Article content

Thiadric Hansen was working as a school bus driver back home in Flensburg, Germany when he got a phone call he never expected to receive.

It was his coach from the German Football League, telling him the Canadian Football League wanted to invite him to its scouting combine.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or BOMBSHELLS: Global player Hansen relishing ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity with Bombers Back to video

“I couldn’t believe it,” Hansen said Thursday at Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie camp. “Actually I thought he was joking but he said it was real. As soon as I got home, I went to the gym and started getting in shape. Now I’m here.”

Not only did Hansen perform well at the combine in Toronto in March, he was also selected by the Bombers in the CFL’s first European player draft.

Two months later, the 26-year-old linebacker is on the field in Winnipeg, competing for a job under the league’s new global initiative known as CFL 2.0.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Hansen said. “I actually thought that last year was my last year of football. I had a friend of mine tell me to do another year and I said ‘All right’ and it worked out right now.