Roughrider punter Jon Ryan loves his wife, kicking footballs, and beer

This piece was originally published Sept. 1, 2019.

Jon Ryan has always been a Saskatchewan Roughriders fan.

Even when he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, he never forgot about all the autographed Rider cards he has stored away somewhere.

Ryan fell in love with football as a kid growing up in Regina, he played high school ball at Sheldon-Williams in Regina, and then he went to the University of Regina to play for the Rams. But destiny called Jon Ryan to the NFL, and that's not an offer you refuse.

Amazingly, after 12 full seasons in the NFL, Ryan is back where it all started to fulfil his childhood dream.

To find out more about his incredible journey, CBC's Peter Mills spoke to Jon Ryan taking a year off, his influential family, and why punting is a part of his life.

The nerves of living a dream

Nearly every article written about Jon Ryan the past year had "dream come true"in the headline. But most people would probably be a bit nervous to be finally living out their dreams.

"I just wanted to play well for this city, play well for this province, and just show them that I was I was here for no other reason but to help this team win," Ryan said. "My goal coming back was play for the Riders and help us win a Grey Cup. That was my my main focus and it still is," he added.

"I wouldn't say nervous. There's been some adjustments, some changes in my life by coming back here, but it's been a lot of fun and I've loved every minute of it."

His award-winning mom

Jon Ryan may have a Super Bowl ring (thanks to a 2014 victory with the Seattle Seahawks), but his mom, Barb Ryan, might have him beat in terms of accolades.

She is a Saskatchewan Diamond Jubilee Award recipient, winner of the Red Cross Humanitarian Award, the Canada 150 Award, and the Saskatchewan Volunteer Award. Barb also received an honorary degree from the University of Regina at the same time as Jon.

"She's [had] a huge role in my life. The biggest supporter ever since I started playing football and hockey, lacrosse, every sport that I played from the time I was five or six years old. She was at every game and my dad and her were always my biggest supporters all growing up and they supported everything I did," Ryan said.

"I've done some crazy things over my time. To be able to make it to the NFL, I had to kind of do some things, whether it be move to move to the U.S., live in a hotel in Phoenix for months at a time and do things like that. They always had my back no matter what. They are a huge reason, if not the biggest reason, why I'm here right now."

Ryan said his mom also taught him the importance of giving back the community.

"We've been so blessed just to be born in this country, to have such a good upbringing in this community, to be a part of this community. I just really learned from her how to give back because we're so blessed.Other people coming from other countries weren't as blessed and to be able to help them out means a lot to her and it means a lot to my family."

'I love my wife'

The first four words on Jon Ryan's Instagram bio proclaim "I love my wife." Ryan is married to comedian, actorand author Sarah Colonna.

"She's definitely always on my side, always got my back. We live a little bit different life than most married couples. We're 1,000-plus miles apart 90 per cent of the time. Even through that, she's been very supportive.

"I had a good career in the NFL.To come back to the CFL to make a small fraction of the money that I was making down there a lot of spouses would've said, 'don't bother.' But she had my back all the way through it and pushed me along and has helped me, and she's my number one fan and I'm her No. 1 fan, so it's been a great six years."

He wasn't kidding when he said Colonna is hisbiggest fan, even while living in Los Angeles.

"I think she's already been to five games," he said. "She'll be at the Labour Day game. She makes it to a lot of games. In the NFL toothere's 16 games, she'd be at 13 or 14 of them, even though she's working in L.A. and having to fly all over the country. It's not easy to fly into Regina from L.A.... It's a big commitment andshe's taken it on."

Ryan is known to have a great sense of humour. He's been praised for it by sports writers and he even put the word "butthole" in his sincere farewell letter to the Seattle Seahawks. But Ryan said he definitely isn't the funnier one in his marriage.

"I like that," he said. "She keeps me on my toes and there's never a dull moment around our house."

Kicking footballs

After affirming his love for his wife, Ryan's bio says he loves kicking footballs. It's a passion he's shown off going all the way back to when he dressed up as a punter on Halloween when he was eight years old.

"This punting thing isn't just a hobby," Ryan said.

"It's been a passion of mine since I was, you know, six or seven years old. It's the one thing that I've done since I was that age that I've never gotten sick of. Every single day that I get to go on the field, whether it be in the off-season or in the season or game day, I'm so pumped to get out there. I just want to get out there and kick footballs."

Despite his love for punting, Ryan sounded somewhat unsure of his abilities when he talked to Gregg Bell with The News Tribune earlier this year. Ryan told Bell that the last time he played in the CFL (2004 and 2005) he nailed a lot of 70-yard punts. "I don't think I have those 70-yard punts left in my leg," he added.

Ryan has already proved himself wrong with at least twopunts that were over 70 yards this year. So what does he have to say to Jon Ryan the doubter?

"I was just being modest," Ryan said with a smile. "I knew I had it."

Taking a year off 'sucked bad'

After Ryan and Seahawks mutually parted ways, he signed with the Buffalo Bills. However, Ryan was released just before the start of the season. For the first time since starting his professional career, Ryan wasn't playing football.

"It sucked. It sucked bad," he said.

"Every Sunday I said I wasn't going to watch [NFL games]. Then we'd kind of end up watching it and it was a bad way to watch football. I was kind of waiting for that call, waiting for that opportunity to get back into the NFL. And it just never came.

"So every Sunday I was kind of watching and you're almost hoping for a guy to do crappy or a guy I hate to say it or a guy to get hurt. That's kind of the way you get a job in the NFL. As a guy who loves football, it's a terrible way to have to watch football and I hated it."

Ryan used that terrible feeling as motivation to be better.

"I probably worked harder on my own and I probably kicked more on my own than I would have if I was with a team. It really just amounted to more happy hours in the afternoon, which was nice as well."

Speaking of happy hour

The next love listed in Ryan's Instagram bio: drinking beer.

Now that he's back in Regina, it would be hard for Ryan to find a sports bar in the city without his jersey,a photo of him, hanging on the wall. So what's it like to go for a casual brew and stare at yourself?

"I think it's awesome. It has kind of caught me off guard a couple of times: just sitting there having a beer and then you look up and either my photo or old jersey or something is hanging in the corner. It's been pretty cool and I appreciate it."

Pickles, Pro Stars, and angry kids

Who called Jon Ryan a kook? Does he have a tattoo of a pickle? And why did a kid tell him "I'm gonna stomp your throat"? Listen below:

This interview has been edited and condensed.

The Roughriders (6-3) take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-2) at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 1. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. CST.

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