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Running backs John Santiago and Brady Oliveira have a bond many men would be envious of.

Teammates for four years at the University of North Dakota, Santiago from Minneapolis, Oliveira from Winnipeg, the two became close friends.

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“He’s told me things he’s never told anyone. I’ve told him things I’ve never told anyone,” Santiago was saying, Wednesday. “We share a lot. A lot in common, too. We don’t come from the best backgrounds. We have our own stories, but our stories kind of combine. We’ve been through a lot together.”

That’s why it was extremely hard for Santiago to watch Oliveira go down with a broken leg in the Blue Bombers’ victory over Edmonton last week.

“I actually turned it off for a second,” Santiago said. “And then I went on Twitter and saw something about how he went down and got carted off the field. I turned on the TV and rewound it a little, and saw him holding his right leg. It’s really hard to see anybody go down. It’s the worst part of the game.