The Kansas City Chiefs came-from-behind to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV and with it, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif became the ninth Canadian-born player to win a Super Bowl title.
One of 107 Canadians that have hit the field for an NFL game, the offensive lineman become just the 16th to play in the big game. Teammate Ryan Hunter is also Canadian and on the Chiefs 53-man roster but was listed as inactive; he is Duvernay-Tardif's backup.
Canadians to win a Super Bowl: Duvernay-Tardif joins exclusive list
The big question — and we mean big since he is listed at 6-6, 330 pounds — who exactly is this Canadian that mad history? Sporting News has all the info the newest NFL champion.
Where is Laurent Duvernay-Tardif from?
Duvernay-Tardif grew up in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., a small town about 30 kilometers east of Montreal. New Jersey Devils goaltender Louis Domingue also hails from this town.
Mom, dad and the world champion, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif -- pic.twitter.com/JJjVl5RjKX
— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) February 3, 2020
Growing up, he played football with the Richelieu Pirates in Beloeil, Que., before joining Phénix at Collège André-Grasset (2008-09) and McGill University (2010 to 2013).
"I'm telling you right now, I feel like in Montreal, there's a lot of support and a lot of people are rooting for the Chiefs and I feel really privileged to see that that flow of positive thinking for us on Sunday," he told reporters on Wednesday in Miami.
When was he drafted?
Coming out of McGill University, Duvernay-Tardif was one of two Canadian players selected to play in the NCAA's East-West Shrine Game in January 2014. Despite receiving the honour, he ended up having to hold his own pro day in Canada and was selected in the sixth round (200th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Congrats to @mcgillu grad Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif on winning a Super Bowl ring in KC’s 31-20 victory over SanFrancisco. Also winning a ring is McGill grad https://t.co/KblUaDSPgu Darche, team physician @jp5251 @LaurentDTardif @SashaGhavami pic.twitter.com/TOp9cnXVr4
— McGill Athletics (@McGillAthletics) February 3, 2020
The 10th Canadian drafted in the history of the league, and the first to hail from Quebec, Duvernay-Tardif became the second player to be drafted out of McGill (Randy Chevrier preceded him) and wrapped up his sixth season in the NFL with a Super Bowl ring.
Wait, he's a doctor?
Yep, the right guard should be addressed as Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
"So many people told me when I was younger that you'll have to choose," Duvernay-Tardif says in the documentary "LDT: Always Further" that chronicles his rise through the NFL and simultaneous graduation from McGill University with a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degree. "Every year there are people that start a career in the NFL, and every year there's people that start residency in medicine, but not every year there's an NFL player who also finished a doctorate in medicine."
This is it! Today I become a doctor! It also marks the beginning of a great new adventure for all 2018 graduates of @mcgillu Faculty of Medicine. #LDTMD #graduation #passion #nfl #chiefs pic.twitter.com/j4oD1BCuXJ
— Laurent D. Tardif (@LaurentDTardif) May 29, 2018
Duvernay-Tardif needed eight years — three years of intensive study followed by three to four months every offseason — to graduate. With the full backing of the Chiefs, specifically head coach Andy Reid — whom he credits for supporting him and does not think he would have been able to combine both football and school without — Duvernay-Tardif graduated in May 2018. His field of interest is emergency medicine.
Watch the LDT: Always Further exclusively on DAZN (start your free trial)
"I'm really a guy that [thrives] in stressful environment and that's why I enjoy so much the emergency room because in the ER you never really know what's going to slip through the door," he said in the documentary, while noting he has not started his residency. "You really got to use your rational thinking in order to make the right decision that's going to improve the quality of care and the patient."
He is now the first medical doctor to play in — and win — the Super Bowl.
"I've been studying the playbook and trying [to be] the best football player I can be for six years now," he told Sportsnet's Arash Madani after the win. "To reach the top, you know after playing Canadian football at McGill University, it's an amazing feeling and to do it also with my MD in my back pocket, it's, you know, I think now I can say I'm a pretty good student-athlete," he told Sportsnet's