Remember When – Darian Durant

Remember When – Darian Durant

Published: Monday, Jan 15th 2018, 4:01pm

Remember When – Darian Durant

By: Stephen Safinuk (@Safimod)

This weekend was the 1 year anniversary of the trade that sent Darian Durant to Montreal in exchange for a couple of draft picks. While we finally know what those draft picks have turned in to (Eddie Meredith and Zach Collaros) this piece isn’t about that. I want to talk about Darian Durant’s time in Rider Green.

The trade anniversary got me thinking about some of the highlight moments of Darian Durant’s career, so I decided to put them in to a list, in no particular order (though you can guarantee that lifting the cup over his head in 2013 is #1)

–          2010 Home Opener versus Montreal – After losing the 09 Grey Cup in heart breaking fashion, the Riders gifted their fans with one of the most entertaining season openers in memory. Darian would go 28/44 for 481 yards and 5 TDS, including the OT winner to Weston Dressler, en route to a 54-51 2OT win over Montreal.

–          Dumb Zuck – In October 2013, following a 17-12 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, a twitter user called our Darian’s lack of running game with a tweet that read : “Key to success. Get you’re (sic) ass out if the pocket. You ain’t A.C!!! Like at the beginning of the season”. Darian apparently had enough of the haters on social media, and responded: “Wasn’t running at the beginning of the season dumb F**k!! #Armchair. The fan went on to RT the tweet to every media outlet he could, as well as the Riders, demanding free tickets. I loved his response.  Running would come out as a theme later on that season

–          4^th Quarter of the 2013 West Semi Final – With the Riders trailing 25-16 heading into the 4^th quarter, Darian Durant put the team on his shoulders (or legs) and willed them to victory. He ended up rushing for 76 yards in the 4^th quarter on the way to victory. Durant would finish 19 for 23 with 270 yards and 2 touchdowns, to go with his 96 yards rushing. We all know what happened the next week in Calgary

–          2013 Grey Cup Game – Do I really need to say anything? Darian Durant was a big part of the biggest game ever played at Taylor Field. That image of Darian Durant finally raising the Grey Cup over his head is one that Rider fans will remember forever

–          2009/2010 – Through the 90s and 2000s, Rider fans would have given almost anything to get to the Grey Cup. After our Grey Cup win in 1989, the Riders would appear in only 2 Grey Cups before the 09/10 seasons. 1997, where we knew going in we would lose to the Doug Flutie led Toronto Argonauts, and 2007 when we defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Getting to back to back Grey Cups, in seasons where we would head into the playoffs with home playoff games (another thing that had been unheard of in Ridernation for years) was amazing. Darian was a big part of our success in both seasons, including in both Grey Cup games

–          2008 Western Semi Final (from @RealAlexD) – “What I remember most about the 2008 WSF was that Michael Bishop was so bad for so long in that game that in the 2^nd half with everyone standing around me making noise, I sat down cross armed and didn’t say a word. I basically pouted. Then when they finally put Darian in, I yelled at Ken Miller loudly from the stands that he FINALLY made the right call.”

Regardless of your thoughts on the trade, there is no denying that Darian Durant is a huge part of Rider history, and these are just some of the big moments from his time in Saskatchewan. The future Plaza of Honour inductee certainly has given us many more great memories. What is your favourite moment of Darian Durant’s Rider career?

(Image by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)