By Lyonel Doherty
Times-Chronicle
Photo contributed
It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Jamie Fortune since he left Oliver to follow his dream on the football field.
The 22-year-old former SOSS graduate is back home this summer working in the pro shop at Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course.
Some may remember Jamie who played basketball for the SOSS Hornets and golf in the high school league.
He recalled basketball coach Mo Basso telling him that some exciting doors could open for him if he played for the team. And they did. During one game at Immaculata school in Kelowna, he was approached by athletic director (and former CFL player) Jamie Boreham about playing football for the Okanagan Sun team, which he now runs as head coach.
That meeting led Fortune to play three seasons with the Sun.
“My first year with the Sun was a rollercoaster ride. My dad (Tom) had a double lung transplant and he was still in hospital in Vancouver when I started playing.”
After that, it was off to Acadia University in Nova Scotia where he played for the Axemen squad.
“I fell in love with the place . . . the campus is incredible.”
The six-foot-five, 265-pound offensive guard/tackle has been a force to be reckoned with, and a smart one at that. He was Academic All-Canadian this year.
But unfortunately, COVID-19 halted all games and sent everyone home early in March.
“The coach told us he wanted all of us to go home (for our own safety).”
Fortune still has three years left at Acadia and is slated to go back this fall. But he won’t be playing football anytime soon (only an exhibition game if he’s lucky).
His heart goes out to the older players (age 25) who won’t get extended opportunities to play.
“I have a lot of friends who are 25 that are getting robbed in their first year.”
Fortune said the Axemen had a really good year with a 9-0 record in conference play, only to lose in the semi-finals.
For Fortune, football is an atmosphere that you never take for granted.
“It’s all about the guys, being part of the team; you can’t find that camaraderie everywhere . . . it’s a true family.”
While he is “definitely bummed out” about not playing football, Fortune is thankful to be going back to school. Until then, he is enjoying working in Oliver, which he says has a real sense of community.
Like most people who are taking this pandemic seriously, Fortune is limiting his exposure to others.
“We’re in such a tough spot,” he said, noting that everyone wants to see their friends and family.
But in order to get back to lower case numbers in B.C., people have to continue making sacrifices, he said.
During his high school golfing days. (File photo)
