Aug. 14, 2008
Redbird All-Access members, watch Jonathan St-Pierre's full interview (30 questions) on Redbird All-Access, your exclusive home to full student-athlete video interview's during this summer's "thirtysomething" series.
Redbird Athletics fans who would like to see the full interview must click on the link below and login to Redbird All-Access. If you do not have a Redbird All-Access account, one can be purchased for $6.95 per month, or annually for $49.95. Redbird All-Access provides fans with live and on-demand audio and video coverage of Redbird Athletics.
GoRedbirds.com: You're fully entrenched into your final fall camp with Illinois State after two seasons with the Redbirds? Is it a bittersweet experience for you, knowing that this season will be your last at ISU?
Jonathan St-Pierre: Actually, it's great. I'm very happy that this is my final camp. I really like ISU, but I'm 25 years old and I feel that it is time to move on with my life. Every moment, I enjoy this as much as I can, so there is no bittersweet moment to this year's camp for me.
GR: Since becoming a Redbird at the start of the 2006 season, what has been your proudest moment as a member of the team?
JS: My proudest moment was making the 2006 playoffs. Every year, there are always a couple of plays that we do that are very amazing to see. In games like Youngstown State last year, we had a couple of great plays, so I'm really proud of that.
|
REDBIRD ALL-ACCESS EXCLUSIVE - Jonathan St-Pierre "thirtysomething" interview |
|
|
GR: You're originally from Quebec, and then you started your collegiate playing career at Miami, before transferring to the United States. What's next for you? A professional stint in Europe?!
JS:They called me in China and they want me to coach for them (laughs). I don't know, really. I got drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League in April. I'm not thinking about it too much right now, to be honest. If I get invited to an NFL camp, well then I will show up there, too.
GR: But seriously, what was it like for you, growing up in the cold of Canada, to move all the way down to Miami, Fla., to play football?
JS: It was very rough. I used to lose about two pounds in practice (when playing in Canada. And then I go to play at Miami (Fla.) and I am losing 25 pounds each practice, so it was a big climate change for me. All in all, though, it was all right. I just needed to get hydrated more. The biggest difference between playing in Canada and Miami was that as the seasons went on (at Miami), sweat no longer froze to my facemask, like it did when I played in Canada.
GR: You're also working on your third degree, a master's in economics, after already completing two bachelor's degrees. How have you been able to stay so focused on your school work during a hectic football season?
JS: I spend a lot of my time studying and doing the things that I feel that I need to do to take care of my academics. I had the opportunity to earn two bachelor's degrees and also earn my master's degree while at Illinois State, so I took advantage of that opportunity, and that's where I am now.
GR: What kind of music do you like to listen to? Anything Canadian that perhaps you can let our viewers in on that would enlighten them?
JS: Straight from the get-go, I don't listen to Celine Dion. Everyone asks me that, and I definitely do not listen to her. She's nice, though, I'm sure. I listen mainly to all English music, for some reason. A lot of progressive rock, such as Genesis and Led Zeppelin. A lot of the music from the 1970s.
GR: When you're not blocking for your quarterback or at practices, what do you like to do in your free time to relax?
JS: I'm a big video game fan. I'll pop in a disc into my Xbox 360 and that will be all I will do for an afternoon.
GR: What is your favorite moment of a game? What is the one point of each game or pregame that really gets you pumped up and excited to play?
JS:My favorite moment is really on the first play of the game, when I line up. I get excited and nervous, but the nervousness is well channeled. I'm nervous and excited on every play of every game.
GR: You were a member of Team Canada while playing in high school. What was that experience like and how do you think that helped prepare you for playing in college?
JS: Absolutely, the experience helped prepare me to play football on the collegiate level in America. The rules in Canadian football are a little different (than in America). We only have three downs in Canada, and the field is 110 yards long, as well as a little wider. When I got here in America and started playing football, I discovered that the fields are a little longer and narrower, and I though, "Wow. That's really nice. I don't need to run as much now." Besides that, I think it was a great experience for me, since I got to play against a lot of foreign countries, such as China and Mexico, and of course, Team USA, which was quite an amazing experience for me, back then.
GR: Your last name is "St-Pierre," yet it has no period on the "St" and it has a hyphen in the middle, something that is not usually seen in last names. Can you describe for us what is going on there?
JS: I wish I could answer that, but I really don't know why there is a period or a dash. All I know is that my last name has a hyphen in the middle. It's hard sometimes, though, because everywhere I go, they can never find my name in databases. They always get confused with the hyphen.
The summer-long "thirtysomething" series will conclude Aug. 18 with an interview with men's basketball player Champ Oguchi.
