Photo courtesy of Canadian Football League / Twitter

By Scott Roblin

CFL Homecoming

Stampeders boost special teams with Medicine Hat’s own Crawford

Feb 2, 2021 | 6:31 PM

CALGARY, AB – After the better part of a decade out east, Medicine Hat’s Aaron Crawford is ready to return to the province where he discovered his love of football.

Crawford will be hitting the Trans-Canada Highway west, signing a deal on Tuesday with the Calgary Stampeders to become the team’s new long snapper.

For the 34-year-old, it’s a full circle moment realized putting pen to paper with the CFL team he grew up watching.

“It’s always been a part of the dream when I was growing up to be able to play close to home,” said Crawford. “For it to come to fruition, it’s been a long road but I’m glad to be there.”

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Crawford is coming off seven seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats organization, where he played 107 combined regular season and playoff games and contributed 23 career special teams tackles.

“It’s always been a part of the dream when I was growing up to be able to play close to home,” said Crawford. “For it to come to fruition, it’s been a long road but I’m glad to be there.”

He credits the Tiger-Cats for developing him as an athlete, picking him up off the practice roster heap after stops in Toronto, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg.

Two Grey Cup appearances later and Crawford admits it’s tough giving up the black and gold.

“I’ve been here for the better part of a decade and made a lot of connections with people and teammates,” said Crawford. “That part of it is hard and has a little bit of gravity to it.”

Crawford played his way up the Medicine Hat area minor football ladder with the Parkside Pythons, before getting the chance to play high school ball with the Crescent Heights Vikings.

Now set to call McMahon Stadium home, Crawford said it’s one of the formative places where he discovered his passion for the game.

“It’s just exciting to be back where it all started… for all the playoffs of even Pythons days, that was McMahon,” he said. “You went there for a playoff game and that was huge, you walked in and the stadium was just massive. There were only like 15 people in the stands, but the stadium was massive. That feeling of awe when you walk on the field… it’s going to be really nice to call that home.”

Tuesday’s news also reunites Crawford with fellow Vikings alumni Connor McGough, who signed with the Stampeders in early 2020.

The pair played three seasons together with Hamilton between 2017 and 2019, a partnership which Crawford is excited to rekindle.

“Back when I first went pro he was just coming out of high school,” said Crawford. “That first interaction in the locker room was kind of unique seeing someone who in my mind was still a young kid… I mean he is, I’m just old. But, that dynamic is pretty cool.”

The CFL veteran remains optimistic that a season will be possible in 2021 after the entirety of last year’s schedule was scrapped as a result of the pandemic.

Boasting a pair of Medicine Hat products on the same roster, the goal of bringing a Grey Cup to the ‘Gas City’ remains priority number one for the duo.

“We both want to bring that Grey Cup back to Medicine Hat,” said Crawford. “We’re both grinding for it, just really trying to get it done out here. But, Calgary is a perennial playoff team, they got it figured out, they have a formula and it works. So, I was glad I was able to fit into the scheme and hopefully we can get it done and bring that thing back to Medicine Hat.”