Homecoming to his Second Home

AARON RABINOVITS – Argos Admiral

TORONTO – Mike Bradwell definitely felt a weird “homecoming-away-from-home” type of emotionthis past Saturday when the Toronto Argonauts face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne.  Bradwell was born and raised in Toronto, but when he graduated High School, McMaster University in Hamilton was his University of choice.  After completing his degree in civil engineering, he was selected 13th overall in the second round of the 2008 CFL Canadian Draft by his hometown team, the Toronto Argonauts.

Although he can call both cities “home” based on his experiences in each, he loves the fact he’s in the middle one of the largest rivalries in sports. “It’s great. It’s a great rivalry and I am glad to be a part of it” said Bradwell.

Bradwell has of course played in these Toronto-Hamilton games before, but one can only imagine the reaction he gets when he comes back to his second home to play.  You may wonder if his friends from school put him down for playing on the opposition, maybe even taking it to the point of cutting him off.

According to Bradwell it’s not like that.

“The comment I always get when I go back to Hamilton is ‘Good luck in all the games but not when you play us and especially not on Labour Day’. It’s always a big game when we play in Hamilton”

This Saturday is an especially big game as the Argonauts will look to move to 2-1 on the season while pushing the Ticats further into the basement.  The Ticats currently sit at 0-2 and surely cannot risk dropping to 0-3 this early in the year.

All would not be lost however, as the 2011 Grey Cup Champion B.C. Lions started the season 0-6 before getting hot and winning their 6^th Grey Cup.

Lucky for us and the city, Bradwell feels at home right where he is.

“Toronto is my home; I am born and raised in Toronto.  Hamilton is my second home…I am a Toronto boy, and I will stick true to my Toronto roots.”

And Toronto is proud to have raised a man like Mike Bradwell, and the Argos love having him on the team.  He is a workaholic, and every day after practice he is always one of the last people off the field.

You can usually see him running routes with backup quarterback Jarious Jackson as he knows he can be put in at anytime at almost any position.

As of now he has just one catch for three yards but knows an opportunity can come at any moment and it’s those extra practice reps that allow for a player to take advantage when an opportunity presents itself.

What’s even better thing about Bradwell’s work ethic? He enjoys what he does and always has his signature smile on.

“I enjoy it. It’s my time to get my work in and hopefully it will pay off for me.”

To go along with his great work ethic, Bradwell comes with a happy and outgoing personality at all times.

You can find Bradwell making appearances on television as last week he appeared on CP24 as well as on MuchMusic on the popular New Music Live program.  While he can also be found hanging out with fans at the Shoeless Joe’s after party, Bradwell has truly embraced being an Argonaut.

In his fourth year with the Argos and in the CFL, Bradwell is definitely someone to look out for in the coming years in Double Blue.