Goin' Deep With Matt Dunigan

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Bosco
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Ballistic Bob, Gerry and I had the pleasure of meeting and sharing a pop with Matt Dunigan and Jim Taylor, Thursday night at the Shark Club. Dunigan was signing copies of his book: Goin' Deep - The Life and Times of a CFL Quarterback. Although the turnout was sparse - to say the least - Dunigan and Taylor were most engaging and gracious throughout the evening. :thup:

- Growing up in Dallas, Matt learned that to survive in that football hotbed, you had to compete at all times, because there was always someone ready to take your job.

- Matt lamented the trade that saw him leave the Lions in 1990, but knew from the outset that his replacement, Doug Flutie, was going to "own" the CFL.

- Thouroughly enjoyed playing in his "backyard" of Birmingham in 1995, but says that lack of a TV contract and poor overall planning by the CFL killed U.S. expansion.

- If he hadn't suffered the career ending concussion in 1996, Matt planned on playing through the 1998 season. By that point he figured that he would have had close to 60,000 passing yards.

- Wishes he would have been given more time to develop the program in Calgary, but is proud that he helped re-build the Stamps in 2004.

- He cites marketing and internet technology (both presently and in the future) as two huge factors in the CFL's growth.

Jim Taylor and Matt Dunigan are examples of what's right with the CFL. :yes:
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MacNews
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Thanks for the great recap Bosco!
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WestCoastJoe
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Bosco wrote:Jim Taylor and Matt Dunigan are examples of what's right with the CFL. :yes:
Nice post, Bosco. Thank you.

I respect Matt Dunigan very much. He got sheet kicked in Calgary, first by the bad situation the F-Troop put him in. And then got the bum's rush by the Hellard team. He never whined once, and still has not.

I bet he has shared some critical thoughts with friends and family though about the goings on in Calgary. And I bet he has a lot of sympathy for Tom Higgins, even though Higgins replaced him in Calgary.

Matt Dunigan :thup: Definitely what is right with the CFL.

By the way, shouldn't a guy with the name of Matt Dunigan have grown up to be a cowboy, branding cows, breaking horses, mending fences? Yee Haw
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No Ordinary Joe
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Awesome story. That would have been a great experience. :thup:
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Soundy
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WestCoastJoe wrote:By the way, shouldn't a guy with the name of Matt Dunigan have grown up to be a cowboy, branding cows, breaking horses, mending fences? Yee Haw
Anyone named Matt is okay in my books.... (well, almost anyone) :rockin:
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Gerry
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Bosco did a great job of asking questions and getting both Taylor and Dunnigan to come up with some great stories.

Good job, Glen. :beer:

Not you, BB. You were whining too much. :wink:
Enough is enough.
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notahomer
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Just finished this book yesterday. Cool book. Summed up already. What is cool if you decide to buy is that different bookstores have different dustjackets on the book. I read the library's copy and he's wearing a Lions uni of course (I think an argo one on the backcover-uggh). But I have seen a bookstore in Loughheed Mall that has him in Bomber colours. So look around it's a good read.
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Soundy
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Actually, I remember him talking about the book, there should be a "multi-way" dust jacket with pics of him in all the different unis he's played in. I'm guessing it can be "installed" to show any of them on the front.
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Bosco
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Soundy wrote:Actually, I remember him talking about the book, there should be a "multi-way" dust jacket with pics of him in all the different unis he's played in. I'm guessing it can be "installed" to show any of them on the front.
The book does indeed have four cover jackets - featuring Matt in action with the four main teams he played with: Edmonton, B.C., Toronto and Winnipeg.
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Yank In BC
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The book does indeed have four cover jackets - featuring Matt in action with the four main teams he played with: Edmonton, B.C., Toronto and Winnipeg.
What? No Barracudas...damn.
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Bosco
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What? No Barracudas...damn.
Matt lamented the passing of the Barracudas and felt that he was at "home" playing in Birmingham, as it gave his family and friends more of an opportunity to see him play.
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Robbie
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Bosco wrote:Matt lamented the trade that saw him leave the Lions in 1990, but knew from the outset that his replacement, Doug Flutie, was going to "own" the CFL.
Does Matt say much else about his two years as a Lion, such as what he thought about coaches Donovan and Galat, and who is favourite teammates were?
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lion24
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I saw a HIStory show on ESPN Classic on Dunigan the other night and it was interesting to see footage of him playing with Louisiana Tech and all his teams in the CFL. I didn't realize just how bad he was at the end of his career as his wife explained about his memory lapses and slurred speech. You have to give credit to Dunigan though as he explained the hit by Carthon?, a BC Lion, was legal and he does not blame him at all and said he had been hit harder many times before. He played through a lot of injuries and it would have been interesting to see where his stats would have been if he were healthy his whole career.
Thank you for everything you did for OUR Lions Mr.Ackles, we will never forget you...RIP
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Dan
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Just finished reading his book. What a great read, although not as good as the Water Boy. It's amazing to hear just how bad he got after his last injury. I was interested to read that he almost had a 10 year deal in B.C.
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