The Manitoba Bisons football team had their season end with a loss to the Calgary Dinos in the Canada West semifinal, and while many players will go their separate ways, the bond between two brothers only grows in the off-season.
Raised in St. Vital, Macho and Markos Bockru played one season together for Dakota Collegiate before the elder Macho left for the Winnipeg Rifles. They were reunited this season when big brother talked little brother into leaving the University of Minnesota-Crookston to come home and join him on the Bisons.
“I convinced him all the reasons why to stay home,” Macho said. “You get a chance to play with your brother — not everyone gets to do that.”
As a receiver, the 21-year-old Macho had over 500 yards receiving and three touchdowns in his third season with the Herd, while 19-year-old Markos plays on the other side of the ball at defensive back. That means the two are usually going up against each other daily in practice.
“Every practice is a new match-up,” Markos said. “Everybody watching gets hyped and it’s Bockru and Bockru going at it.”
“Just knowing that when you go home you can bug him about beating him on a rep,” Macho said. “I’ll give him trash about it later on.”
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“You can see, especially Macho, looking out for his younger brother,” head coach Brian Dobie said. “He might get beat on a play in training camp early in the season in practice and you can see Macho just say something to him, and give him a little pointer.”
“Markos probably denies that, but I’ve witnessed it several times.”
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The sibling rivalry first started in other sports like basketball and soccer. And now that the football season is over they become practice partners.
“The off-season is where we kinda come together and help each other get better,” Markos said. “It’s good, ’cause he’s a good receiver, so it’s good competition to have.”
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But who is the better football player in the family?
“He’s got to be honest with you,” Macho said. “He’ll say me, and if he doesn’t he’s lying.”
“I’m always going to say me,” Markos said. “I’m never going to say he’s better than me, but he’s really good. I can’t deny that.”
We’ll see next season after another winter of going head-to-head.
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