'He was my No. 1 fan': Riders' QB Durant's uncle passes away during bye week

Darian Durant will be playing for his number one fan this weekend against the Ottawa Redblacks.

Durant’s uncle, Mike Gordon, died of a heart attack at the age of 52.

The quarterback said Gordon was his favourite uncle and his biggest supporter.

“He came up here more than my parents did, so it was a tough loss,” he said.

“He’s been there from the beginning. If I told you my parents were my biggest fans, I’d be lying. My uncle Mike was my biggest fan in the whole wide world.”

Durant kept a picture of his uncle in his locker.

Due to the team being on a bye week during his uncle’s passing, Durant was able to be home with his family.

“They always say God works in mysterious ways, and how crazy is it that I’m going home for the bye and he passes,” he said. 

“I’m able to make the funeral because if it’s the middle of the season, or we have a game coming up, who knows if I had been able to make it to the funeral or even make it home to be with the family.”

Durant also spoke about how dedicated his uncle was when it came to coming to the games to support him.

“The most expensive flight in Canada is probably coming here to Regina and he never asked for a penny, he did it all on his own dime,” Durant said.

“He wasn’t in it for football, it was just all about love and I’m going to miss him.”

Durant’s uncle always believed in him and the team, no matter their win-loss record.

“The last text I got from him was talking about the Hamilton game and congratulating us and letting me know that we still had a chance to make a playoff run.”

The Riders head east to play to the Ottawa Redblacks Oct. 7.