Gargiulo Relieved To Have A Home In Calgary

By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com

Calgary -- Relieved.

That’s the word former Dartmouth defensive end Anthony Gargiulo fell back on several times to describe his feelings when he learned Saturday he had made the Calgary Stampeders’ roster for the Canadian Football League regular season-opener this week.

A two-time member of the All-Ivy League first team, Gargiulo had shown well since signing with the "Big Red," as a free agent after a year out of football, but he wasn’t taking anything for granted.

“I was doing what I was supposed to do and the coaches complimented me a lot, so I had a pretty good feeling,” he said. “But I didn't want to count on anything. ... My parents wanted to come visit me and I was like, 'Don't buy tickets. I don't know if I'm going to be here.' ”

He learned his fate -- sort of -- on the charter flight back from the final preseason game of the year that he’d found a home in Alberta.

“A lot of guys on the plane back last night got letters saying they should meet with the head coach,” Gargiulo said Saturday night. “I didn't get anything and I wasn't really sure what that meant. But since I didn't get tapped on the shoulder or get a letter, I was assuming things were going to continue going the way they were which mean I was on the team. When nobody told me, that was my answer.”

Confirmation came when he arrived at the stadium Saturday.

“I really knew I made the team after practice today when they moved my locker from the rookie locker room into the main room,” Gargiulo said.

Gargiulo, 22, will play in his first regular-season football game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this week since Nov. 19, 2005, although he got his first taste of what’s to come a few weeks back. After spending the spring of 2006 with the Dartmouth rugby team, he was finally a football player again.

“I didn't feel like it until we ran out on the field for the first preseason game,” he said. “Then I felt like I was a player again. They had the big blowup helmet, the cheerleaders and everything. It was cool to come back on the field like that.”

Still, he knows he has work left to do in order to reclaim the form that helped him lead the Ivy League in sacks as a junior and make 17 tackles for loss as a senior.

“I feel like I've been developing my pass rush,” he said, “but I'm probably a half step behind where I used to be. I've got to get that back and correct one or two mistakes against the run game. It's nothing grievous but it's what you have to do to be a professional I guess.”

One constant: He knows he has the speed he needs to play at this level.

“Maybe not (to run down) some of the receivers in the open field but as far as making plays in the backfield and rushing the passer I feel like I have plenty of speed,” he said.

Without any days off, Gargiulo hasn’t had much of a chance yet to explore Calgary, but so far the New Jersey native has liked what he’s seen.

“It's very pretty and clean,” he said. “The people are really friendly. It's just a nice place. II hope to get a better taste of that in the next week or two when I get a car and get to see some things. It's been a long haul without a break.”

Gargiulo plans to find a place to live with another “Stamp,” who played at Stanford. The only former Cardinal on the roster is fullback Gerald Commisiong, who, like Gargiulo, played for Buddy Teevens.