Barney Shynkaruk’s Behind the Face Mask takes a closer look at your favourite Saskatchewan Roughriders.
This week, he chats with long snapper Mike Benson.
Barney Shynkaruk: Behind the Face Mask this week, we have — let me check here — Mike Benson from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The heart and soul of Saskatchewan, Mike Benson. Mike, do you know that (this week), there’s a shuffleboard and friendly meeting at the community hall in Elbow?
Mike Benson: Get out of town.
Barney Shynkaruk: Yeah.
Mike Benson: They’re having it already. Yeah. You know what? Usually it’s later in September, but that’s OK.
Barney Shynkaruk: Pickleball, I looked it up; it starts at 4. Do you know where you’re ranked?
Mike Benson: It’s usually 5:30 with the crew, but…
Barney Shynkaruk: Time change, maybe?
Mike Benson: Yeah, could be. Could be.
Barney Shynkaruk: Did you act like this as a kid? Where did that all come from? Like, you put on a good show, man. That was good.
Mike Benson: I guess I’ve always been pretty witty. At least my wife says that anyway, because she didn’t marry me for my good looks, that’s for sure. No, I’ve always been pretty quick-witted. I’ve done a lot of stuff on other teams before, too, like a lot of media-type things. And yeah, they just gave me free rein. And I blacked out a little bit there because I was just worried about what I was going to say and everything the day before. And then it just happened as it is. It was all just completely impromptu improv.
Barney Shynkaruk: Very well done. Very well done. OK, you’re from Winnipeg. Favourite three things about Winnipeg?
Mike Benson: Favourite three things about Winnipeg? I love the fact that you can get out of Winnipeg within 45 minutes and be at a lake or a beach or something. Unless you’re stuck on Portage. Well, unless you get stuck in construction season, which is like eight months of the year, unfortunately.
But no, I love how much adventuring is close to the city there. You can get out in what seems like kind of a long summer or something like that.
The independent restaurant scene there is pretty great. A lot of locally owned restaurants, a lot of entrepreneurs doing their thing there, which is really great.
Barney Shynkaruk: I’m a big Silver Heights guy. Just throwing that out there.
Mike Benson: Classic. Absolute classic. Yeah. And then, number three, I want to go up to my family. Everyone there. My wife, all of her family’s from there. My parents are from there. Everyone’s there.
Barney Shynkaruk: So, do you cross paths with Andrew Harris as kids?
Mike Benson: Always. Yeah. He started at Grand Park High School. My high school played against him in the city championships in 2004, and we kicked his butt pretty good. It was like 47-7, I think. I won’t let him forget about that one. Then he went over to Oak Park, and I played against him in our senior year, too. And then, obviously, we were teammates in B.C. We were teammates in Winnipeg. Now we’ve got the dynamic here, which is pretty great.
Barney Shynkaruk: He’s a hockey guy, too. Do you play any hockey?
Mike Benson: Yeah. We both randomly subbed on a beer league team together a few years ago. But I know he always plays hockey in the offseason, and I do, too.
Barney Shynkaruk: What kind of player are you?
Mike Benson: Like a power forward.
Barney Shynkaruk: Power forward.
Mike Benson: Power forward. You know,
Barney Shynkaruk: OK, the big concert here next week. Are you a Foo Fighters guy at all?
Mike Benson: Yeah, I’ve listened to them in the past for sure.
Barney Shynkaruk: Are you going?
Mike Benson: I’m not, unfortunately. We have a bye week right after, so I’m staying in Winnipeg for the week. It’s my kid’s first day of school. He’s going into kindergarten, so it’s a pretty big day for us. I’m just lucky that I’m going to be there.
Barney Shynkaruk: OK, so I think you’ve almost played for every CFL team. Is that correct?
Mike Benson: It’s a lot easier to say what teams I didn’t play for.
Barney Shynkaruk: Yeah, which …
Mike Benson: Sorry. Calgary and Hamilton.
Barney Shynkaruk: Of all the teams you’ve played for, which is the easiest stadium to get to?
Mike Benson: The easiest stadium to get to?
Barney Shynkaruk: Traffic-wise.
Mike Benson: Traffic-wise? Probably B.C. Place because you can take the SkyTrain there. You don’t have to drive or anything.
But I love the commute here. It’s easy. It’s friendly. There’s no traffic. Construction is easy. Everyone knows to walk to the game or park far enough away that there isn’t much congestion over here, which is pretty great.
Barney Shynkaruk: OK, so the story goes that you were going to retire and you were working at a car dealership?
Mike Benson: Yeah, I was managing a car dealership over in Winnipeg. I did it for about six months it was a very good learning experience, positive experience for sure. And then we just parted ways.
And then three days later, Saskatchewan called. As I was figuring out my next kind of transition period there, Saskatchewan called and asked if I wanted to play sports again. I said, “Sports are pretty fun, so why not?”
Barney Shynkaruk: Easiest car to sell?
Mike Benson: Easiest car to sell? Toyota RAV4.
Barney Shynkaruk: Toughest one?
Mike Benson: Toughest one? Maserati. That’s where I worked. I worked at Maserati and Alfa Romeo. Toyota RAV4s were super easy, but Maseratis are a little bit harder.
Barney Shynkaruk: Now, what are the extras that people don’t need? You’ve got fabric paint protection. You’ve got the extended warranties. Puddy on "Seinfeld" charged a finder’s fee and an overcharge fee. What don’t you need?
Mike Benson: Always cancel the administration fee. If they say they don’t have one, it’s built into the price. So, they’re lying. Don’t take the free oil changes for the life of the car. That’s also a gimmick.
And what else? Extended warranty on used vehicles. Be very diligent about what you’re paying for price.
Barney Shynkaruk: Hot tips for automobiles with Mike. You can’t get that anywhere else. Mike, thanks so much for doing this. Mike Benson from Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Behind the Face Mask this week.
Mike Benson: Beautiful. Thank you.
