When his name is called during the pre-game introductions at IG Field, Brady Oliveira makes his way down the tunnel, steps through the smoke, and lets out a huge roar while flexing both arms.
Pay attention next time and you’ll notice arguably no one gets a louder reaction than the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ hometown running back.
What do the hours leading up to that moment entail for Oliveira? How does the fourth-year pro unwind after the final whistle?
The Free Press recently chatted with the 26-year-old to find out what his game day experience typically looks like when the Bombers have an evening kickoff at home.
Oliveira’s day doesn’t start with the sound of an annoying iPhone alarm.
He naturally wakes up at 8:30 a.m. and will relax in bed for a bit before getting up and hopping in the shower.
He may be a big, tough professional football player, but Oliveira has been forced to learn it’s important to exfoliate and moisturize.
“My girlfriend (Alex) has me on a pretty strict regimen skincare routine that I do. She has all the products so I do my skincare routine after I get out of the shower,” he said with a laugh.
Before a game, Brady Oliveira takes time to visualize the action of which he will soon be a part.
After having a protein shake for breakfast, it’s time for his most important pre-game ritual — a trip to the The Chamois Full Service Car Wash on Reenders Drive with his truck.
It’s been a must for Oliveira for two or three seasons now.
“I want to arrive to the stadium in a clean vehicle. It’s almost like a look good, feel good, play good type of thing, so I go do that in the morning,” said Oliveira.
Gold wash?
“So, they hook me up there. They run it through (the wash) for me and then they take it to the detail side to do a little specialty for Brady. They make sure everything’s good inside and all the dog hair is out of the vehicle,” said Oliveira.
He doesn’t like to run on a heavy stomach, so lunch will usually be something light from Subway, Freshii or Pita Pit. Oliveira then spends his afternoon at home relaxing with his two rescue pups: Nellie and Gunnar.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira (20) with his dog
“I literally just want to be around my dogs. I think it brings so much good energy to me. I want to be in a good mood because I know when I get to (the stadium), it’s business,” said Oliveira.
“I don’t really get pissed off, but it’s a different type of Brady. It’s no more happy Brady, it’s I’m ready to go, run through a wall, and lay my body on the line for my teammates.”
Oliveira pulls into the stadium parking lot around 4:15 p.m. and hits the field shortly thereafter.
“I like to walk the field and do some visualization. I visualize some plays that I know are going to be called in the game, and some situations including the defence that we’re facing and how I can attack it, so I walk the field doing that with my eyes closed,” he said.
The headphones are on and Oliveira jams to a mix of rap and electronic music. To this day, he creates his playlist with the help of former Bombers running back Andrew Harris, who is now with the Toronto Argonauts.
“We still hit each other up. He’s big into house music and the electronic scene, same as me. So, whenever he hears a new track, he’ll send it to me, and vice versa, I send him new songs that I think he’d like,” said Oliveira.
He refers to that as his pre-pre-game warmup. Oliveira then heads to the locker room to gear up. He doesn’t have any crazy superstitions about how he puts on his wrist tape or any other equipment, but when it comes to eye black, it’s a different story.
“I don’t really get pissed off, but it’s a different type of Brady. It’s no more happy Brady, it’s I’m ready to go, run through a wall, and lay my body on the line for my teammates.”–Brady Oliveira
“I do eye black under my left eye, only the left eye. Actually I do this because of Andrew. I noticed when I was watching him when I was playing club football with the Nomads and Oak Park in high school, I always liked that look. It just looked sick, he always did the eye black under one eye, so I started doing that when I was in high school, and in college I always did it and it continued into my pro career,” said Oliveira.
“I’ve been going to (linebacker) Jesse (Briggs) for eye black. A couple weeks ago he said to me ‘You know you can see (running back) Johnny (Augustine) now, he has eye black.’ And I was like ‘Dude, I can’t switch it up.’ And he was like ‘OK, that’s totally fine. Keep coming to me.’”
From there, Oliveira huddles up with the crew that paves the way for him — the offensive line — for a shot of an energy drink or some pre-workout.
