CALGARY, AB — Fans have been clamouring to see Tyson Roe get into a game with the Calgary Roughnecks since he was drafted 16th overall in 2014.
The 6’10” Duncan, BC, native has become a fan-favourite without even playing in a regular season game.
Unfortunately for the fans, Roe did not make the team but instead was placed on the practice roster.
However, it didn’t take long for the fans to voice their support of getting the big guy in the starting line-up.
@NLLRoughnecks #NLLRoughnecks #ReleaseTheGiant #87
— Amber Clearsky (@amberclearsky) February 22, 2015
As the season wore on and the Roughnecks record dipped well below .500, fans wanted to see some change.
They wanted to #ReleaseTheGiant.
Well, 2 and 8. You know what time it is? Time to #releasethegiant! Go @NLLRoughnecks go! Go @tyroe13 go!
— The Orange Crew (@OrangeCrewNecks) March 15, 2015
To the chagrin of many, the Roughnecks never activated Roe for a regular season game.
Remaining on the bench was not something that Roe wanted, but he recognized that the Roughnecks were a veteran team with the goal of winning a championship.
He made sure to learn all that he could from the experience.
“Curt gave me a call saying I was on the practice roster and I was surprised, but it’s understandable,” Roe said. “I wasn’t mad or anything, I was just happy to be on the team. I understood being put on the practice roster. I did learn a lot.”
Roe, who is on Twitter, was aware of the fans desire to get him into a game.
He quite enjoyed the support from the fans.
“I’m very aware of that,” Roe said. “When I first saw it, I looked at my phone and thought, ‘Who is this guy tweeting at me?’ I read it and saw #RealeaseTheGiant and thought it was hilarious. They kept doing it and I wanted to know who was doing it. I found out it was the guys in the orange suits.”
It was ‘The Orange Crew’, a group of avid Roughnecks fans, who started the #ReleaseTheGiant campaign.
As big fans of Roe, one member of the Orange Crew travelled to the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in Syracuse, NY, where he got to meet him.
“These guys became my favourite,” Roe said. “The guy who actually first started it, I met him at the WILC. He came up and talked to me and he told me that he made a sign. I told him it was awesome that he was tweeting at me and following me like that.”
