Wray Morrison: Keeping it real

It was a refreshing day for sports fans Wednesday. In a time when teams and athletes attempt to “control the message” with restrictive access and boring cliches from the stars, there were two great responses that came from two separate camps.

Riders kicker Brett Lauther joked with the media on Wednesday that he didn’t do post-game interviews after his walkoff winning kick on Sunday because he “had some beer to drink.” It was a good-natured, likeable response to a province that is still celebrating the Labour Day win over the Bombers.

On Wednesday night, Bianca Andreescu openly asked, and more than once, “Is this real life?” seconds after she advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open. The innocence and emotion shown from the 19-year-old was terrific in these days of staged interviews and stale comments made to fans through the media.

Sports fans deserve more authenticity like this from the athletes they pay to watch.