Mr. Milestone.
Rene Paredes is set to play in his 225th regular-season game on Friday night, a feat no one else in franchise history has accomplished besides fellow kicker Mark McLoughlin, who sits atop the list with 274 contests under his belt.
Although Paredes has reached quite a few milestones over the course of the last two seasons, including 500 field goals made, 2,000 career points scored and, most recently, kicking the longest field goal of his career when he nailed a 57-yarder a couple weeks ago, the All-CFL kicker was pleasantly surprised when he discovered this accomplishment.
“I was told this morning and it’s still insane to me,” said Paredes. “It’s a good thing that I’ve been doing my job for so long and doing it well, and it’s something I’m super proud of.
“All of my milestones, I’ll think about more once I retire and really sit down and look at my accomplishments that I’ve achieved.
“But for now, it’s insane. The best part about it is I’ve never missed a game and that’s something I’m very proud of because playing in this league is tough, and playing all of them for one team is great.”
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The veteran kicker claims sole possession of the number two spot after tying with defensive back/kicker Larry Robinson last week. President Jay McNeil and fellow offensive lineman Jamie Crysdale hold the fourth and fifth spots with 223 and 216 games played, respectively.
Paredes is honoured to see his name sharing a list amongst those Stampeders greats.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “Those are great players who played a long time here in Calgary, and they did so much on and off the field.
“I don’t think I’ll ever catch Mark, but we’ll see,” he said with a smile.
Over the last 13 years, El Matador has become synonymous when thinking about Stampeders football. Ask anyone in Calgary, and they could pinpoint a moment when the clutch kicker from Concordia carried the Red and White to victory with a game-sealing walk-off field goal.
The love between athlete and city goes both ways.
“That’s something I try to do in the off-season, make sure I come back,” informed Paredes. “I love this city, I love this team, and I don’t ever see myself playing for another team.”
After 225 games, it’s easy for the memories to flood together. But the championships will always stick out over the individual achievements for the CFL vet.
“It’s a lot of games, but obviously the two Grey Cups are the best,” he said. “Winning a championship, that’s what we play for. All the individual stuff I’ll celebrate on my own with my family after.”