Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

Everyone in the media was rushing the passer at Pearson International Airport on Tuesday afternoon.

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Kerry Joseph was surrounded by reporters and cameras from the moment he emerged at the terminal. Joseph and the Roughriders are to play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Sunday’s Grey Cup at the Rogers Centre.

“It’s something you always dream about — something I’ve always worked hard for, wanting to play in a championship game,” said Joseph, 34. “I truly have endured some hard times, but I’m going to be ready for this moment and this opportunity and I will be truly thankful for it.”

By his late 20s, Joseph had faced a divorce that led him to alcohol. He had also mourned the death of his 56-year-old father in 2000. Joseph responded by sorting out his life, embracing Christianity, immersing himself in community and charitable endeavours, and joining the CFL’s Ottawa Renegades, who folded in 2005 after his third season with the team.

Roy Shivers, who was Saskatchewan’s general manager at the time, traded up to select Joseph first overall in an April 21, 2006 dispersal draft of players from the defunct Renegades.

The Roughriders experienced a turbulent season in 2006, during which Shivers was fired in August, and finished with a 9-9 record for the third successive year.

This year’s Roughriders have blossomed under first-year head coach Kent Austin, who has worked closely with Joseph. The quarterback’s progress has enabled him to earn the West Division’s nomination for most outstanding player. Joseph and injured Winnipeg quarterback Kevin Glenn are the finalists, with the winner to be announced Thursday night.

The accolodes are nice, but Joseph would rather be a winner on Sunday.

“It’s a great feeling right now and I’m just enjoying it,” he said. “I’m not being overwhelmed by it, but just enjoying every moment of it.

“I know the anxiety’s going to build up as Sunday draws closer and everything, but it’s just a great feeling to be here with the great guys we have on this team and in this organization. Just to share this moment with them — with what we have endured throughout this season and throughout my career, personally — it’s awesome.”

Joseph will share the Grey Cup experience with 17 other ex-Renegades, who populate the Roughriders or Bombers rosters (including inactive players). Do the former Renegades ever wonder what might have been if the team had not dissolved after four seasons?

“We always do wonder that,” Joseph said. “Sometimes we talk about that — the talent that we had in Ottawa and how it got dispersed throughout the league. I’m thankful guys got an opportunity.

“It’s unfortunate some guys didn’t get an opportunity and didn’t have a job, but we did talk about what could have been if Ottawa had stayed together. Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way. You’ve just got to live in the present now.”

The current priority is to defeat a Winnipeg team that is without Glenn, who suffered a broken left arm in Sunday’s 19-9 East-final victory over the Toronto Argonauts.

With Glenn out of the picture, Ryan Dinwiddie has been thrust into starting duty behind centre for Winnipeg.

“It’s unfortunate what happened to Kevin but, if you do have a game to start in, why not the championship game?” Joseph said. “He’s going to be prepared. He’s going to be excited. He has a lot of veteran guys on that team who are going to keep him calm and keep him focused.”