Adriano Belli (born August 25, 1977) is a retired football player who played in the CFL and

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

. Belli is nicknamed "The Kissing Bandit" for his penchant for kissing people on their cheeks. He has gained a reputation for being a kind and funny man off the field and a nasty and annoying player to his opponents on the field. Belli grew up in the

High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...

region of Toronto and attended

Humberside Collegiate Institute Humberside Collegiate Institute (also known as Humberside CI, HCI, or Humberside), formerly known as Toronto Junction High School and Toronto Junction Collegiate Institute is a public high school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves the ...

for the first three years of high school. He then elected to transfer to Central Technical School in the

Harbord Village Harbord Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It lies just to the west of the University of Toronto, with its most commonly accepted borders being Bloor Street on the north, Spadina Avenue on the east, College Street to the sou ...

area of Toronto and commuted by subway to take advantage of Central Tech's football program. He credits his high school coach, Chuck Wakefield, for helping him get a scholarship to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. On February 19, 2007 The

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

signed Belli. After the last game of the 2009 season, Belli charged into the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

locker room and challenged the entire team to a fight. Belli retired on May 11, 2011, on a

Tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...

in Toronto and became a colour commentator/sportscaster on Rogers Sportsnet as their CFL Analyst. During his retirement, Belli competed for

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics * Canada at the Paralympics * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at the Pan American Games Canada's national sport teams * Canada me ...

when they participated in the

2011 IFAF World Championship The 2011 IFAF World Championship was the fourth instance of the IFAF World Championship, an international American football tournament. It began on July 8, 2011 with the final games commencing on July 16. It was hosted by Austria, with games takin ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The team went on to win the Silver medal. On October 17, 2012, Belli came out of retirement and was signed by the Toronto Argonauts. He went on to win the

100th Grey Cup The 100th Grey Cup was a Canadian football game between the East Division champion Toronto Argonauts and the West Division champion Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League to decide the Grey Cup champions of the 2012 season. The ga ...

with the Argos, a game in which he was ejected. Belli officially retired from the CFL for the second time on May 29, 2013. Belli also runs a meat distribution and packing company with his family in Mississauga,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts profile

"Argonauts sign Adriano Belli" (Canadian Press article)

Belli Fitting in Along Argos' Trenches (National Post article)

Kissing Bandit shows the love (Hamilton Spectator article on Belli)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belli, Adriano 1977 births American football defensive linemen BC Lions players Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Gridiron football people from Ontario Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Houston Cougars football players Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL) players Living people Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Toronto Toronto Argonauts players University of Houston alumni Canadian players of American football