Slain Stampeder's mom will bring his spirit to Grey Cup game

Mylan Hicks was shot and killed outside a Calgary bar in September just hours after celebrating the team's 36-34 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The 23-year-old from Michigan State was in his first year with the Stampeders, trying to crack the roster and make his mark.

"It's bittersweet," Hill told CBCSports.ca. "I've seen Mylan win championships before and I know how he responds. A big cheer. It moved walls. He just had that type of energy.

"I felt that my son was robbed of this opportunity to win another championship."

Hill is going to be at BMO Field in Toronto for the 104th Grey Cup gamethis Sunday,sitting alongside her husband, Mylan'sbrother, sister and school friend. She said she has felt like a part of the team since Hicks was killed, getting text messages and phone calls regularly from Stampeders players.

"They call me mom. They text me and say 'Mom, I'm going to call you soon,'" Hill said. "Those teammates love Mylan. They had to have loved him because their actions line up with loving someone."

Odiase and Hicks were roommates in Calgary, and Hill said they were like brothers.

"[Odiase]speaks to me every day," Hill said. "He said, 'you have to come [to Toronto].'"

"Once Mylan passed away everybody just came together," Odase told The Canadian Press. "You could feel it when you walked into the locker room."

Hicks' memory is everywhere. The Stampeders will hang his No. 31 jersey in the locker room prior toSunday'sgame. Defensive back Jamar Wall changed his number from 29 to Hicks' 31 and ran back an interception for a touchdown in lastSunday'sWest final.

The teamalsotextedHill a photo of their celebration immediately after the game.

"They're holding up Mylan's jersey. My god. Putting him right there in a physical sense even though we know he's there in a spiritual sense," she said.

As for a game prediction, Hill says she knows the Stampeders are going to win.

"It's already done. I will not speak defeat. I will speak victory. I say go get it done," Hill said.

"Like my son would say, 'smack those pads.'"