Mother's message played big role in Chiu spending entire CFL career with Alouettes
The temptation was always there but each time Bryan Chiu managed to resist, with a little help.
Chiu joined the Montreal Alouettes in 1997 and would remain with them through the 2009. On Thursday, the decorated centre was among five former players and two builders named for induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Chiu was a seven-time CFL all-star and the league's top lineman in 2002. Those accolades created opportunities for the Vancouver native to return west and play for the hometown B.C. Lions.
But each time, Chiu received a friendly reminder the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
'All of the credit goes to my mom, it's that Asian culture in us,' Chiu, now 50, said. 'As I had success and every time free agency came, she'd always remind me — loyalty.
'They're the team that drafted you, every other team passed on you. There was always temptation to come back home and play in B.C. but at the end of the day, Montreal gave me that opportunity and it became my second home. That's where I was able to become a man because I went there as a kid.'
Montreal drafted the six-foot-two, 290-pound Chiu in the second round, 18th overall, in 1996. After joining the Alouettes the following year, Chiu quickly blossomed into one of the CFL's top centres and an integral member of the Alouettes' offensive front.
That unit helped Montreal dominate the East Division. The Alouettes finished atop the East eight times, reached the Grey Cup on seven occasions and won twice (2002, '09).
Montreal's offence also included top lineman winners Uzooma Okeke (1999) and Canadian Hall of Famers Pierre Vercheval (2000) and Scott Flory (2008-'09). Leading the offence were quarterback Anthony Calvillo (three times CFL's outstanding player) and receiver Ben Cahoon (twice league's top Canadian).
'Continuity,' Chiu said explaining Montreal's dominance. 'We all understood our job and we held each other accountable.
'But more than that you didn't really have to communicate very much … there was a high expectation to succeed.'
Chiu's individual success, though, didn't come naturally.
'I was never the biggest, I wasn't the fastest, I wasn't the strongest,' he said. 'What I knew was in order to have a long career in this league I had to be smarter, I had to study harder.
'I had to understand every defence, every tendency. That just gave me that little edge to be able to play at the level of some of these other guys who were so gifted athletically.'
But Chiu said some of his most cherished memories of his time in Montreal came off the field.
'Our group was together for so long … we grew a tight bond,' Chiu said. 'Some of those memories were of going to offensive-line meals, playing cards on the train or hanging out in a hotel room.
'Those are the things I remember more than any Grey Cups or any wins. Those were the relationships that really made me feel like I was part of a family and those guys are the reason why I'm sitting here today.'
Chiu's CFL career ended dramatically in the '09 Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Trailing by 16 points in the fourth quarter, Montreal pulled to within 27-25 when Damon Duval came on to attempt a 43-yard field goal late in the game. When Duval missed, the Riders conceded the point for the apparent 27-26 victory but were penalized for having 13 players on the field.
That gave Duval a second shot from 33 yards out, which he made on the game's final play to give Montreal the improbable 28-27 win.
'It was as that point I knew it was time (to retire),' Chiu said. 'I wanted to go out on top and that was the one memory I'll never forget, just seeing those flags and getting another shot at it.
'I just knew if we missed that kick, I've got to come back and try to play my 14th year because I just couldn't live with going to seven Grey Cups and only winning one. Having that opportunity … it's rare you get to go out on top.'
Upon retirement, Chiu moved into coaching. He became Concordia's assistant offensive co-ordinator/offensive line coach June 22, 2010 before serving as an offensive-line coach with the Toronto Argonauts (2014), Ottawa Redblacks (2015-17) and B.C. Lions (2019).
Chiu earned a third Grey Cup ring with Ottawa in 2016. Currently, Chiu is the head coach at Vancouver College, his alma mater.
'It (Hall of Fame induction) is an honour and privilege but at the end of the day, I always tell our program no one person is bigger than this team,' he said. 'We don't play for individual awards.
'If you do everything right and respect the game, good things always come.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025.
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