“We’ll do kind of a little speech to get the boys hyped up. I’ll say something, or Yoshi (right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick) or whoever wants to break it down for that game day, do our little shot, and then we’re ready to rock,” he said.
Everyone then takes the field for some last-minute preparation and stretching. It’s when head coach Mike O’Shea makes his way to each and every player and shakes their hand. In Friday’s 31-21 victory over the Argos — a game in which Oliveira rushed for a career-high 169 yards — he pulled O’Shea in for a hug.
Brady Oliveira appreciates the fans and knows how important it is to connect with them.
After the player intros and national anthem, Oliveira takes a knee in the end zone to say a prayer.
In the stands, the Winnipegger has at least a dozen family members cheering him on at each game.
“I could always use more tickets for friends, old coaches that used to coach me, and stuff like that, but if I can just get enough for my family and Alex’s family, 12-14 tickets, I’m good. But honestly, I could probably use 30 tickets every game and I would still need more,” he said.
“I know I make my family proud. It’s the last name on my back and I gotta go out there and have a big game for them.”
It’s game time.
When Oliveira scores — which he has 10 times this season — he’ll launch the ball into the crowd and show his appreciation for the O-line, receivers and quarterback Zach Collaros with a friendly headbutt.
Win or lose, when the game ends, Oliveira shakes hands with the opposition and joins in on the post-game prayer at midfield which features players from both teams.
“I know I make my family proud. It’s the last name on my back and I gotta go out there and have a big game for them.”–Brady Oliveira
Before heading inside to see his family and then talk with reporters, Oliveira greets fans and thanks them for coming out.
“With the CFL being a gate-driven league, we need butts in those seats. I think it’s important for us to be accessible to the community to show how much we appreciate them so they keep coming back. I do that after every single game,” said Oliveira.
“It’s important to interact with fans, especially young kids out there. You never know, one conversation might spark a kid to have interest in playing football.”
After washing off all the blood and sweat from a 60-minute battle on the gridiron, it’s time to dig in.
A lot of guys on the team usually head to Nicolino’s Italian restaurant on Pembina.
“Nic hooks us up. We go there and he has an absolute feast of food for us. He has pizza, pasta, salads, chicken fingers, fries. He really does take care of us,” said Oliveira.
“There’s just an endless amount of food that keeps coming out so I eat pretty much until I get stuffed because I think I deserved it, I earned it, and I had nothing in my body and want to put everything back into me.”
The boys will stay late and discuss everything that went right and wrong during the game.
“Nic hooks us up. We go there and he has an absolute feast of food for us. He has pizza, pasta, salads, chicken fingers, fries. He really does take care of us.”–Brady Oliveira
It’s an exhausting day, but when Oliveira returns home, his head doesn’t hit the pillow right away. He’ll watch TV and unwind with the dogs.
“I can’t sleep. I probably won’t fall asleep until 4:30 in the morning because I’m so wired. That’s the only thing that sucks because we have to be here early in the morning for a recovery session,” he said.
“Whenever I’m tired, I’ll fall asleep, but usually it’s a quick three-hour sleep and I’m back here the next day.”
Oliveira leads the league in rushing with 1,359 yards in 15 games to go along with an impressive 5.9 yards per carry average. If he can scamper for another 454 yards in the final three games — starting this Friday in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions (11-4) in a pivotal West Division showdown — Oliveira will tie Calgary Stampeders legend Jon Cornish for most rushing yards by a Canadian in a single season.
Whether the 14th overall pick of the 2019 CFL Draft reaches that historic mark or not, the University of North Dakota product has proved he deserves to be in the conversation for not only the Most Outstanding Canadian, but also the Most Outstanding Player award.
Clearly his game day habits are working.
“I wake up on game day and I’m super excited,” said Oliveira.
“It’s another opportunity that I’m grateful for.”
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Taylor Allen
Reporter
Eighteen years old and still in high school, Taylor got his start with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, sort of…
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