We often get so wrapped up in our favourite teams that we can forget that the players are just regular people, who happen to play a sport.
The Ottawa REDBLACKS are no exception. People from all kinds of different backgrounds, with different interests away from the field. Among them, wide receiver Bralon Addison, one of the club’s most recent additions. You probably know him as a 2019 CFL All-Star, or as a potentially game-breaking weapon, but there’s more that no one can see.
Inside his imposing, athletic exterior, there’s a guy who loves the fantasy world. Whether it’s superheroes, action movies, compelling TV narratives, or a good old-fashioned comic book, Addison spends much of his time away from football immersing himself in other art forms.
“I’m into it all,” Addison said. “I really just love movies in general, but I’m also a big comic book guy. DC is my favourite, but I like Marvel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that kind of thing, if you name it, I’ll probably like it.”
When football is done for the day, Addison heads home, and like many others trying their best to unwind after a long day at the office, he flicks on the television and watches a couple of episodes of his current favourite show.
In recent weeks, it has included ‘The Boys,’ where a group of vigilantes set out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers, according to IMDB. He also watched ‘The Chi,’ which is a six-season, 54-episode show created by Lena Waithe, about a neighbourhood in the south side of Chicago. All the while, he’s waiting for the second season of ‘Invincible.’
Addison says these shows have been incredibly entertaining, and they did a great deal to keep him on the right path while he recovered from a torn Achilles. That said, it has become more than just a source of fun, as he has begun hyper-analysing scenes, and in the process, has developed an appreciation and interest of/in cinematography.
His whole life, Batman has been his favourite superhero, and of course, his favourite movie scene of all time comes from ‘The Batman,’ where Batman is in a car chase with The Penguin – one of the movie’s main villains.
The Batman | Penguin Car Chase | Warner Bros. Entertainment
That love for movies and TV has always left Addison wondering what it might be like to one day step into the world of acting or production, but right now, there isn’t much in the way of a grandiose plan to get on the big screen.
“I have a great appreciation for [acting], and I have thought about going into production or acting, but after football, I’m thinking about getting into coaching or commentating,” Addison said. “I have thought about making a podcast doing movie reviews, but I never go through with it.”
Don’t count that podcast out just yet, but for the time being, Addison is keeping his love of the movies as a passion, one that can take him away from all of the stress of the real world, even if just for a couple of hours.
“You can catch me at the movies all the time, that’s my little thing, it’s my getaway,” he explained. “There’s so much going on in football and in life, but when you go to the theatre, you can turn your phone off for two hours and disappear from the world for a little bit.”
In his short time in Ottawa, Addison hasn’t yet been able to convince his teammates to make a trip to the theatre on a routine basis, but luckily for him, he’s never shy to take in a new film by his lonesome.
“I try to pull them along, but they don’t always want to go,” Addison said. “I tell the guys I’m going all the time.”
On the field, Addison has been battling his whole life. After a collegiate career at Oregon, he bounced around in the NFL, before coming to Canada. When he got here, injuries plagued his time. To make a long story short, his success was never guaranteed.
“That’s why Batman has always been my favourite,” Addison said. “The way I play is by doing a multitude of things. I’m not the biggest guy, or the fastest guy, and I don’t have the longest arms, but I can get the job done in multiple ways. That’s why I love Batman, because he doesn’t have any superpowers, but he’s out there fighting crime.”
