Q&A: No. 55: Sherko Haji-Rasouli

How nice a guy is B.C. Lions offensive lineman Sherko Haji-Rasouli? He dragged himself away from all-you-can-eat chicken at the Leo's facility to chat with The Province's Marc Weber. Now that's one nice guy -- with one greasy handshake.

Q: You were born in Shiraz, Iran. How important is that heritage to you?
A: It's my culture. You've got to be able to adjust and live where you live, but at the same time you've got to keep in the back of your mind where you're from. My ancestry goes back thousands of years and I've been here 20 years, so you have to appreciate it and pass it on to your kids.

Q: Have you been back?
A: I have not, just given the political situation, and my mom always feared that I'd be kept for the military -- "my son, he's a very big guy." I'd love to go back at some point. I'd need a lot of time to visit a lot of family. My mom is one of 14 kids so I have over 60-70 cousins.

Q: Your suspension last year, what did your mom have to say?
A: It's part of the sport. Sometimes you lose your cool, and she understands that. Her brothers were wrestlers and boxers in Iran. She wasn't terribly disappointed but she didn't talk about it too much.

Q: At the University of Miami you played in three national championship games, and that 2001 team is regarded as one of the greatest ever in college football. What does it mean to be a part of that?
A: It's funny because I didn't know too much about college football, growing up in Canada, being of Iranian descent. I was forced by my father to go to that school because it's a private school and has small classes. It turned out to be a great decision because I personally wanted to go to Ohio State. We had a great run and I look back on those days with a lot of pride.

Q: Is there a lot of college chatter in the Lions' locker room?
A: Oh yeah. The worst one was when Maryland beat Miami last year. I was pretty distraught over that. Geroy [Simon] dug deep into my pockets on that one.

Q: Sixteen guys on that 2001 team ended up being first-round NFL draft picks, guys like Phillip Buchanon, Willis McGahee and Jeremy Shockey. Who stood out most for you back then?
A: They recruited athletes to that school. You looked at every one of them and they were just physical freaks. When you ask about one or two, I just can't say. One of the greatest athletes I saw was a guy named Jason Geathers, and he's playing Arena because they [NFL people] didn't know where to play him. He can play receiver, DB, quarterback, running back.

Q: Do you keep in contact with any of the guys in the NFL?
A: I'm not very good at communicating. I don't do Facebook, I don't do MySpace, I'm not very good with my cellphone. But when I see them it's just like old days.

Q: Do you follow them a little more closely on Sundays?
A: Yeah, if guys I know are playing I will watch them. One of the craziest things is that every single starter on offence my junior and senior year was in the NFL when I was in Montreal [with the Alouettes] in 2003-2004. Every guy, except me.

Q: How did that make you feel?
A: I was a little bitter about that. Maybe that's why I don't call them.

Q: Outside of the football, what stands out for you as the best memory from university?
A: Have you ever been to Miami, Florida? I went through five years of cargo shorts and flip-flops and free T-shirts from university.

Q: You once built a barbeque before leaving for a game. That makes you different from the typical athlete. What's the weirdest thing you've been doing before a game?
A: I think putting together the barbeque. That's when Rob Murphy was staying with me. He was so surprised, being a guy who played in the NFL, usually you stay in a hotel, even when you play at home [to focus better]. He was shocked that his O-line mate was putting together a barbeque. I just go about my day. I focus in once I get to the stadium.
mweber@theprovince.com

(canada.com)