Brady Oliveira and Kenny Lawler may not be reuniting in the East Final like they hoped, but the former teammates teamed up to provide a special gift for one notable Ticats fan.
According to a video posted to social media by TSN, Sister Mary, a 102-year-old nun living in North Bay, Ont., was the recipient of a box of Hamilton Tiger-Cats merchandise sent by Lawler this week. The All-CFL receiver was allegedly made aware of Sister Mary’s deeply held Ticats fandom by Oliveira, who passed along the information despite playing running back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
It is unclear how Oliveira came by this information, though it should be noted that Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea is himself a former Ticats player and hails from North Bay, a city with roughly 72,000 in the metro area.
The delightfully sassy centenarian received a football signed by Lawler, a number 89 jersey, a Ticats sweatshirt, a blanket, a mug, and a plush version of the team’s mascot, Stripes. When sarcastically asked which team she would be praying for this weekend, the Oskee Wee Wee die-hards replied, “Should I hit her now or later?”
Oliveira and Lawler were teammates for four non-sequential seasons with the Bombers before Lawler left to join the Ticats in free agency this offseason. Winnipeg was defeated by the Montreal Alouettes in the East Semi-Final last week, denying them the chance to travel to Hamilton this week.
The Tiger-Cats (11-7) host the Alouettes (11-8) in the East Final on Saturday, November 8 at Hamilton Stadium with kickoff slated for 3 p.m. ET.
The weather forecast in the Hammer calls for a high of seven degrees with a 30 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN, TSN2, CTV, and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on TSN 690 in Montreal and the Ticats Audio Network.
