Giulio Caravatta is one of the nicest guys yousa国际传媒檒l ever meet.
He is, as they say, salt of the earth.
Now in his 26th season as the colour analyst for the B.C. Lions radio broadcasts, Caravatta is also extremely humble.
The B.C. Football Hall of Fame issued a press release this week announcing the 2024 class of inductees with bios on each and every individual except one: Giulio Caravatta.
Caravatta didnsa国际传媒檛 even notice until friends and family started reaching out to let him know that his bio was missing, but in typical Caravatta fashion, he shrugged it off.
I guess hesa国际传媒檚 got used to such happenings.
Like last year when the Lions decided to honor his 25th season as the teamsa国际传媒檚 analyst by making the announcement during a game at BC Place and then showing a live shot of him in the booth on the scoreboard.
One small problem. They showed my mug on the big screen instead.
In fact, the end zone camera angle actually took Caravatta entirely out of the shot of our broadcast booth.
Then there is the constant mistaking of Caravatta for yours truly. Itsa国际传媒檚 not just fans though. Media personalities from other CFL cities will often come up to Caravatta with a sa国际传媒淗ey, Moj! Howsa国际传媒檚 it going?sa国际传媒� introduction to a conversation.
Even current Lions players have misidentified him.
Just ask defensive tackle Tibo Debaillie, who was the latest to commit the cardinal sin.
But through all of it, the 58-year-old Coquitlam resident remains a good sport.
He just goes about his job sa国际传媒� which hesa国际传媒檚 the best at by the way sa国际传媒� and does his thing. Hesa国际传媒檚 not constantly tweeting or posting on Instagram trying to drum up followers. The mansa国际传媒檚 ego is non-existent.
With Caravatta it boils down to two things sa国际传媒� family and football sa国际传媒� and in that order.
I cannot tell you how many times we have been on the road the night before a game and hesa国际传媒檒l make an early exit so he can go back to his hotel room to watch either of his daughtersa国际传媒檚 (Sarah and Jessica) soccer games online.
When Covid forced us off the Lions charter and to travel commercial during the 2021 season, Caravatta would take the first flight out in the morning to Vancouver on several occasions so he could watch one of the girlssa国际传媒� matches that afternoon.
Never mind the pre-game face timing with his wife Linda, who he met while they were students at Simon Fraser University, or the girls.
Family is always a priority with Giulio.
When the Lions travel to Toronto or Hamilton, a stop at sa国际传媒楳amma Caravattasa国际传媒檚sa国际传媒� is always a privilege for our crew.
His mom Maria still lives in the same home in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke that Giulio and his two sisters sa国际传媒� Pina and Silvana sa国际传媒� grew up in.
Itsa国际传媒檚 your typical home from that generation with a big kitchen in the basement.
Upstairs?
Thatsa国际传媒檚 reserved for formal occasions like Christmas or Easter dinner.
The visit always includes a five-course meal with the majority of ingredients coming from the garden in the back yard.
Back in the day when Giulio played for the Lions in the 1990sa国际传媒檚, the young back-up quarterback would take a couple of teammates over for dinner. That group kept on expanding until they entire offensive unit would come over.
The stories from those gatherings are legendary.
Giuliosa国际传媒檚 late father sa国际传媒� also named Giulio - would love to grill some of the Lionssa国际传媒� players.
sa国际传媒淵ou! You are Darren Flutie,sa国际传媒� said the elder Caravatta in his thick Italian accent with some homemade wine in his hand.
sa国际传媒淵es, sir,sa国际传媒� Flutie responded.
sa国际传媒淒o you like to play against your brother Doug?sa国际传媒� he would ask.
sa国际传媒淵es, I do Mr. Caravatta,sa国际传媒� said Flutie.
sa国际传媒淪o why do you play like crap against him?sa国际传媒� said Giulio with teammate Danny McManus almost falling over backward in his chair from laughter.
There are more than enough stories from those visits to write a separate column, so we will try to stay on point.
The son of first-generation immigrants, Giulio learned from his parents the core values that led him to success during his eight-year stint in pro football and during his 25-year career in the West Vancouver Fire Department which culminated in him retiring as a captain this past year.
He tries to pass those same values along to his daughters of course, and hesa国际传媒檚 even trying to give back to the game he loves with the Centennial Secondary football team, where Caravatta is in his fifth season as an assistant coach.
He is planning on reaching out to offer some guidance to Alex La Vecchia, who is in his first season as a quarterback with the University of British Columbia. The La Vecchias and Caravattas are sa国际传媒榩aisansa国际传媒� with the families going back a couple of generations to the small village of San Martino in Pensilis, Italy.
He hasnsa国际传媒檛 connected with La Vecchia yet but will try to do so in the near future.
La Vecchiasa国际传媒檚 family hopes that he returns home to Ottawa someday, just as Giulio and Maria did when their son left Etobicoke to play football at SFU in 1984.
With Maria in tears seeing her son leaving the family home, her husband offered her some comfort.
sa国际传媒淒onsa国际传媒檛 worry Maria. When he gets hungry, hesa国际传媒檒l come home,sa国际传媒� laughed Giulio.
Lucky for us, he stayed even when he did get hungry.
Congrats big fella on a well-deserved honour.
OVERTIME:
* The 2024 B.C. Football Hall of Fame class also includes Paul McCallum, Glen Suitor, Mike Emery, and Shawn Olson in the athlete category. Dave Hawkshaw, Farhan Lalji and Doug Staveley enter under the builder category, while the 1984-1996 North Delta Razorbacks flag football team is also being inducted. The late Brian MacKay will also be honoured with the CFL Bob Ackles Award. The 2024 class will formally be inducted prior to the B.C. Lions home game versus the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, Oct. 19.
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