By Joel Gasson

Luca Congi not looking to prove former team wrong

Nov 22, 2013 | 3:34 PM

Connections run deep on both sides of the ball between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

This is especially true when it comes to former Riders on the Ti-Cats. A lot of is made of head coach Kent Austin, quarterback Henry Burris and receiver Andy Fantuz but there's another former member of the Green and White that might have the most to prove out of all of them.

Kicker Luca Congi was let go after the 2011 season that saw the Riders finish last in the west and miss the playoffs. Despite this, Congi isn't looking to send any messages to his former team.

“Not at all, at the end of the day this is about winning the Grey Cup,” he said. “This isn't about me as an individual.”

This week is the first time Congi has actually been able to play at Mosaic Stadium this year as he was left off the roster when the Ti-Cats game to town earlier in the year in favour of another former (be it very briefly) Riders kicker Brody McKnight.

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Congi is almost a microcosm of what the Tiger-Cats have been going through all season. Congi not only sat out that game in Regina, but he sat at a few games later in the season when he was struggling to connect regularly on field goals.

The Ti-Cats have been going through a lot this season too as they've been up and down all year, they've been forced to travel between McMaster University for practice, and Alumni Stadium in Guelph for games. But the Congi feels the whole experience has made them a better team in the long run.

“We had built team chemistry doing it,” he said.

When it comes to playing in Guelph that alone has been a wild year for the Ti-Cats, and that's just the weather. They've dealt with everything from torrential down pours, strong winds, a little bit of snow and even hail. That definitely could have made life miserable for a kicker.

“We had some weird luck in Guelph, every home game was something,” said Congi. “You just deal with the elements, you can't control external factors.”

But here they are, the Tiger-Cats are in the Grey Cup. With the odds stacked against them after finishing last a season ago, to all kinds of adversity they did it.

And even though Saskatchewan if focused on a number of other former Riders on Hamilton, Congi is fine with that.

“No I don't mind at all,” said Congi with a laugh. “My goal is to go out and execute as best as I can.”

While Congi may not be too concerned about taking on his former team, his foot could end up being a deciding factor when all is said and done.

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