From tackling players to tackling fires: Catching up with a former ...

Troy Alexander, a former Saskatchewan Roughrider, moved from football to firefighting – and he says the two aren’t so different.

“The people I played with, during my football career and now the people who I work with, you have to have complete trust in a lot of ways, and reliance,” said Alexander, now a firefighter in Strathcona County, Alta.

Alexander, number 46, played defence for the Roughriders from 1995 to 1998. He played 48 games, recording 68 tackles and 12 sacks.

“I absolutely love (the) Saskatchewan Roughriders. I love that organization. I love what they stand for, across our nation.”

Alexander got his start in football at age 16 in Edmonton, playing for his high school.

Even though Alexander grew up in Alberta, he finds the Saskatchewan prairies beautiful and holds a special place for the province in his heart.

“When we flew in, I remember seeing the prairies and the plains and I guess, how people would look at the desert, or they’d look at the ocean, or they’d look at the boreal forest. I just thought it was absolutely beautiful.”

Alexander can even credit the Roughriders for helping him find his wife due to a PR event.

“My real little brother was a part of the Big Brothers Association, and he had a fundraiser at a gym, and the Roughriders came,” said Mia Alexander, Troy’s wife.

Alexander said Mia quickly caught his eye.

“I saw her and, and, you know, I’m a big romantic, so I was very interested, but I was in the friend zone for a while. And fast forward to (when) she said she liked me, and then now we’re here,” Alexander said.

Mia has been a lifelong Riders fan, but, to her, he was just like everyone else.

“He’s so down to earth and like, that’s his job. It’s not who he is. So, it was kind of easy to almost forget that he played football sometimes when we were together,” Mia explained.

Alexander created a brotherhood with not only the people he played football with but also those he works with every day saving lives.

Ryan McKinley has been a co-worker of Alexander’s at the Strathcona County Fire Department for over 20 years and says the two are like brothers.

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“I think the team aspect … on a football field or on a court, the fire hall is no different in that regard.”

McKinley said the two lean on each other and that he trusts Alexander with his life.

“I think that adds to that special bond that you create in the fire hall where you can hash out ideas and thoughts and work through it,” McKinley said.

McKinley added that he is not the only one who has created a special bond with Alexander due to his kind nature.

“He adapts to whatever situation he’s in, and that’s what makes him a great leader in our department. And it makes him a great friend as well. He’s there for people and people have called him when there is really, really tough times going on. They’ve leaned on Troy pretty heavily.”

Mia added that Troy is living a dream come true.

“He’s pretty lucky. He’s had two jobs that a lot of little kids look and say, ‘Oh my gosh, those would be dream jobs.’ And he’s gotten to do two of them.”

Alexander is grateful and proud of what he has accomplished and where his life has taken him.

“It was definitely one of those experiences that I can’t say completely shaped my life, but it was so special,” Alexander said.

“You never know where your life’s going to take you, and, we are living proof,” Mia added.

He is a father of two girls and finds joy in spending time with them and the community he has built between his professions.