When Dean Williams attended his friend's Brad Witts funeral on Dec. 18, 2022, he left wanting to find a unique way to honour him.
The result is Witty, mascot of the West Shore Rebels, a Greater Victoria-based team in the Canadian Junior Football League.
"Brad was from the West Shore. He was just an exceptional football player," said Williams. "In 1983, we won the B.C.s for the second year, and he was the MVP for all of B.C."
Williams came up with the idea for the mascot after watching a funny tribute video at his friend's celebration of life at the Italian Cultural Centre in Burnaby. In the video, Witt dressed up as a tax auditor and interviewed himself.
"It was a 10-minute video. And he did it while he was dying," Williams said. "He had us laughing and crying in the first 10 minutes of the service."
Witt died after a battle with cancer.
"His brother gave him a kidney," said Williams. "He was doing really well. And then, just before COVID-19, his dormant kidney caught cancer."
He then contacted Rebels General Manager Roger Wade about an old football uniform he could tweak and turn into a mascot.
"Roger (the Rebels general manager) said, 'Well, you, Dean, that costume is great, but I think you are probably going to scare some kids," Williams said.
Despite this pushback, he decided to put on the costume, and for the first game, he appeared as Witty. It went "gang-busters."
Williams is 60 years old, retired, and has grandkids. He considers himself an extrovert, and when he finishes putting on the helmet and pads, he channels the spirit of his former friend.
"I have a little canister on my outfit with some of Brad's ashes."
He admits he broke one of the rules of mascots and started talking to fans at Rebels home games. His next appearance will be at the team's home opener on July 27 at Starlight Stadium.
"Roger goes, 'Dean, you're the mascot. You are not supposed to talk.'"
It gets hot in those pads and Williams has had to contend with multiple games where its hit 35 C.
"There were a couple of games where I was just pouring water down my back."
He and Witt were part of the 1983 British Columbia Junior Football Association (BCJFA). Williams was an offensive lineman who played all five positions, and Witt was a defensive back.
"I played from '82 to '86. And in the first three years, we won the B.C. title," said Williams.
Putting on the Witty costume can take 15 minutes, but it used to take him 30. He said he has streamlined the process.
"I have tweaked the costume a little bit to make it more easy to get in and out of."
Friends, family, and the team know of Williams and his work, but his identity is kept secret for the most part 鈥� despite a very close call at the end of last year's Canadian Bowl at Starlight Stadium between the Hilltops and Rebels.
"I was getting dressed, and I got half my costume off and had to run back out onto the field for something I had left out there," he said. "One guy sees me and goes, 'You can't come out undressed, now I know what you look...but don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret is safe with me."
