PLAYER #99 - BILL NORTON (1978-80, 83)

Ever heard the song by Trooper: "We're here for a good time/ Not a long time." Well, Bill Norton's ever-changing life, both inside and outside of football, seems to echo the above lyric.

A punishing offensive lineman who wore his heart on his sleeve, Norton's outspoken nature seemed to rub many people the wrong way in the early part of his CFL career.

"I was kind of a renegade in my first year," said Norton, who upon graduating from Weber State College joined the British Columbia Lions in 1976, and by the end of the year had been on three teams, including the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Calgary Stampeders. "You can't kick the coach's dog (as happened in Calgary) or throw playbooks at the general manager (as happened in B.C.). Your time spent in those cities kind of wears thin after pulling those stunts."

After sitting out most of the 1977 season with an injury, Norton joined the Argos in 1978, where he would play the next three years on some teams that badly underachieved.

"There was a lot of talent back then, but it just didn't gel right," said Norton, who added that the continuous changes in coaching and personnel contributed to the downfall. "If you keep that door turning, you're not going to get that consistency."

A similar circumstance greeted Norton when he was traded to Montreal for the 1981 season, a watershed campaign when Nelson Skalbania bought the team and imported a galaxy of NFL stars like Vince Ferragamo, James Scott, Tom Cousineau, Keith Gary and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. But instead of dominating, the team flopped, and then folded at the end of the season, being reborn as the Concordes for the 1982 season.

"It was a pretty wild team, if you looked at the roster," said Norton, who was an eastern all-star during the 1981 season. "No matter where you went, they were gunning for you."

In 1983, Norton came back to the Argos for a final season, and this time they overachieved, winning the Grey Cup in his final game on the west coast, where he grew up and has lived ever since. "It was a good place to win it; I didn't have to go too far for the party," said Norton.

After football, Norton got involved in a variety of business ventures, some which were very successful and others less so. He tried ranching in Saskatchewan, ran motor yacht charter rentals off Vancouver's coastline during Expo '86, sold commercial real estate, and operated a trucking business that had a second home based in Dallas, Texas.

Currently, he is involved in a charitable fundraising venture for literacy out of his home in Coquitlam, B.C., where he lives with his wife Nicki and daughters Lacey and Larissa. The family also maintains a winter place in Whistler, where Norton gets the most out of his new sport now - skiing.