08-07-2025
'It means a lot': Calgarian Adelodun relishing Surge game during Calgary Stampede
Olumide Adelodun grew up with the Calgary Stampede in his backyard.
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So the pomp and pageantry — along with the cowboy sizzle — surrounding 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' doesn't faze the Calgary native and professional basketball talent.
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But ask his Calgary Surge teammate Javonte Brown — a big city kid from out east —about the spectacle that is the Stampede, and it's quite a different take.
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'I'm not gonna lie,' admitted Brown, standing with Adelodun amidst a western-garbed sea of people at the Stampede grounds. 'It completely caught me off-guard. Like it's a lot of people. It's huge — it's all over the city.
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He'll likely love it even more come Wednesday night during Surge2Stampede — a home Canadian Elite Basketball League contest for Brown, Adelodun and the Surge hosted in collaboration with the Calgary Stampede at Scotiabank Saddledome.
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Indeed, the Surge (9-5) take on the visiting Montreal Alliance (6-7) with thousands of Stampeding Calgarians expected to take in the CEBL showcase at the Dome (7:30 p.m., TSN).
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'It means a lot,' said Adelodun, a graduate of Bishop O'Byrne Senior High School in the city's southwest.
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'I remember when I was younger with my mom and my brother going to watch a Calgary Flames game.
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So to be able to play in that arena is really interesting.
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'You know … it's a big opportunity. I'm really excited.'
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Last year, the Surge drew a league-record 12,327 fans to the home of the hockey Flames in a one-off game.
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But this year's first of two Dome home tilts for the Calgary club gets the backing of the Stampede, with the likelihood of a dang fine walk-up crowd helping to fill seats on Family Day at the midway.
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'Stampede is a staple in Calgary,' said 22-year-old Adelodun. 'When I was younger, I used to just always come here with my family.
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'My main thing is the food — I've got a lot of interest in the food here,' continued Adelodun. 'But … really … it's just the atmosphere here — you see the cowboys, you see the rodeo and all that. It's just a lot of stuff that you can really just get into and is just really interesting.
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'So it is just kind of cool being able to know that I'll play in front of everyone in the Calgary Stampede.'
