For Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Benoit Marion, a trip to Montreal means more than another game on the Canadian Football League schedule. It means going home.
The Montreal native will have family, friends, former coaches, and teammates in the stands when the Roughriders visit the Alouettes, giving Marion a chance to reflect on the football journey that took him from Quebec to the professional ranks.
“It's always special to go home, see family, see friends and play in front of that crowd,” Marion said in an interview on the Rider Broadcast Network. “Montreal people are passionate, and they've got a good organization down there. They're behind their team, and it's a great atmosphere to go play.”
Marion knows that atmosphere well. He grew up in a province where hockey is deeply ingrained in the sporting culture. Still, football has a passionate following and a development system that has produced talent across the country.
For Marion, the decision to pursue football seriously came around age 17, as he approached the CEGEP system, which serves as an important bridge between high school and university athletics in Quebec.
“I feel like I made that decision around there when I was 17 to really focus on football and try to pursue it as far as I can,” he said.
Quebec provided an ideal environment for that development, with strong coaching, talented athletes and rivalries that helped prepare players for the next level.
Marion was part of the football culture surrounding the Carabins and Rouge et Or, the University of Montreal and Université Laval programs whose rivalry remains one of the most recognizable in Canadian university football.
The games offered a taste of the intensity that comes with playing meaningful football in Quebec.
“There are great football coaches, great athletes in Montreal and Quebec,” Marion said. “I was part of pretty good rivalries. It was a great place to learn football and develop my athletic ability.”
The rivalry between Montreal and Laval left a lasting impression on Marion, who remembers competing in front of large, energized crowds as a young player.
“It's up there,” Marion said, comparing the Quebec university rivalry with other rivalries he's experienced. “I wouldn't say it beats the Prairie one with the Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl. That energy is really, really special. But when you're an 18-, 19-year-old kid going up over there and playing in front of 21,000 people for the first time, it's loud and you kind of feel that energy and that hatred off the bat.”
The experience shaped Marion as a football player and gave him an appreciation for the passion that exists beyond Western Canada's traditional football markets.
While Saskatchewan is renowned for its devoted fan base, Marion believes Quebec supporters bring their own unique identity to the game. He sees similarities between football and hockey, particularly in the appreciation for physical competition and the excitement that comes with a winning team.
“They like physical games,” Marion said. “They like hockey, which is a physical game. They like football because it's physical. There's a lot of action.”
Marion also believes Montreal's French culture helps strengthen the connection between the team and its supporters.
“They do a good job of showing the identity of the province and using that French culture to their advantage and to rally their guys,” he said.
The Alouettes have benefited from that connection, building a strong following around a team that has enjoyed success in recent seasons. For Marion, seeing Quebec football thrive is rewarding, especially when he considers how many players he competed against or alongside have gone on to successful professional careers.
“Great players have come out of both universities,” Marion said. “A lot of good players are around the league and different CFL teams having success.”
Those connections make returning to Montreal especially meaningful. More than 20 people from Marion's circle are expected to attend the game, and he joked that securing enough tickets had become a challenge.
“I was just scrambling around to get some tickets,” he said. “We're excited to go play the game. It's always fun to play at home in front of family and people you haven't seen in a while, and ex-coaches and teammates.”
The possibility of professional football expanding into Quebec City also interests Marion. He believes the city has the foundation to support a CFL franchise, pointing to its established football program and the enthusiasm surrounding the sport.
“I think the market, especially in Quebec City, has shown they're behind their football team,” Marion said. “They love football, and they're really passionate people that love sports, love action, love winning football.”
Marion believes that passion could provide a basis for a professional team, further strengthening football's presence in the province. For now, however, his attention remains on the Roughriders and the challenge ahead as the season enters its most important stretch.
Marion's own campaign has required patience and persistence. After undergoing surgery in the offseason, he faced a rehabilitation process that prevented him from participating in training camp. That meant regaining his conditioning, confidence, and timing once he returned to the field.
“I think that affected a little bit of my play at the beginning of the year, just kind of getting my footing again and my landmarks and trying to be myself again out there and feeling confident,” Marion said.
The defensive lineman believes he is moving in the right direction, with each week bringing greater comfort and improvement.
“I feel like I'm on the right track,” he said. “There are a lot of things I can do better, but I'm excited about how I've been getting better every week.”
With three important games remaining at the time of the interview, Marion knows there is little room for complacency. Saskatchewan wants to finish strong and position itself for a long playoff run, and Marion wants to contribute wherever he can.
“It's the right time to keep peaking and to help my team any way I can to win games,” he said, adding that special teams become increasingly important as the calendar turns to October and November.
Marion's return to Montreal reminds us how football's reach extends across Canada, from the passionate crowds of Quebec to the prairie rivalries that define the sport in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
For one afternoon, he'll get to play in front of the people and in the place that helped shape his career. But while the homecoming will be special, Marion has a job to do.
And with the Roughriders pushing toward the playoffs, he hopes the trip back to his roots will be another step toward helping Saskatchewan accomplish something special of its own.
You can hear Monday’s game on the Rider Broadcast Network starting with the pregame coverage at 8 a.m. SK time.
