Where are they now?

In Canada, Pete Giftopoulos proves you can go home again -- and be successful

Most people leave their hometowns, families and friends behind for good when they go away to college. And after graduation, most find jobs in places other than where they grew up. But one former Penn State player proved that you can go home again, becoming a success both on and off the football field in his Canadian hometown.

Pete Giftopoulos, a Penn State linebacker from 1985 to 1987, has become a fan favorite in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, after a successful career at Penn State and an eight-year stint with the Hamilton TigerCats in the Canadian Football League.

"He's had a decent career in the CAL," said Dennis McPhee, TigerCats linebackers coach. "The fans love him, he's been very successful.''

Perhaps best known for his game-saving interception in the end zone against Vinny Testaverde and the Miami Hurricanes in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, which brought the Lions their second national championship in five years, Giftopoulos was part of a strong linebacking corps that also featured Shane Conlan and Trey Bauer.

"(Giftopoulos) would always end up at the right place at the right time," said Jay Paterno, who played with Giftopoulos at Penn State. "He didn't have the best speed or the best athletic ability, but he had a real good nose for the ball."

Today, Giftopoulos is looked up to by both young and old in Hamilton.

"I was born here, raised here and (after) going down to Penn State I was kinda like the 'local boy did good' story," Giftopoulos said.

After graduating from Penn State with a championship ring, Giftopoulos was bypassed in the NFL draft, but was signed as a rookie free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers shortly after that. However, after seven weeks of a training camp in which he saw little action except for some downs on special teams, Giftopoulos was cut by the Steelers and out of the NFL.

Although he wasn't pleased that he didn't make it with the Steelers, Giftopoulos knew he had to put the experience behind him. He had told himself before he was cut that he would only try out in the NFL once, and then get on with the rest of his life.

"I don't have any doubts in my mind that I have the capability to play (in the NFL)," Giftopoulos said. "It's just that I'm the type of player that doesn't like to deal with a lot of bullshit. I'm not one of those "rahrah" guys. If I did all that stuff, yeah, I probably could be playing there."

But just because Giftopoulos was out of the NFL, it didn't mean his football career was over. While he was trying out with the Steelers, he was drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the first round of the CFL entry draft. Because Canadian teams in the CFL (there are American teams as well) have to have 20 Canadian players on their roster, Giftopoulos was a valuable commodity up north. The Tiger-Cats knew this as well, so they traded a first round draft pick and future considerations for him.

And the trade has been beneficial for both Giftopoulos and the TigerCats.

He has been an important all-purpose player for the TigerCats during his eight-year career. He started out as a linebacker, but then willingly moved to the defensive line once his weight went up to 250 pounds. Then, the team asked him to put on 25 more pounds and become an offensive lineman, which Giftopoulos did for two years. He started 30 of a possible 36 games during those two seasons. Before last season, Giftopoulos switched back to linebacker, this time to play a backup role with the team.

McPhee said that Giftopoulos has mainly been used in short-yardage situations because he is adept at stopping the run. But running situations in the CFL are few and far between, according to McPhee. He said teams throw the ball 90 percent of the time in the CFL. Teams average only about 15 running plays per game, McPhee said, which means linebackers have to be quick to be able to pass defend and cover running backs coming out of the backfield.

"If (teams) ran the ball 30 times a game, Peter would never come out," McPhee said. "But he's still got a few miles left on him."

Giftopoulos knows that he has possibly reached the twilight of his career. He said he realizes that he's slowed down some and his body isn't in the same shape it used to be.

"I'd like to play one more year and then I'm ready to retire,') the 30-year-old said. "The Grey Cup will be in Hamilton next year. I'd like to finish (my career) out that way -- see if we can win the Grey Cup in my hometown.

"(My career) made my family proud and it made the city proud."

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno thinks that the CFL has been a great league for Giftopoulos to play in because he was born in Canada. "He's a hero up there," Paterno said. "I'm still trying to get him to give me some money, but he won't give me any.

"He claims that they're not paying him anything up there, but I don't believe that."

Perhaps Paterno doesn't know that the average salary in the CFL is 50,000 Canadian dollars, far less than even the minimum salary in the NFL, which Giftopoulos said is about $180,000.

"Right now, playing in the CFL, you can take care of yourself and your future plans," he said. "But you don't make enough so that you can take care of other people, and that's one of the things that I've always been sorry about."

That's why Giftopoulos and his family started a restaurant in Hamilton, called Gifto's. The family restaurant is run by Pete, his three brothers and their dad.

The restaurant isn't one of those hip sports restaurants full of Penn State memorabilia from Pete's career. Instead it's a small eating establishment with a banquet room. Giftopoulos said that he and his family focus on making good food, shying away from all the "extra stuff" that is found in sports bars and restaurants across North America.

"(The customers) will come back for the food," he said. "They're not going to come back because you have a picture or a jersey up on the wall."

Giftopoulos finds working at the restaurant good experience for his life after football. "Right now, it's profitable and we're happy with it," he said. "But it's not a place that'll make you wealthy. It's just a place that will give you a really good life."

But unfortunately, the restaurant won't be able to support all five Giftopoulos' and their families, so Pete and his wife, who is expecting their second child in March, have decided that in a few years they will move back to the United States to raise their kids and try their luck with a restaurant of their own.

One possible destination: State College.

Both Pete and his wife graduated from Penn State and love the area around State College. Pete said that because of his busy schedule with football and the restaurant, he doesn't get back to Penn State as much as he would like, but is looking forward to coming back soon.

"I don't miss (Penn State) in the sense that 'Boy, I wish I could do it all over again,' " he said. "I think the neatest thing about Penn State is waking up on a fall day in September, just as it's getting a little bit cool, and going to a game. That's a real neat experience. You don't have that as much here (in Canada) because football isn't as popular here as it is there (in the United States)."

So don't be surprised if you see a Gifto's family restaurant pop up somewhere on Atherton Street sometime in the next five years. If that happens, Giftopoulos would prove one more time that you can come home again.