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Let’s reverse that line of thinking. What seems to be essential, from this standpoint, is that the Roughriders find a way to protect Glenn and thereby benefit from his wealth of experience.

A CFLer since 2001, Glenn has experienced virtually everything. The only obvious void is a Grey Cup championship, something he would love to change by month’s end.

“Big-time,” he said. “I’m a firm believer that it still doesn’t define you as a person. People say that but, at the same time, this is the ultimate team sport, so when you can accomplish something like that with a team — where there are so many different situations and circumstances that go into you being able to win that Cup — that says a lot about the continuity of the team, the character of the guys on the team, the coaching staff, the players … all that.”

Appraisals of an individual’s career in a team sport can be arbitrary and simplistic.

It has often been noted that legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, for all his accomplishments, never played for a Super Bowl winner. Also consider Glenn’s former Winnipeg Blue Bombers teammate, Milt Stegall, who did everything except play for a champion.

People are apt to label an athlete as someone who has “never won the big one,” without considering the entire equation.

“It gives them a way to make conversation and to make arguments about people,” Glenn said. “That’s just the way our society is.”

Given better luck, Glenn could have celebrated a title a decade ago. He suffered a broken left arm while quarterbacking the Blue Bombers in the 2007 East Division final and therefore sat out the Grey Cup game, in which Saskatchewan defeated Winnipeg 23-19. His replacement, Ryan Dinwiddie, was intercepted three times by Grey Cup MVP James Johnson.