Article content

Sometime between 4:30 and 5 each morning, Joe Paopao makes the 10-minute walk from his place on Fourth Avenue to his workplace: the stadium at TD Place.

The walk, into the darkness, brings back memories for the Ottawa Redblacks quarterbacks coach and offensive play caller, who was the head coach of the Ottawa Renegades in 2002-05; he lived in Alta Vista back then.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or A walk down memory lane for Redblacks coach Joe Paopao Back to video

Fans may remember him looking different, heavier, but Paopao found out he was a diabetic about 10 years ago, when he was coaching with the University of Waterloo Warriors, and has since lost about 70 pounds, down to about 220. He’s eating healthier and exercising more.

“That walk to work each day reminds me of what I’m doing for a living, but it reminds me I’m grateful to have a chance to be part of something I’ve been involved with all my life: football,” Paopao said. “I never thought this would be the path I chose. Coming out of high school, I thought I’d be a fireman or a teacher. I got a scholarship to play football, then, before I knew it, I was in Canada. It snowballed in that direction. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would spend 30-plus years in Canada playing and coaching football.”