MontrealAlouettes.com
by Steve Lyberopoulos
MONTREAL – “100 games already? Time definitely does fly!”
At 6’2” and 305 lbs., Alouettes center Luc Brodeur-Jourdain is the anchor of the team’s offensive line and its lynchpin in the truest sense of the word. Since 2011, the St-Hyacinthe native has been the one barking out protection schemes and coordinating timed snap counts with the man standing behind him under center.
Friday night in Edmonton, Brodeur-Jourdain will don an Alouettes uniform for the 100th time in his CFL career, a milestone equalled by only 50 other active players, a meagre 12% of the league.
As a young member of le Rouge et Or, “LBJ” kept his own aspirations in check when it came to his pro football career hopes.
“At the time, my goal was to play in the CFL, and most definitely to play for the Montreal Alouettes. Wanting something and doing something are two very different things, however, and I think it worked in my favour that expectations were not all that high when I was drafted. They gave me a few looks in my first camp and I took advantage of the opportunity.”
It didn’t take long for Brodeur-Jourdain to make his mark in the CFL as he earned his first All-Star game nod in 2012, just one year into his tenure as the team’s starting center. On July 25, 2013, Brodeur-Jourdain’s blocking and mastery of the line of scrimmage allowed Alouettes RB Brandon Whitaker to run for an astounding 165 yards. And though the nature of being a center often means his prowess goes unnoticed in games, LBJ’s run with the Alouettes has produced many-a-highlights.
“I don’t really pay attention to individual awards so, without a doubt, the 2009 Grey Cup ranks as the all-time favourite moment in my career,” says Brodeur-Jourdain. “Heartbreaking moments like our 2012 playoff loss at Olympic Stadium stick with me more than anything I’ve done individually”.
An honest to goodness iron-man, LBJ hasn’t missed a start due to injury since he broke through with the Alouettes 4 years ago, and that’s not a fact he attributes to luck or eating green veggies.
“I eat a lot of spinach [laughs]! You really could look at it two ways: one, we have a top-notch medical staff here in Montreal. Dr. Lacroix, Dr. Martineau, and Dr. Mulder, as well as all the others, are excellent at taking care of us and making sure that we’re in a position to play at a high level on the field. Two, you have to learn how to deal with pain and play through it. That’s just part of the deal when you’re a football player.”
There are instances where playing through pain means delaying surgery until after the season. It had gotten to the point where LBJ couldn’t bend or move his fingers in 2011, but despite that, he only had surgery on his left hand once the dust had settled on the Alouettes hopes of capturing three consecutive Grey Cups.
Brodeur-Jourdain is a student of the game, spending a lot of time studying up with coaches between practices and games. He believes that his desire to always get better through working off the field is what’s helped him become the player he is today.
“When I was with le Rouge et Or, they kept us in the know on how CFL practices were conducted, so I had a pretty good idea of what was waiting for me when I got to Montreal. Over the years, I picked up a lot of information on how to properly practice and how to work with coaches to improve my game. I’d say that definitely wound up coming in handy [laughs].”
Steve Lyberopoulos is a writer for MontrealAlouettes.com
