Smilin’ Hank was still smiling through the pain the day after what was arguably the biggest game of his football career.

Henry Burris had to get up out of a wheelchair to greet fans and the media at the Ottawa Via Rail Station Monday afternoon. The Ottawa Redblacks quarterback was feeling the effects of a knee injury that happened in the pre-game warm-up at the Grey Cup championship in Toronto Sunday night.  

The injury didn’t stop him from guiding his team to victory or prevent him from winning the game MVP award. It turns out success is a potent painkiller. “I’m still in awe right now. It still feels like one of those moments where it’s like, somebody pinch me, wake me up,” he says.

Burris travelled by train with his wife Nicole and two sons, Armand (10) and Barron (7). He says he missed the team flight earlier in the day because he had been up all night celebrating with family. At 41, he’s one of the rare athletes who can win a championship while his children are old enough to appreciate it.

Now he says it’s his sore knee and two growing boys that are weighing most heavily on his decision whether or not to retire.  "I have two kids now that are 10 and 7, and if there's anybody who needs Dad's presence a lot more around the home it's definitely those two guys,” Burris muses.

As for the knee, he doesn’t think it’s too serious but is getting it checked out as soon as possible. “I’ve got to see what's going on with my knee right now. That's definitely number one, because I've got to make sure the knee is in good standing."

While he’s obviously thinking about his future with the team and with the game, Burris is also quick to defer any decision until after a thorough Grey Cup celebration. "We want to make sure that this is a party that people will never forget, and I want to make sure I don't overshadow anything else," he says.

It’s perhaps not surprising that, immediately after proving himself a champion, Burris has had to field questions about leaving the game for good. He is now the oldest quarterback ever to win a Grey Cup and the idea of an aging, conquering hero going out on top is a potent narrative.

Knowing when to go and when to stay is a question every athlete must face. Burris says he had that very conversation with one of his teammates. "Like Brad Sonopoli said, we had the cake made and all we needed to do is put the icing on and the cherry on top. And after last night he was like, but Bud, two cakes with icing and a cherry on top taste pretty good too,” jokes Burris. “And of course the Grey Cup being here in Ottawa, that's always motivation to come back and get it done."

Certainly food for thought for a proven champion with little left to prove.