Jun 06 Alouettes' Bryan Chiu Announces Retirement

He was present and participated in the CFL championship ring presentation ceremonies last Friday evening. He had signed on to return to the Alouettes for the 2010 season, along with other veterans like Anthony Calvillo and Ben Cahoon.  But, perhaps abruptly, Alouettes centre, Bryan Chiu officially announced his retirement today at the beginning of the teams 2010 training camp as it got underway in Sherbrooke Quebec. 

After 13 seasons in the CFL, all of them with the Als, and after signing on to return for another season in order to attempt another trip to the CFL final, all seemed to point to Chiu taking his familiar spot in front of Veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo on the offensive line. 

As recently as the ring ceremony which took place at Chalet du Mont-Royal Friday evening, Chiu, when asked about returning to do it all over again, responded, “That’s what it’s all about is winning a championship, because this is a bond I’m gonna have with these guys for a lifetime.” He also gave every indication that he was ready for 2010. “The hunger is still there to come back and let’s do it again because it was so much fun”

In the end it appears that after some soul searching and a conversation with his wife, Chiu decided it was time to “hang ‘em up” and what better way to retire when your last game ended with the hoisting of the Grey Cup?

Chiu was a seven-time CFL All-Star, named nine times to the CFL East Division All-Star team and six times to the CFLPA All-Star team. He was also named the 2002 CFL Most Outstanding Lineman.

«Today, we celebrate a fantastic career and we thank Bryan for his courage, commitment, toughness and leadership throughout the years», said Alouettes Vice-President and General Manager, Jim Popp.

Tags: 2010 training camp \ announce \ Bryan Chiu \ cfl \ Montreal Alouettes \ retirement