Roughriders Dariusz Bladek became a proud Canadian thanks to football

Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Dariusz Bladek hasn't been a Canadian for very long, but he couldn't be more proud that he is.

The 24-year-old has taken a unique road to Canadian citizenship and playing in the CFL.

• LISTEN: Dariusz Bladek's unexpected journey to becoming a proud Canadian
• RIDER RAPID-FIRE: Dariusz Bladek talks deep-fried hot dogs and Big Man Blessings

Bladek was born in New Jersey, eventually moved to Florida, and went on to play college football at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach. He always dreamed of playing in the NFL and even got a shot to just that when he signed with the Baltimore Ravens. But when his NFL opportunities fizzled, he was left with limited options.

That's when he heard about the value of Canadians in the CFL.

Luckily for Bladek, his mom was born in Canada. So he applied for dual-citizenship with the goal of heading north to play in the CFL. The process meant Bladek had to give up football for a year while he waited for his passport. His Canadian citizenship was eventually approved, he declared for the 2017 CFL Draft, and was selected 11th overall by the Roughriders.

On Saturday, Bladek will start for the Riders against Montreal. But before hitting the field, he talked about his journey with CBC's Peter Mills.

Your mom was born in Canada (Montreal). What did you think when you first learned your mom was Canadian?

I always knew my mom was Canadian growing up. I didn't know how important it would be to me. I always knew about my mom's past. I knew how she got adopted and I knew that my mom loved (Canada). They actually went to Montreal for their honeymoon because of that. And it was cold. So they had a bunch of places Hawaii, Bahamas but they went to Montreal in the winter. Fortunately it's been beneficial to me.

Your dad as well had quite the journey. He moved to the U.S. from Poland when he was 18. How have their journeys influenced your life?

It's influenced a lot in the sense of starting new and coming to another country, and talk about starting from the ground up. Literally having nothing. I take great pride in who my dziadzia [grandfather] is and who my dad is and the type of work ethic they put in.

He loves construction. He loves building and he has this passion. We could work a 12-hour night doing renovations and my dad will still be pushing to get like the littlest detail. I'll sit there and be like, "How can you do it?"

But it's in the same realm where I can have a whole practice, I can have a two-a-day, but then I'm [back] out in the field getting that extra work. It's a passion for what we have and I definitely feed off what my father's been through: coming from another country and starting with nothing.

You have an idea how he does that work because when you were working on getting your Canadian citizenship, you worked with him for a year and had to take a year off from football. What was that experience like?

Let me just start by saying I've been working since I was a kid with my dad (laughs). There was no, "You get to sit inside the house." But when it came to the renovations in Florida, it was unreal. It's overnight work, so it's one thing seeing your father leave forwork at 8 o'clock at night, "Love you dad," and then he goes and comes back at 8 in the morning. So you really don't see him. I'm normally out at the gym.

Dariusz Bladek

When I had to work with him, me and my father grew a new bond. I've always been a hard worker.

I'm very grateful for what my father has taught me work ethic-wise and skill-wise.

You seem to have a strong family bond. I saw that you wrote #JB98 on your tape once. What's that about?

That's my little brother, Jozef Bladek. I chose my college, Bethune-Cookman, because of my brother. I wanted to stay in the state [Florida]when I had bigger scholarships to go out of state to Ohio University and bigger schools. Literally, I was on the official visit at Bethune-Cookman and I loved it. It was Daytona Beach, but I wanted to go to a bigger school.

Bethune-Cookman had a law about them: They preached family. And when I told my brother, "I'm not sure Joe, I might go to Ohio," he broke down to me. I ended up choosing Bethune-Cookman [because] it was close enough to my family.

He's my brother, but seemed like a son. That's nothing against my dad, that's just how close I am with him. I love him dearly and every game, even though he's not up here, I always feel like he's with me.

When you came to Regina in March 2017 for the CFL Draft Combine, was that the first time you touched Canadian soil?

Yeah, besides landing in Toronto (laughs). This was the first time actually getting out and getting to explore, especially this part of Canada.

It was different. I couldn't tell I would have ever have thought that I would end up here right at the beginning when I landed. But sure enough, luckily I got drafted here. It's a wonderful place. I wouldn't have wanted to start my career anywhere else.

The fan base is phenomenal, the following is phenomenal. The teammates and the veterans in the room have been great. I couldn't ask for a better place for me to grow.

What's that like when you come here as a Canadian citizen and it's the first time you've actually touched Canadian soil?

For me, at the end of the day, I've got a job to do and I gotta focus. I know some of the fans and some of the people have chimed in on that. I take pride in my heritage. I take pride in being Canadian and I love it here.

The whole time I was in Florida [in the off-season] I was looking forward to getting back here not just because of football, not just because of the guys, but I love the personal bond that I've made with a lot of owners of companies here, families, and just fans. You see them, they reach out to you, they're really kind, and they're always checking on you even in the off-season.

I love being where I'm at and I love travelling Canada on the away games too. It's phenomenal.

Obviously the football business changes, but could you picture yourself living here?

Of course. If God has it and I'm able to play this game as long as some of these great guys like Dan (Clark) and Blue [Brendon LaBatte], Peter Dyakowski, Thad [Coleman] ... then I would definitely live here. Why wouldn't I want to? It's amazing. I mean, Florida doesn't even have poutine. I've been making poutine myself.

You mentioned that a lot of fans reach out and talk to you. When things don't go right everyone loves to criticize the offensive line. Right now a lot of people are chiming in about this offensive line and thinking that it's lacking. What do you have to say to those folks?

Many people don't understand what goes on on the field. Many people don't understand what it takes to get a unit of men to all be on the same page. There's a lot going on. We obviously didn't have our best game last game and respectfully that's what happens as a unit.

People are going to point the finger at you. When everything is going right, you're not going to get the "Oh my gosh, the offensive line!" No, it's going to be about the quarterback or the running back. But that's our pride, knowing those guys are getting their points, those guys are staying up.

We've accepted that challenge we knew that we didn't play a great game and I think we've responded great this week.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

The Roughriders (1-1) take on the Montreal Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, June 30. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. CST.

MORE ROUGHRIDERS FEATURES

• Roughriders running back Jerome Messam motivated by providing for his daughter
• Not the last frontier: Roughriders' Caleb Holley ready for more
• Roughriders' Ed Gainey is a realist and a dreamer
• A song of ice and fire: Willie Jefferson talks jewelry, passion for football
• Roughriders receiver Naaman Roosevelt quiet off the field, explosive on it
• Riders receiver Duron Carter gives fan the shirt off his back