Weyburn resident Kyle Paterson doesn't have to travel too far from home to start his CFL career, being drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders May 13.
Gathered around the TV with his family and friends, Kyle watched the names roll by and when his name appeared with Saskatchewan by it, the crowd went wild.
"They are all huge Rider fans and were pretty excited," Kyle said about his family's reaction.
As for him, Kyle said, "it's pretty surreal, unbelievable, amazing, awesome!"
Kyle's mom, Gwen, went to work the day after the draft and all her co-workers were wearing the green and white jerseys.
"It made me cry," she said.
As a parent, Gwen said it was like a dream come true. All parents have huge dreams for their children and support and guide their children to help make their dreams real.
"It felt incredible. Like our dream that we never thought would come true, did," she said. "It was stressful watching the names go by, not knowing where he was going to go, or if he was going. When we saw Saskatchewan beside his name, we screamed. It was great, so wonderful."
Kyle, who has been with the University of Regina Rams since 2010, went in the fifth round (45th overall) to Saskatchewan. He emerged as the team's starting left tackle last year in his third season of eligibility.
Kyle is now the fourth Saskatchewan offensive lineman on the Riders' roster, joining Dan Clark, Ben Heenan, and Brendon LaBatte who are all homegrown lineman playing for Saskatchewan.
