Fight Club Q&A: Tim O’Brien and Paddy Campbell

Tim O’Brien and Paddy Campbell (Photo: Dave Fryer)

Back in the summer of 2003, Six Nations Chiefs shot stopper Paddy “Cannonball” Campbell left his goalie gear at home and dressed as a runner instead.

He had one mission: fight Brampton Excelsiors bruiser and good friend, Tim “The Surgeon” O’Brien.

The pre-planned fight had been talked about behind the scenes for a while, and both combatants were ready, willing, and about as able as anyone could be.

Here is the incredibly awful footage we shot on the day, which is the only known video evidence of this memorable matchup…

O’Brien would take the marathon scrap via decision, which you would have clearly seen if our flip-phone footage was anywhere near watchable.

And yes, we did say O’Brien and Campbell are friends, long-time ones actually.

O’Brien, who was born in Edmonton and grew up in Northern Alberta, moved with his family to Burlington, Ontario when he was ten years old. During his first recess at his new school, “The Surgeon” and “Cannonball” would meet, not knowing that a few decades later they’d be willingly beating the shit out of one another in the middle of a box lacrosse game in Brampton.

The pair remain two of the toughest players in box lacrosse history. The Lax Mag sat down with them both to talk about, well, a lot of fighting.

What role does fighting serve in the sport?

Campbell: Fighting is the reason hockey and lacrosse players have such respect for one another and carry themselves with class. It’s like driving in Texas or Florida. Nobody gives you the finger because you might be packing.

If you’ve ever played a contact sport that doesn’t allow fighting, you’ll know what I mean. Look at football. All the chirping, taunting and classless celebrations. That would never happen on the lacrosse floor. Act like a clown and someone like Timmy or Rory (Smith) will have you picking your chiclets up off the floor.

O’Brien: I think with any physical game, other than football, but in hockey and lacrosse where momentum and sticking up for your guys can play a role, fighting definitely does serve a purpose. And when you stick up for your guys, the guys feed off of that, and teams play a lot bigger. Fighting is part of the culture of this sport.

What’s your opinion of fighting in the NLL today?

Campbell: I’m shocked at how many pretenders there are in today’s league. I think back to the late 90s & 2000s and every guy in the room was a contender. Of course, there were guys who excelled at it and consequentially did it more, but everyone had it in them. Look at the legendary Bandits/Rock preseason brawl in 2010. Every player on both teams threw down. At one point it even looked like (Troy) Cordingley and (Darris) Kilgour were going to square up. 50-goal scorers, draft picks, the back-up goalies and even the peanut vendors – had there been an – were going at it.

One of my favourite fights of that era was Colin Doyle versus the mighty Paul Dawson. The Rock captain went toe-to-toe with the scariest guy in the league. That’s just what a good captain did back then. Brendan Shanahan like.

While I’m on the subject, wasn’t it awesome to see (Steve) Priolo answer the bell again after all these years. What a beauty. He’s still got it!

You just don’t see that on the regular today. It’s really sad to me. Who knows how long this opportunity to fight legally in sport will exist. I can’t believe they’re not taking full advantage: as players, as teams and as a league. What better way to grow a sport! 18,000 fans in an arena instantly on their feet and households streaming it calling all family members to the TV. This is what the people love. Rallying behind their team in the ultimate test of might.

O’Brien: To me, it seems like everybody is in a lot better physical condition than they were back when I played. Today’s player is more physically fit and better conditioned, which is great, but I think it’s also taken away from that old school attitude and toughness that so many guys used to have. I think coaches are valuing fitness over overall toughness now, which has led to fewer pure fighters in the league. The guys that were there to fight back in the day were really good fighters, but usually weren’t as physically conditioned as today’s NLL player is. So today there’s way fewer skilled fighters, but I guess everyone is in a lot better shape. The focus has obviously changed.

Now that you’re retired, do you find you suffer from any long-term injuries related to, not playing box lacrosse, but fighting in the sport specifically?

O’Brien: Honestly, my body is probably more beat up and sore these days from all the running on the concrete up and down the floor. I feel it in my back and knees for sure.

I broke my finger once when I fought Pete Hill in Six Nations. I was trying to get his helmet off and my left ring finger got caught in his cage, the end knuckle bent sideways. Well, I guess my one knee is bad from fighting too. I fought Scotty Campbell in Brooklin one night when he went after Colin Doyle, and then he fell into me and tore my ACL. My hands get sore sometimes, but nothing really too bad.

I have zero regrets though. The main lingering “injury” is my FOMO, dressing-room FOMO! I miss going to battle with the boys and all that dressing room stuff. Those were the days!

Campbell: My right hand is a mess. I’ve broken it so many times that it looks like I’m missing knuckles. I always pulled my bucket off before a fight, but in most cases, I wasn’t patient enough to wait for my opponent to. Those helmets were not forgiving targets!

My hand often aches, but it’s something I’m proud of. It’s like a badge of honour for me. The only fights I regret, are the ones I wasn’t in!

I can’t put into words the euphoria that comes over you when you get that first grip on your opponent. With a handful of jersey and punching-fist cocked, you come to life. Often times your teammates will bang the boards with their sticks, not to cheer you on, but to let you know they’re right there with you. Short of being a soldier, it’s a feeling you will never replicate in the real world. In fact, I believe that beyond CTE, it is what leads most enforcers to mental health and addiction struggles post-retirement.

You can’t replicate the feeling of purpose, being on the front line for your team. It’s a struggle to figure out your own value after you’ve had a career thinking that was it.

I would say that struggle has been real in my own life, but I wouldn’t change a thing. You learn over time and grow from it all. The stories last a lifetime and there is no stronger friendship than the one between guys who fight for each other.

One comment we get a lot when The Lax Mag has a viral fight vid on Instagram, is non-followers asking why the guys grab their opponent’s jersey if they’re not on ice. So, to end the debate…

O’Brien: Whether you’re on ice or turf, you want to stay balanced. The last thing you want to do if you’re in a fight is be off balance and zig when you should have zagged, and right into the other guy’s uppercut.

And then leverage too. Hey, if you could figure out how to tie up Geoff Snider’s right hand, that would be a highly advisable thing to do! It’s all about minimizing the other guy’s strengths.

Did a teammate ever react negatively to you fighting in a game?

O’Brien: No, not that I can remember, or at least not directly to me. If it were to come from anybody, it would have come from a coach, and it would have been purely about the timing of the fight in the game, whether we needed it or not. You pick the wrong time to go, get your ass kicked, and you’ve just given the other team a huge rush and potential change in momentum. You definitely have to be smart about it. But a teammate, no, never.

See where O’Brien ranks in The Lax Mag’s All-Time NLL Fight Club Rankings.