Being raised by a single mom who doesn’t drive and grandparents who lived an hour away fuelled the work ethic and passion needed to succeed.
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If one play can define a career, that moment occurred for Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund in the fall of 2018, when the future Alouettes defensive end was at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Playing rival LSU in front of 100,000 spectators, Adeyemi-Berglund sacked quarterback Joe Burrow, the future Cincinnati Bengals star, in the second half. The play seems trivial all these years later, given the paths taken by the two players.
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But the moment will never be lost on Adeyemi-Berglund. For one brief instance, the stars were aligned in his universe. After the play, he looked into the stands and pointed to Robyn Berglund, the single mother who raised him in Dartmouth, N.S. Next to her were his grandparents, Judith and Peter Snair, also instrumental in the young player’s life. All had gone years without watching him play.
Suddenly, it seemed like his improbable journey came to fruition.
“That was probably the best football moment for me, ever,” the 28-year-old, in his first season with Montreal, told The Gazette this week. “So much carried into that moment … my first game starting with a new head coach. Would they retain my scholarship? So much was riding on that season.
“It happened so fast,” he continued. “I can still see it. I truly don’t know how much they could understand because the game’s so fast. In that moment I could feel the connection for them. I haven’t felt that emotion any other time except when family was involved. It was the ultimate connection of love, care and sacrifice. It was powerful. Even now I can’t find a lot of words to explain it.”
Road to the Cup
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Adeyemi-Berglund is usually loquacious when it comes to talking about his family, who shaped the man he would become. His mother remains a cleaner to this day, meaning the family was never rich and didn’t enjoy many perks. And because she doesn’t drive, that task was left to his grandparents, who lived an hour away. Yet they never complained about taking the future pro to practices and tournaments, even driving the family once every week for groceries. His father, Peter Adeyemi, lives in Nova Scotia but never was a constant fixture in his life.
“She’s probably the most pure woman, pure person I’ve met,” Adeyemi-Berglund said of his mother. “She just poured her heart into me and my brother. It’s an amazing example of unconditional love. The hard work. Not giving up. My football journey showed me the value of hard work, not taking no for an answer. Putting your head down and working through everything, knowing everything is going to be OK.
“Time is the most valuable resource anyone can have. My grandparents spent hours taking me places, watching me play. Their mental toughness. You never knew if they were having a good day. Every day was consistent and you always felt good. There was never an issue. As a kid, you never knew. Now I can appreciate the time and effort put in making my life easier.”
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That resiliency and attitude his family instilled would be frequently displayed in his athletic journey.
Determined to play basketball in high school despite limited talent — and cut from his junior varsity team in Grade 10 — Adeyemi-Berglund continued practising, cajoled his coach to give him another opportunity and, two years later, was the most valuable player on his team.
After going to Champlain College in Lennoxville for more football exposure — eschewing a scholarship offer from Acadia — Adeyemi-Berglund was determined to play in the NCAA. He compiled a highlight tape and his teammates went to a computer lab and repeatedly hit the refresh button to increase page views and make it seem like he was more in demand. Adeyemi-Berglund even called school athletic directors in the U.S., pretending to be his father, stating the son was a potential recruit and asking to be connected to the head coach.
It was ingenious and it eventually worked. After receiving the full scholarship offer from Southeastern Louisiana, Adeyemi-Berglund went to his room and cried.
But he wasn’t there just to play football. Adeyemi-Berglund, an honour roll student in high school, majored in integrative biology — the complex interrelationships between organisms and the physical and biological environment in which they live — at university. He attended summer school each year to ensure his spot, not to mention scholarship, on the team, holding down an exemplary 3.83 grade-point average. He briefly contemplated a medical career but has now decided to become a firefighter, like teammate Avery Ellis.
“I thought I could do anything. I still do,” Adeyemi-Berglund said. “If I couldn’t play football, I was going to be the smartest person, studying as hard as I can.”
Selected third overall by Calgary in 2020, Adeyemi-Berglund signed with the Als last winter as a free agent after the Stampeders made it clear they weren’t prepared to pay him as a starter. But the 6-foot-1, 242-pounder has fit in nicely on Montreal’s defence, with 26 tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble. Seven additional tackles have been for a loss. He also contributes on special teams.
“I’m not the tallest, strongest or fastest guy,” he said. “I never shied away from any challenge. I still think I can do anything. Here I am, starting for the best team in the league, the defending Grey Cup champions.”
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