Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ John Rush on animal rescue, football and vegan diet

We got the chance to chat with Winnipeg Blue Bombers fullback John Rush earlier this week.

Normally this time of year the teams of the Canadian Football League would be getting ready for the upcoming 2020 season, which would start sometime in June, but this year is a little different thanks to the coronavirus, leaving players like John Rush with an extended offseason.

So Dog O’Day got to talk with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers fullback recently through email about his passion for dog rescue and a lot of other cool topics.

Some key things to know about the CFL beforehand – there are 12 players on the field instead of 11, the field is 110 yards long, teams only get three downs per possession instead of four, and there are only nine teams as opposed to the 32 in the NFL. Also there are a lot more creative ways to get points, which can result in strange final scores like 11-1.

The went 11-7 during the 2019 regular season, then cruised past Calgary and Saskatchewan in the playoffs before defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 to win the Grey Cup in late November, the equivalent of the Super Bowl.

John Rush is from Niagara Falls, Ontario, and played linebacker for the Guelph University Gryphons, where he won the Presidents Trophy as Canadian college football’s top defensive player in 2015.

He was signed by the Blue Bombers ahead of the 2017 season after being cut in training camp the year before, and since joining Winnipeg he’s played at fullback (think Tim Riggins’ role on the team in Friday Night Lights).

He’s very active on Twitter (@JohnRush32), advocating for shelter dogs across the nation and a vegan lifestyle, in addition to raising awareness for victims of domestic abuse.