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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2018.2.6 |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Damon Allen Interview |
Interview Summary / Résumé d'entrevue |
Damon Allen, Order of Sport recipient, inducted in 2018, born in San Diego, California, recalls how, as a youth, he watched football with his father on Sundays and how Joe Gilliam was an inspiration because his body shape was similar to Damon's. Damon describes the self-doubt he faced because of his stature and how he overcame it. His passion for playing quarterback drew him to the Canadian Football League instead of the National Football League, where he would have had to play a different position. Damon is proud of his career's longevity and success, including four Grey Cups and three Most Valuable Player awards. He also describes how proud he was later in his career to be part of a team that included players winning the Grey Cup for the first time. He has spent most of his adult life in Canada and talks about how he considers Canada home. Damon is asked about his children, role models, values, and life lessons. He describes his parents as ongoing role models and the importance of holistically valuing the mind, body, and soul, including spirituality. He elaborates on the self-doubt he struggled with as a younger player and how athletes need to find joy in the game and believe in themselves. The interview concludes with Damon describing the honour he feels about being inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Entrevue avec Damon Allen, 2018. Vidéos MP4 d'origine numérique. Cinq vidéos d'une durée de visionnement totale de 01:02:26. Damon Allen, récipiendaire de l'Ordre du sport, a été intronisé en 2018 et est né à San Diego, en Californie. Il se souvient que dans sa jeunesse, il regardait le football avec son père les dimanches et que Joe Gilliam l'a inspiré car la forme de son corps était semblable à celle de Damon. Damon parle du manque de confiance qu'il éprouvait à cause de sa stature et de comment il a surmonté cela. Il désirait passionnément jouer comme quart-arrière, ce qui l'a mené à jouer dans la Ligue canadienne de football plutôt que dans la Ligue nationale de football (NFL), où il aurait été contraint de jouer une autre position. Damon est fier de sa longue carrière emplie de succès, notamment quatre Coupes Grey et trois prix du joueur le plus utile. Il décrit également la fierté qu'il a ressentie, plus tard dans sa carrière, lorsqu'il a joué avec une équipe composée de joueurs qui ont remporté la Coupe Grey pour la première fois de leur carrière. Il a passé la plupart de sa vie adulte au Canada et considère maintenant ce pays comme chez-lui. On lui demande de parler de ses enfants, de ses modèles, de ses valeurs et de ses leçons de vie. Il raconte comment ses parents lui ont toujours servi de modèles. Il parle également de l'importance d'avoir une approche holistique qui valorise l'esprit, le corps et l'âme, ainsi que la spiritualité. Il parle davantage du manque de confiance qu'il a éprouvé en tant que jeune joueur et dit qu'il est important que les jeunes athlètes ressentent du plaisir lorsqu'ils jouent et croient en eux. Pendant la dernière partie de l'entrevue, Damon décrit l'honneur qu'il ressent d'être intronisé au Panthéon des sports canadiens. |
Scope & Content |
Damon Allen interview, 2018. Born digital MP4 videos. Five videos with a total viewing time of 01:02:26. Video1 1.Can you take me back to the beginning when you first started playing football, and what got you interested in sports, and were you inspired by anyone in particular to start? 00:18.25-01:31.20 I started watching the game of football with my dad on Sundays and not going to church, and one of my favorite teams during the 70s growing up was the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the first quarterback I seen was Joe Gilliam in the seventies and he was built like me, tall, skinny, and I see him throw the football; and I think that was the first inkling that gave me the opportunity to feel that I can play or that's the sport I would like to learn to play. 2.What were some of the biggest challenges you experienced during your career as an athlete? 01:45.10-03:37.08 I think the challenges I always face because it's especially, I realized when I got to high school I had my own individual challenge, self-doubt, because I wasn't a big quarterback and I was small, and so I dealt with self-doubt when I got to high school, even though I had all this success playing Pop Warner football. But soon as I got to high school, when I seen those other kids and how big they were I chose to not play football my first year. And, but the other challenges really come to as you get older, you go in the college and you're being questioned "can you play at the highest level" and that's one reason why I came to the Canadian Football League, because I wanted to play quarterback, and the National Football League was trying to change my position because I was, as they would say an athletic quarterback that can do multiple things: can run and throw and those things, and I think during the time I was coming out professionally, there really was just pocket passers. Video 3 3.What are you proudest of in your career? 00:01.00-01:49.49 Well to answer the, you know the four Grey Cups, and the three Most Valuable Player awards in the Grey Cup game. I remember when I was a young kid I used to always dream about, you know throwing the big pass or throwing the great pitch, or hitting the home run in championship games, and that's something that I always took seriously. But when I look back over my career and look at the accomplishments, and what I've been able to do, and how many years I've been able to play, you know the one thing that comes back to me is the longevity and the ability to endure those many years. Knowing 'cause I look back and I dealt with self-doubt in my size in all of that accompanies the durability part because, you know I'm still small as a quarterback standard. 4.What importance has Canada had in your life, and in your sports career? 02:02.30-03:12.10 Well one of the reason why I'm still in Canada is due to the fact that when I first came to the Canadian Football League I was 20, going on 21 years old, and more than half my life has been in Canada, and so there's a double-edged sword of being able to build your career and all those things, makes it very difficult 'cause this feels like home. But the impact, and the way I was raised from my parents to always give back to the community and all those things and charity, you know that's always been in me and so I think it's very important you know during the time I was playing, or after my playing careers over, you know it's just the same heart that I have and want to give back to the next generation of young athletes, and football players, and sport students. It's still is very important to me and you know and charity is very important to me and so that's why I still maintain and doing those things that puts a smile on my face and in this one reason why I still do it today. 