TORONTO -- It's the first Saturday of October, and professional sports have fans in Toronto on cloud nine. Earlier in the week, the Blue Jays' clinching of the American League East brought downtown traffic to a standstill, and on this night the much-awaited opener of the Maple Leafs hockey season has scalpers asking -- and getting -- premium prices.
Barely noticed in all the excitement are the Argonauts, Toronto's representative in the Canadian Football League. But some 35,000 fans are at SkyDome this night. And as Toronto's Raghib Ismail gathers in the opening kickoff at his goal line and then bursts first across, and then upfield, in an electrifying, 58-yard return, the roar tells why they've come: to see the "Rocket" launched.
"I just love the way he plays," said Argonauts slotback Andrew Murray, a native of Ontario, after watching an Ismail punt return set up the game-winning field goal against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. "I'm a fan. I was a fan of his at Notre Dame and I would always watch on TV. He's a talent."
That talent will earn Ismail an estimated $4.5 million a year for the next four years, and whether he's worth it remains to be seen. He's had a more-than-respectable year, helping lead his team to Sunday's Eastern Division final against the Blue Bombers, but the real value of the man Penn State coach Joe Paterno once called "one of the three or four best players ever to play college football" is in generating interest in the franchise and helping save the eight-team CFL.
"Our attendance is up [about 15,000 a game, to 36,000] and TV viewership in this league has tripled," said Argonauts general manager Michael McCarthy, who added the league has discussed expanding into the United States.
"Part of the plan in getting him was to promote and sell the league, and that's worked out quite well. The franchises are all going to be stable, which is due to this young man. He has helped the team and league in general."
Savior of the league? The shy 21-year-old Ismail -- who punctuates most responses with his favorite word, "dude" -- just laughs. Even though his personal services contract is worth more a year than the entire payroll of some CFL teams, Ismail looks at himself as just one of the guys.
"People are coming to the games to see what's going on, and when they see guys like [teammates] Darrell K. Smith and Mike Clemons they'll realize it's not just a one-man thing," Ismail said. "So, dude, I haven't felt any pressure at all."
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If you haven't heard about Ismail's year in the CFL, you aren't alone. It seems like Canadians -- as well as Americans -- ignore this league. CFL teams do not have nearly the visibility of an NFL team during its season or, it seems, the prestige.
"They're no NFL, they're just the Argonauts," said Mike Libby, a Toronto card shop owner who displays NFL cards -- and not CFL cards. "Here you have one of the best young players in the world, and attendance is not up all that much [the Argonauts play before an average of 17,000 empty seats, while the Blue Jays and the Maple Leafs entertain sell-out crowds.] Baseball and hockey are what's happening."
Ismail, who played in sold-out stadiums during his college career, has noticed the couldn't-care-less attitude of fans toward the Argonauts.
"You know how sports in a lot of cities is trendy -- trendy to do this, trendy to do that," said the Ismail, wearing a black leather Notre Dame cap. "Baseball is the place to be, to be seen. The CFL, that's something people don't want to go to or don't want to be seen at."
What have they missed? A regular season during which Ismail -- playing mainly as a receiver -- finished with the second-best combined yardage in league history (2,959), scored a team-leading 13 touchdowns, and finished second on the Argonauts in receiving (64 receptions for 1,300 yards).
Playing on a field 12 yards wider, he broke just one kickoff return for a touchdown (at Notre Dame, using speed clocked at 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard --, he broke five). But he did win the division Rookie of the Year in helping the Argonauts to a league-best 13-5 record.
"Basically his input has been phenomenal," said Argonauts coach Adam Rita. "There were critics about his receiving, but I think that's a bad rap on him because they [Notre Dame] didn't throw the ball much. More important is his overall skill."
Ismail also has the skill to win people over, and that came in handy. An injury kept him out of part of training camp and the first regular-season game, leading to harsh criticism from teammates still in shock over his salary. The press also blasted Ismail, and tried to fuel a feud with slotback Darrell Smith who, while Ismail was hurt and in Los Angeles, was quoted in the Toronto Sun as saying: "We need him practicing. This is the big leagues, whether he thinks so or not."
"Even before I came here, 95 percent of the questions were, 'Do you think it's going to be jealousy, jealousy, jealousy.' The media played it up," Ismail said, his tone slightly irritated. "If you come in with a cocky attitude, a big head, people will treat you as such. I knew my personality wasn't like that."
That is clear when you see Smith and Ismail joking with each other in front of their adjacent lockers.
"I did say that we had a game and we needed Rocket here, but a lot was blown out of proportion. I always knew he was legit," said Smith, 30, who has played with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. "Rocket's a great kid, and he'll be a great player."
The transition was also helped by the fact that Ismail, does not seek special treatment and does not flaunt his millions.
"He drives around in a jeep. If I were making $4.5 million I wouldn't be driving a truck," Smith said. "One time he missed a meeting and was supposed to take us out for a drink. I said 'Rocket, you're buying beers tonight.' He said, 'Shoot, I don't have any money.' Imagine, $4.5 million and no money."
Though attendance at Argonauts' games isn't what majority owner Bruce McNall would like, there has been no lack of interest among advertisers.
"Oh, I get offers. But this is an organization game, and for me to inundate myself with all these activities would be stupid," Ismail said. "I've been offered a television show, but how many rookies do you know can come out and have their own show right away? There's an adjustment period."
Ismail has avoided the spotlight but teammates and opponents -- who often line up to have photographs taken with him after games -- have enjoyed the increased media attention he brings. "Everyone has always wanted more publicity, and now with him here we all have our share," said teammate Murray. "We get 30 media people to games now. His signing has bolstered support."
Ismail has taken in stride life in this cosmopolitan city, and the pressures of being one of the most recognized sports figures in Canada.
"When I was young and moved from Newark [N.J.] to Wilkes-Barre [Pa.] -- from all-black, to being the only black in the class -- that was an adjustment," Ismail said. "As far as adjusting to playing here and pressure, where I came from [Notre Dame] the pressure dwarfs this. After my sophomore year and all the media attention, I said everything after this will be cake. And it has been."
There are rumors that after the season Ismail will play for the NFL's Los Angeles Raiders, who drafted him in the first round even after he signed with the Argonauts. Ismail does not dismiss the idea of playing in the NFL one day, but he has no regrets about his move north.
"What I'm doing now, this is my job. This is the way for me to provide for my family," he said. "When I go home, see the new house I got for my mom, the car, the way I provide for her and my brothers -- no, I have no regrets coming here at all.
"Thinking about the NFL, that's just an extra distraction, something I don't need," he added. "But who knows what the future holds?"
Rocket Ismail's CFL statistics
Final regular-season statistics (17 games) for Argonauts wide receiver Rocket Ismail, the Eastern Division Rookie of the Year and CFL All-Star:
Receiving Catches... Yards... Avg. ... Long... TDs
64........ 1,300... 20.3 ..... 87.... 9
Rushing Att. ... Yards... Avg. ... Long... TDs
39........ 271... 6.9...... 42.... 3
Returns
........No. ... Yards... Avg. ... Long... TDs
Kickoff... 31....... 786... 25.4 ..... 38.... 0
Punt...... 48....... 602... 12.5 ..... 73.... 1