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After going unsigned as a CFL free agent in 2023, quarterback Michael O’Connor figured he was done with football.
Three years later, the 30-year-old Ottawa native is chasing the Olympic dream.
O’Connor has helped Canada’s men’s flag football team reach the cusp of qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Canada can punch its ticket for California this summer and be part of the sport’s Olympic debut.
“We’re just focused on what’s next and what we can do to get better,” O’Connor said recently. “But I’d be lying if I said I don’t think about it and just how cool it would be to play and possibly medal in the Olympics.
“It’s something I never thought would be possible.”
A top-two finish at the world championships in Germany would qualify Canada for Los Angeles. If the United States reach the final, the second- and third-place finishers will earn Olympic berths as the Americans are already in as the host country.
Canada qualified for the world event by securing the bronze medal last summer IFAF Americas Flag Football Continental Championship in Panama. The U.S. and Mexico were declared joint champions as severe weather forced the cancellation of the gold-medal game.
Canada finished the round robin with a 3-1 record before losing a 35-25 semifinal decision to Mexico. The Canadians beat Panama 32-22 in the bronze medal game as O’Connor threw five touchdown passes, and he believes preparation will be key in Germany.
“We were third last year in Panama but I think we’ve made big strides since then,” O’Connor said. “Just in terms of cleaning up what plays we like to run and what field position do we like to run them in.
“We’re looking forward to getting back on the world stage and showing everybody that, yeah, we had a good 2025 but we’re a better team now.”
The six-foot-four, 230-pound O’Connor began his college career at Penn State in 2014 before transferring to the University of British Columbia. He guided the Thunderbirds to a Vanier Cup title in 2015 and in 2019 was taken in the third round, No. 20 overall, in the CFL draft by the Toronto Argonauts.
Flag football is a sport on the rise, in part because of its inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Some CFL players are helping children learn the ins and outs of the game.
He joined the Calgary Stampeders in 2020 but the CFL didn’t play that year due to the global pandemic. After spending the 2021 campaign in Alberta, O’Connor joined the B.C. Lions in 2022.
O’Connor dressed for 40 CFL regular-season games but only attempted 52 passes, completing 30 for 330 yards with a touchdown and interception while running for a TD.
Flag football differs greatly from the tackle version, with five players per side on a 70-yard by 25-yard field. There’s no blocking or contact allowed and each play begins with the ball being snapped to the quarterback and a defensive player lined up seven yards off the scrimmage rushing the passer.
“The field is only 25 yards wide so everything happens much quicker,” O’Connor said. “Everything is more condensed and the rusher comes at you very quickly.
“And with the deep ball, because the field is so narrow you can’t really put too much air on it because the backside coverage can easily make a play. It’s a very different game but at the end of the day it’s still catching and throwing.”
But even if O’Connor leads Canada to Olympic qualification, he’ll have to compete for a spot in Los Angeles. The CFL and NFL are allowing their players to participate in the ’28 Games, which will certainly amp up the competition for roster positions.
In fact, B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke, the CFL’s top Canadian and outstanding player last season, has started playing in a recreational flag football league to get better acclimated to the game. If Canada reaches the ’28 Games, the expectation is Rourke will try out for the squad.
And with other top Canadian quarterbacks like Tre Ford (Hamilton Tiger-Cats), Kurtis Rourke (NFL’s San Francisco 49ers) and Taylor Elgersma (UFL, Birmingham Stallions), Canada would have a solid talent pool to choose from.
“I can’t lie, I know I’d be disappointed to get to the Olympics and ultimately not be on that roster,” he said. “But at the end of the day it’s not about me and my feelings, it’s about what’s best for the country so I do understand that also.
“After I was done playing in the CFL, I kind of made peace with the game and was ready to move on. Then this opportunity came up and I’m really enjoying every moment of it.”
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