Saskatchewan’s been buzzing for the last couple weeks after the Seattle Seahawks qualified to go the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos.
Usually Saskatchewan football fans are focused on a team wearing a different shade of green and the NFL isn’t as popular as the Canadian Football League for most people.
But this game has special meaning as local product, Jon Ryan, a punter for the Seattle Seahawks, becomes the first Saskatchewan-born player to play in the most watched game of the year (and the most watched TV program of the year as well.)
Here are a few articles, posts and videos I’ve come across to get you prepped for the big game…
- “Getting His Kicks” – a great profile of Ryan by local sports writer, Rob Vanstone
- Although he’s the only Saskatchewan-born player, Ryan isn’t the only Canadian involved in the game
- Reddit’s /r/Seahawks forum has lots of posts about Jon Ryan
- A tongue-in-cheek appeal by TSN to have Jon Ryan join other Canadians as MVP of their respective sports…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZjp24g3DaY - And a more sombre profile of Jon Ryan from ESPN…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPF3AS2CWi8 - Jon Ryan’s brother is a former provincial NDP candidate and his brother-in-law is Speaker of the House for the Conservative Party of Canada which I’m sure guarantees some interesting dinner table conversations (but also provides a good reminder about vilifying people simply because they have a different political viewpoint than yours.)
- A cute Good Luck video posted by his family…Good Luck Jon! from Dean Gerhardt on Vimeo.