HAPPY 100: Redblacks leader Marco Dubois set to play milestone CFL game in his hometown

"I love my life so much because of this game. I come here and I play football, it's a beautiful, sunny day. I can't ask for more, to be honest."

Published Oct 11, 2024  •  Last updated 11 hours ago  •  5 minute read

Marco Dubois of The Ottawa Redblacks. Photo by DAVID KAWAI /POSTMEDIA

Marco Dubois will play his 100th regular-season game for the Ottawa Redblacks on Thanksgiving Monday and, at this point, they’d be very thankful to get another 100 out of him.

The casual fan might not know Dubois, who doesn’t score touchdowns, make interceptions or register sacks.

What he does do is shine on special teams and bring an unbridled passion to the stadium, both on the field and in the locker room.

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And he leads, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

A 30-year-old second-round pick of the Redblacks in the 2018 Canadian Football League draft, Dubois will play his milestone game against the Montreal Alouettes at Percival Molson Stadium, a half-hour from where he grew up in LaSalle, Que. A Gatineau resident during the season, he relocates in the winter to Quebec City, where he works in human resources for an organic pork company.

“We produce pork bacon,” Dubois said on Friday. “There’s some at Whole Foods (next to TD Place). It’s for my transition when I’m done (football) in five, six, seven years.”

But don’t think he’s looking forward to that day. In no way is Dubois anxious to hang up the cleats.

“It’s going to depend on my body, on my performance,” he said about retirement. “It’s going to depend on my passion, (but) I don’t think that’s ever going to go away. Every day I come here, I pinch myself. I love my life so much because of this game. I come here and I play football. It’s a beautiful, sunny day. I can’t ask for more, to be honest. I’m not sugar-coating. It’s really how I feel. Every day I come here and I’m just very thankful to play this game.”

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What does he like so much about playing special teams?

“I’m involved in blocking, I’m involved in tackling, and, last time I checked, there were two components of football,” the 6-5, 227-pound Dubois said. “I get to run a lot. I get to showcase my athletic abilities and I get to showcase my grit every time I’m matched up against another guy from the other team. I think (that matchup) is sometimes the difference between winning and losing, especially in the Canadian game because there’s a small margin of error in this league.”

But his contributions extend well beyond opening and closing holes on returners.

“Marco gives great leadership to this team,” Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce said. “It’s not limited to our special teams. Marco is one of the team leaders in what he does and the passion he brings to the team. People feed off of it. Every time he’s out on the field, he works at making sure he executes and takes great pride in everything he does. Sometimes you say leadership is just taking care of your job to the best of your ability. And his teammates see that.”

So, where do his leadership qualities come from?

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“I think it’s my personality,” Dubois said. “I’m a passionate guy, as you can maybe see the way I talk about football. I’ve been raised in a sports environment. I was a hockey player first, I always liked to compete, always liked to be intense. Throughout my career, I’ve always had leadership roles. In university with Laval, I was a team captain when we won the Vanier Cup.

“I’m comfortable talking to guys,” he added. “If no one’s going to do it, I’ll do it. I’m willing to do whatever it is to help the team. I know it’s just bigger than me. If I can help someone by just keeping him accountable and the team’s going to benefit from it, I’ll do it for sure, even though sometimes when you’re in that role, you look like the guy that’s always nitpicking, always critiquing and stuff like that.

“I don’t really care if sometimes I’m annoying to people because it’s for good stuff to happen for the team. I think guys understand that afterwards.”

Dubois says he’s also had “tremendous mentors” when it comes to leading, former Redblacks like Antoine Pruneau and J.P. Bolduc, as well as current teammate Nigel Romick, just to name a few.

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“Antoine was very tough on me because he had high expectations of me, and I never wanted to disappoint him,” Dubois said. “I always felt when I came here I had big brothers who would take care of me and I wanted to make them proud.”

“Nigel’s not really a vocal guy, but it’s just by his work ethic and his discipline. And I still look at the way he does things because he’s such a disciplined guy, father and everything. So I just try to take stuff from everyone and put it into my game.”

It’s extra special for Dubois to be playing Game 100 in Montreal “because I was raised there … because the people who drafted me are all with the Alouettes now,” he said, referring to Marcel Desjardins, the former Redblacks general manager who is now the assistant to the GM and player personnel for the Alouettes, assistant GM Pier-Yves Lavergne and senior personnel executive Jean-Marc Edme.

“So I know there are a lot of eyes on me. I take pride in giving my best every time, but, when it’s in Montreal, there’s a special flavor to it, with my family in the stands, my friends … It’s an environment that I know.”

The 100th game is an impressive mark to hit, especially for a guy who mostly performs in the shadows.

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“I feel so privileged to play the whole 100 games with the Redblacks,” Dubois said. “I’m very thankful for that because it’s an organization that has really treated me well throughout the years. I was drafted here, and I’ve always been treated right. That’s why it’s a pleasure for me to give 100 per cent effort every time I touch the field here.”

GOING DEEP: Missing from another day of Redblacks practice on Friday was Justin Hardy, the league’s leading receiver. There’s no indication as of yet as to whether he’ll play against the Alouettes.

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