McLeod Bethel-Thompson was known to be an intriguer. Montreal journalists discovered on Thursday an intelligent and curious man, who is eager to play a mentoring role with the Alouettes and to discover Montreal.
” Good morning. I am McLeod Bethel-Thompson, I am “quarterback” with the Alouettes,” the San Francisco native said in French to the media gathered by videoconference.
“I’m only on my third day on Duolingo. Please forgive me ; I promise to get better with time,” he continued in the language of Shakespeare.
This was just the start of a fascinating interview.
Bethel-Thompson is a star player in the CFL who, just last year, was the starter for the Edmonton Elks, compiling more than interesting statistics with 3,748 yards of gains on 318 completed passes. His 24 touchdown passes were the second highest total of the season in the Ambrosie circuit. Despite everything, he came to Montreal in a clear role of second fiddle to Davis Alexander. For what ?
“You definitely want to play. When you’re a competitor, you want to be in the heat of the action; you want to throw the ball. The day you lose that, it’s probably a good indicator that you’re ready to move on, he admitted. “It’s certain that I would like to find myself in a starting position, but that’s not how it happened,” the American first explained.
“As soon as you sign your contract, it’s no longer about you, it’s about the team. This is how you can contribute to the group’s success. I will always approach football as if I were a starter, but now my role will be to support the group of quarterbacks, regardless of who the starter is. […] This position is the most difficult in sports. You have enough to deal with with the opposing defense that you don’t want to worry about any desire from the guys behind you. The starter here will have my full support. All that matters is how many victories we achieve. »
“Davis is No. 1”
The man who amassed more than 17,000 passing yards in 70 games in the CFL plans to give Alexander all the tricks of the trade.
“Davis is No. 1, he’s the organization’s choice. It will be nice to have the opportunity to support him. I should first get to know him, know what kind of guy he is, how he likes to be supported. What does he know? What does he not know? From the outside, I can see that the talent is there,” assured Bethel-Thompson.
-“On the other hand, I’m looking forward to getting to know my new teammates, getting to know the coaching staff. Discover the city too. All these aspects delight me,” he added.
It was his curiosity about the city and its people that gave him the desire to learn French. An intellectual curiosity that is not new.
“It’s very important to me. I have varied family backgrounds; I come from a little bit everywhere. When I was in the NFL, my sister and I started a non-profit in El Salvador. We have Salvadoran origins, and I often return to El Salvador. We went there six years in a row, my sister and I, to learn about our origins. We weren’t necessarily very proficient in Spanish, but we learned enough to have sustained conversations. Understanding this culture and what it represented for us made us grow as human beings,” summarized the main person involved.
He wants to make the most of his time in the metropolis.
“When you join a team, a city, I believe it is important to learn the language, culture and history associated with it. The CFL is so underrated in terms of football, yet it’s the oldest league in existence. It’s twice as old as the NFL and has so much history. It is these cities that create this history. I’m really looking forward to learning French, even though I’m sure I’ll be terrible at it. But I will improve! “, he reiterated.
“When you join a team, you have to learn its history in order to be the best version of yourself,” he continued.
Between now and the start of the camp, in St-Jérôme in mid-May, Bethel-Thompson asked journalists to provide him with a list of their favorite places in Montreal, which he promises to discover thoroughly.
