It was a microcosm of a season of unrealized expectations.
On a night Calgary Stampeders receiver Anthony Parker was expected to start for the first time in his pro career, opportunities to make an impact were few and far between.
Instead, the former Foothills Falcon watched as Arjei Franklin received the increased playing time as the replacement for injured wideout Johnny Forzani and first-year Calgary receiver Maurice Price caught his first touchdown pass in Calgary’s 34-32 win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats, Oct. 20 at McMahon Stadium.
“Going in I thought I was going to get a little more,” said Parker of his limited reps. “But with the flow of the game we obviously weren’t going to make too many changes.
“I got in a little bit on special teams and hopefully I can build off that.”
The 225-pound receiver hasn’t enjoyed the luxury of many building blocks in his second season with the Stampeders.
Parker largely avoided the injury bug in his high school career with the Foothills Falcons and with the University of Calgary Dinos, but that has not been the case in his pro career.
Parker, Calgary’s third overall selection in the 2011 CFL Canadian Draft, showed promise in 2011, his rookie season with the Stampeders. He dressed in 14 games as a special teams specialist and earned the odd assignment at wideout, finishing the season with six catches for 89 yards.
Looking to build off the solid campaign in year two, Parker sustained a concussion in the pre-season and is only recently returning from an ankle sprain.
“My goal was to work into the regular lineup and that obviously got derailed a little bit,” Parker said. “I’m not putting too much expectations on myself, it’s just a matter of whatever role they give me trying to execute that to the best of my ability.”
The injuries, combined with the depth of talent at the receiver position, led by the likes of Nik Lewis, Marquay McDaniel and Romby Bryant, has limited Parker to just four games in 2012 with zero receptions as a sophomore Stamp.
“For me it’s not what I envisioned it to be,” Parker said of his second season in the CFL. “But at the end of the day I’m healthy now and can hopefully contribute down the stretch here.
“Everything is 100 per cent, I’m just trying to get some more reps now.”
Knowing it’s still early in his CFL career, Parker, whose father Anthony Sr. and uncle Andy Jonannsen both wore Stampeder colours, is remaining positive amidst his hard luck season.
“It’s a tough thing, you never want to get hurt,” Parker said. “But at the same time we know what we have signed up for and unfortunately sometimes you get hurt in this league.
“Now that I’m healthy the goal is just to do as much as I can to stay healthy and if I keep doing that hopefully the playing time will increase.”
With the nail biting victory over the Tiger Cats the Stampeders (10-6) clinched second in the West Division and a home playoff date against either the Saskatchewan Roughriders or Edmonton Eskimos.
The defending Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions already locked up first spot in the West, meaning Calgary’s two remaining games will have no bearing on the standings.
“It’s been awesome, all the guys are great and we’ve probably got the best locker room that I’ve been a part of including high school, college. And a lot of the guys here are saying the same thing,” Parker said. “It’s a lot of fun to go on this journey with these guys and hopefully we can go as far as possible.”
If Parker’s on-field reps haven’t quite measured up to his expectations, the affable 22-year-old has kept himself busy off the gridiron with a number of charitable organizations.
Parker’s an ambassador for the Calgary Stampeders Kids Club and has volunteered with organizations such as the Easter Seals in 2012.
“It’s just one of those things where I’m in a position that hopefully I can make a difference in some people’s lives,” Parker said. “Working with the kids and getting the opportunity to put a smile on some kids’ faces that’s the biggest thing for me.”
The charitable work invariably exposes volunteers to those less fortunate which has put Parker’s pursuit of a more central role on the Stamps’ offence in perspective.
“I could be here moaning about everything and complaining, but at the end of the day I get to play the game that I love for a living and there are a lot of people that aren’t fortunate enough to have that experience,” Parker said.
“There’s a lot of people out there who just have a lot bigger problems,” he added. “This week is dedicated to breast cancer and there’s a lot of people struggling with that in their families and I’m fortunate that everybody in my family is healthy and I’m healthy and there’s nothing I can complain about.”
