OMAR WANTS A CHAMPIONSHIP AND A RING

By Ian Hamilton, Leader-PostNovember 20, 2009

REGINA — Something's missing from Omarr Morgan's résumé.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders' veteran cornerback has been named a West Division all-star four times and a CFL all-star on three occasions during his 10-year career.

But as nice as individual accolades are, Morgan comes up short in one area: He still doesn't have a Grey Cup title to his name.

"I've been an all-star and everything else, but I just want to win," says Morgan, a 32-year-old product of Los Angeles. "You always want to be a champion. Whether you've been one five times or one time or no times, you should want to be the best every time you go out there and play. That's what I try to do."

Morgan's next opportunity to do that is Sunday, when the Roughriders play host to the Calgary Stampeders in the West Division final. The winner of that game advances to the Grey Cup, Nov. 29 in Calgary.

Morgan, a product of Brigham Young University, joined the youthful Roughriders before the 2000 CFL season as part of a rebuilding movement.

After Saskatchewan missed the playoffs in Morgan's first two seasons, he and the Roughriders made five straight post-season appearances. They couldn't get to the Grey Cup game, though, losing in the East semifinal twice (2002 and '05) and the West final three times (2003, '04 and '06).

Following his seventh season with Saskatchewan's ever-developing team, Morgan signed a free-agent contract with the Edmonton Eskimos early in 2007. As Morgan's luck would have it, the Roughriders put it all together that season and won the Grey Cup.

"We went through a lot of battles before we got to 2007," says Eddie Davis, who started lining up beside Morgan in Saskatchewan's secondary in 2001. "We got close a couple of times, but couldn't get over that hump.

"Getting that win in 2007 was a big thing for us, but it was kind of a letdown because guys who had started with us back in 2000 and 2001 weren't here, like Omarr, Jackie Mitchell, LaDouphyous McCalla — even (former GM) Roy Shivers and (ex-head coach) Danny Barrett.

"It's something we had created together and to not have them as a part of it hurt me, to be honest with you."
Morgan, meanwhile, watched from afar as his ex-teammates won a CFL championship.
"I rooted for them," he says. "Once we didn't make the playoffs in Edmonton, I wanted my former team members and some of my close friends to win it. They did a good job and you've got to take your hats off to them.

"But that was 2007 and, unfortunately, I wasn't here," adds Morgan, who re-signed with the Roughriders in March of 2008 after being released by the Eskimos. "I made a business decision to go to Edmonton and I don't regret anything I did — but I wish I'd been here. I wish I could have won one with them, but that's the past.

"2007 was 2007. They had a great time. You see things around the stadium and their rings, but that doesn't have anything to do with this year. You've got to learn from things you did, but that's the past. We've got to worry about now."

For the Roughriders, the "now" is Sunday's contest at Mosaic Stadium. A victory over the Stampeders and Morgan will be one step closer to getting that elusive ring.

"There's not a lot of guys on this team who have won a Grey Cup," Davis says, "so we want to go out and get it for all the guys who don't have one — especially for guys like Omarr who have been playing for so long and haven't been able to win one."

"I definitely want to get (a ring)," notes Morgan, whose squad lost the West semifinal in 2008. "I want to be a champion. I couldn't tell you what it would mean. I think it would mean a lot, but I'll have to tell you after I get it."

ihamilton@leaderpost.canwest.com