5.You have four kids altogether, how do you support their aspirations in sport, and in life more generally? And what advice would you give to other parents to help encourage their daughters to participate in sports? Video 3 00:12.00-02:09.05 You know my kids, and it's a much different situation that we're dealing with now, they're three of my children were born in Canada and one was born in the states, and they spend majority of their time here in Canada, and during the times we were together as a family, you know I participated in everything that they were able to do whether sports-wise or the things that they desire to do, you know very much hands-on. But the dynamic of the family, the fact that they live in California now, there's more communication and they're a lot older there, so they have the opportunity to you know make their own decisions in life, and we hope that you know all the decisions they make puts a smile on their face and they continue to push forward because what was in me, is in them, and I know that they will be okay at the end. 6.What characteristics do you see or think about when you think about the role models that inspired you to achieve in sport and how do you try to present yourself now as potentially a role model for the future generations? 02:27.00-04:44.30 Well first and foremost when we talk about role models, you know I didn't have to look very far from our dining room table or our dinner table, you know my parents were my first role models and they still are today. You know you have to have a great amount of respect for the sport that you play, you have to train your mind and your body to prepare to play the sport the right way you have to have confidence in yourself; and all those things, and all these things were, was the that fuel that my parents would always, you know gassed and fill our tanks growing up as kids, that yes this is going to take hard work, dedication, and commitment to your sport and what you want to do and that's the very thing that has rubbed off on me and explaining to the next generation of athletes who desire to want to play their sport to dedicate their lives to what they want to do in life. 7.So what values would you say were most important to your journey and why? 04:54.00-07:15.05 My first value is with, my parents have always given me just the spiritual aspect of the person, you know cause you think about you know mind, body, and soul. To me that completes the person, not only you, you work so extremely hard on educating yourself, working extremely hard, building your body physically, but then there's the spiritual side, or the soul of who you are that that gives you the balance and soul. It's those same things that are in me already it's just a matter of me finding out you know what I have in me, and that's a lot to do with understanding your family history, and so my brothers and I, we all have been somewhat historians when it comes to sports, because I've always been the type of person. 8.What lessons or messages would you like to share that you think could help youth in their lives today? 07:25.10-09:35.25 The number one message is believe in yourself. There's multiple messages, but first and foremost believe in yourself and the reason why I say that is due to the fact that when I had self-doubt, the very passion and the joy I had about playing the game of football but that doubt was stronger than my passion, and it stopped me from playing and doing the things that I really enjoy doing. If you honestly, truly believe in yourself you won't allow those kind of self-inflicted mind thoughts that will stop you from doing the things that you're passionate about. 9.Reflecting now on your whole football career, what are you the most proud of? 09:47.50-12:16.30 What I'm most proud of, has to be the longevity, the durability of playing the game for such a long - amount of respect I have for the game and the dedication I put to the game and enjoying and how I play the game. The championships and all those things are really great, and it shows in a sense, you know all the tangibles that come along with winning championships and being on the team, and the respect you have for the game that you play, and you play it with the, with a sportsman like, you know, attitude and I think it's hard to say it in one word what I'm most proud of but it's all those things in combination that makes me who I am and the fact that what I enjoy most is I was able to walk away from the game healthy. But there, my most enjoyment is when you win championships, it is when you know the stories of the your teammates, because during my, two of my last championship with the Argos, we're playing with guys who never won a championship before, and when you win it you know just to see the faces on the guys who won the first one in their whole lives and, and that's what makes it so fulfilling. 10.What does it mean to you to be inducted here into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame? 12:30.00-15:05.22 Whenever you get the call that you're going into a Hall of Fame, it's always very humbling because I think as athletes that's not something that's on our radar when we desire to play a sport. We just want to win championships. But when you get the call, I mean you just reflect back on your journey and the, and your ability to be steadfast even though you go through a variety of different challenges, it's the overall view of your career and what you went through in your journey. And I think when you make it to the hall of fame, it's really not about you, but it's about everyone that, that have fit into your life, that push you along the way, that encourage you along the way, that taught you along the way. And I think this is what this Hall of Fame and being inducted, and the fact that it's a tremendous honor, I mean it's the highest honor in Canada, I'm quite thankful that the people of Canada believe that my impact on the game - they gave me the honor to be in the Hall of Fame and that's what it means to me. |
Date |
2018/ / |
People |
Allen, Damon |
Search Terms |
football Grey Cup Toronto Argonauts Edmonton Eskimos Hamiton Tiger-Cats BC Lions Ottawa Rough Riders Damon Allen Interview |