Fan Attempts Million Dollar Kick At CFL Game

Fifty measly yards stand between Bill Szijarto and a million dollars.   But when he steps onto the field during halftime at Friday’s Roughriders-Argonauts game and approaches a perfectly perched football, that distance will likely take on a daunting immensity.  

Szijarto will be the latest dreamer to take a shoed swat at the Wendy’s Kick for a Million.   Should he successfully thrust the ball through the uprights, the IT support specialist will instantly transform the turf at Rogers Centre into a field of dreams come true.

The task at hand, however, is hardly something the typical armchair quarterback can accomplish, but at six-foot-one and 270-pounds, he’ll definitely have the natural strength required.   The fact that he’s a soccer enthusiast who plays for two recreational teams only increases his odds.  

Szijarto remembers receiving the call that informed him he was chosen for the opportunity, and immediately thinking it was a prank.

“I said, `Cripes, this sounds like a friend of mine, come on,”‘ Szijarto recalled. “Then there was a (Toronto) number to call back and it went from there.”

His life has taken on a dramatically different tone since his phone rang that day.

“I knew this was like, huge,” Szijarto said. “It was like a big freaking snowball that ran over me at that instant of time.”

Despite the difficulty of the task at ‘foot’, Szijarto thinks he has a decent chance.

“I can produce some results here,” he said. “If my body is feeling good about it and I feel connected to the ball on that given night, some great things can happen.”

“We all have bills to pay and that’s where it’s going to go first, to release my partnership from the bank, so to speak,” he said laughing. “And then I hope there would be something left over to treat my friends, my family and leave a little bit as security in the bank.”

That dream became a reality last year when Brian Diesbourg of Belle River, Ont., connected on a 50-yarder to win $1 million.