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The Saskatchewan Roughriders are celebrating the first anniversary of a sweetheart deal that was consummated on Valentine’s Day.

Their courtship of free-agent quarterback Cody Fajardo reached a successful conclusion on Feb. 14, 2019, which turned out to be a pivotal day for the Green and White.

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But it took a while for Fajardo to win over the hearts and minds of Roughriders fans, who largely ignored his signing when it was announced.

Photo by Troy Fleece / Regina Leader-Post

That puts Fajardo in esteemed company, when you consider that three legendary Roughriders quarterbacks — Ron Lancaster, Kent Austin and Darian Durant — joined the team with little or no fanfare.

In fact, Kerry Joseph is the only one of four Grey Cup-winning starting quarterbacks in Roughriders history whose arrival in Regina created a buzz.

On April 12, 2006, then-Roughriders general manager Roy Shivers swung a deal with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to acquire the first overall selection in the Ottawa Renegades dispersal draft.