator) focused on versatility.
We arrive at the crisp, the many anecdotes lived with the one who was nicknamed “ Sticky Stala because everything was sticking to his hands.
“During an off-season, we left five guys (Stala, Proulx, Phillip Gauthier, Michael Botterrill and Shaun Diner) to train in Atlanta and we went to Florida for a weekend. We were in pretty good shape, we stood out physically so Dave had made up a story and everyone had gotten into his joke. We were a team of Cross Ball, a name that sounds like a real sport without being one. We had invented a ton of details, like that the field was 45 yards wide by 350 yards long and that a game might last anywhere from five minutes to a few days depending on the points scored. Me, I was the Birdman, the only position that had the right to touch the ball. We had a series of 15 or 20 invented things to tell. When we went to a bar, we told people that. If someone didn’t believe us, we told them to go ask someone else in the gang. It was so funny, we said that our games were broadcast at ESPN Eight. At some point, we convinced a doorman and he was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen this sport before,’” Proulx recalled with the amusement of his mid-twenties.
“One year, in the locker room, he had reproduced a basketball court with tape and he had installed baskets. We were playing together and he also brought bowling another time,” continued the former Alouettes number 20.
“Our teammate and friend Shaun Diner had ocd (obsessive compulsive disorder) and the number he always had to follow was 4. Before a game he would take a picture and give it 4 beaks or 14 beaks. When we did an exercise, he always did 4, 14 or 24 repetitions. Dave was always going to mess up his locker right before practice. When we left meetings, we were in a hurry to go to the field, but he mightn’t leave if his locker was upside down. It freaked him out and he had to put everything back in order, ”noted Proulx.
“There were also his disguises. On Halloween, he always had the wildest ones. It must have taken her a day of makeup. He had arrived disguised as an old man, but it was so successful with a bent back, a cane, he had shaved part of his head and he had white hair. »
Proulx recognizes the value of such a teammate.
“In a sports context, to have a guy who is able to constantly make other people laugh and then relax the atmosphere, that’s the best I might have had. Every day he gets up and wonders how he can make others laugh today and have fun,” praised Proulx who does not want to lose this precious friendship.
Beyond entertaining those around him, Stala has inspired many people including Proulx.
“Yeah, really. When you meet him, you think he’s the greatest jester you’ve ever known. But, when we trained, he was hyper invested and he was the first to push the others. Since he was a receiver, we often trained together once morest each other,” agreed Proulx, who believes he was able to find a good balance between his career as an athlete and pleasure.
“I always said to myself that if I had partied less, I might have extended my career for one or two seasons. I don’t want people to think I was dating every day, but I took advantage of it. In the end, I don’t mind considering all the fun I had and Dave was part of a great part of this journey. He was a perfect partner because we had fun, but we trained to be in shape,” Proulx admitted of the prankster who excelled at any sport he dabbled in.
Born in Poland, Stala learned to bite into life and give back to others. Proulx had also accompanied him to Halifax for a year where he held a football camp for young people.
“He really had a positive influence. When I think of inspiring people, this is the guy that comes to mind and he’s a spectacular character. He was a very good role model among professionals, ”concluded Proulx, who invites people to see or review one of its fun and awesome celebrations.
