When the Manitoba Bisons football team needs to rally, its players pick up paddles.
Ping pong has provided the Herd an escape from football since 2014. The game was recruited for their locker room as part of a fundraiser.
“It gives the guys a sense of home a little bit,” quarterback Theo Deezar said.
“This is a place they can chill, kick back and hang out with the boys.”
It’s been a smashing success since day one even if some are caught calling trick plays.
“I was apparently too good,” receiver Trysten Dyce said. “So I tried to make it a little more fair by using my cell phone.”
Players put on two tournaments each year but their latest competition had to be stopped after the net was broken and placed on injured reserve.
“It gets pretty intense,” Deezar said. “Guys are sweating. You’ll see them lose their shirt because it’s getting too hot.”
Those heated competitions can create some rivalries but also new friends.
“You’ll see a defensive lineman playing a receiver,” Dyce said. “An offensive lineman playing a defensive back. Even a kicker playing a running back.”
A large locker room brought closer together thanks to a table.
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