Deborah Yedlin, the new President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, says her first, and only, home purchase had quite the history.

To this day, whenever Hyder Hassan comes across a Subaru WRX STI sedan, he's reminded of the very first home he ever purchased.

You can take the boy out of Saskatchewan, but, as the saying goes, you'll never completely take Saskatchewan out of the boy.

"The first place I ever bought was probably midway through my second year pro (with the Florida Panthers),'' said Shaunavon-born and Frontier-raised Rhett Warrener, a four-season Calgary Flame whose non-negotiable warrior mentality was an indispensable and under-appreciated component of the franchise's unexpected '04 trek to the Stanley Cup final.

By CREB® CEO Alan Tennant (as told to Terence Leung)


I remember being 23 years old. The year was 1981. I was a Medicine Hat banker with my new wife, Rona, and a new job in Calgary, staring down a brand-new, three-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow. Oh, and a mortgage to pay.

We had two cars (with no garage to put them in) and no way of knowing that four years later, mortgage rates would hit a whopping 18 per cent.

We asked the question many people do now when they contemplate their first home purchase: can we afford it?

During a 152-game career with the Calgary Stampeders, Jon Cornish racked up some impressive accomplishments, including 7,401 rushing yards, a pair of Grey Cup rings, three Most Outstanding Canadian baubles in a row and a touchstone Most Outstanding Player nod.

He also reached "the house" – football jargon for the opposition's end zone – on 46 occasions, but he didn't own his own house until 2013.

The whistle stops, Randy Chevrier will readily acknowledge, had become something of a blur.

Big places, small places, exotic places and so-so places. Across the U.S., back home to Canada and even to Europe. From Jacksonville, Fla.; to Cincinnati, Ohio; to Dallas, Texas; to Barcelona, Spain; to Edmonton; and then to New York.

At the opening of training camp in June 2012, even though he was already five years into his tenure with the Calgary Stampeders, Rob Cote felt anything but secure.

"So, a very stressful time to be doing anything else but concentrating on football,'' said the Cochrane-born fullback. "Especially to be making a huge financial decision like buying a house.

Seasons come and go. From week to week, let alone summer to summer, the nameplates on the back of those familiar red jerseys are in a constant state of flux. The only predictable aspect of professional sports, of course, is its utter unpredictability.

One variable, however, has been an unshakeable constant for the Calgary Stampeders dating all the way back to 1972: equipment manager George Hopkins, or Geo, as anyone who spends the slightest amount of time in or around McMahon Stadium calls him.

Now 88 years young, the ol' potlicker himself, Jim "Bearcat" Murray, long ago passed into the realm of legend hereabouts.

Nearly a quarter-century since retiring from the Calgary Flames as the only NHL athletic trainer with his own fan club (boasting Boston and Montreal chapters), Murray – recognizable by his bald head, generous moustache and ready grin – continues to be an icon.