Trista Rehn got her man on TV's reality series The Bachelorette, but it remains to be seen whether Ryan Sutter will also be a match for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
But with the bachelorette's own pro-sports history, maybe they'll get a new cheerleader, too.
The Blue Bombers once tried to sign Sutter, and it seems the Vail firefighter is still interested in the Canadian Football League.
"We actually legitimately tried to sign him a few years back and his agent says he may be interested in playing football again," said Brendan Taman, vice-president of player personnel for the CFL team, on the eve of the hit TV show's final episode Wednesday. "I think he has the itch to [play] I gather from talking to his agent. And if he does, we'll probably give him a look and see how he does."
Trista, a pediatric physical therapist and former cheerleader for the Miami Heat NBA team, offered a red rose to Sutter after a mating game that played out on television screens across North America.
He beat out Charlie, a California account executive, in the final episode.
Sutter, whose CFL rights belong to the Bombers, isn't the only one of the 25 Bachelorette boys with ties to Canadian football.
Jeff Popovich, who survived the first cut on the show but was axed next time out, signed with the Montreal Alouettes last month.
Taman plans to speak to Sutter's agent again next week. The agent wasn't able to say much in advance of Wednesday's show because of confidentiality agreements.
Should Sutter ever become a Bomber, chances are money won't be the reason. The CFL minimum salary is $35,000.
The six-foot-two, 200-pounder played strong safety for the University of Colorado and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round in 1998, the draft that brought Peyton Manning, Ryan Leaf, Charles Woodson and Randy Moss to the NFL.
Sutter was taken 133rd overall, the 28th defensive back selected. He was chosen ahead of quarterback Matt Hasselback (now with Seattle).
The Ravens released him before the start of the 1998 season. He joined the Carolina Panthers' practice roster and then the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe.
In his final year at Colorado, Sutter led the Big 12 with 170 tackles.
"He was a hard-hitting free safety," said Taman. "A pretty good football player, very athletic. He ran pretty well and made quite a few plays for Colorado."
"This isn't a lark, in that he's just another guy off the street trying to get a football tryout," Taman added. "He's got some pedigree to him."
While Sutter bounced around the football world, he survived the episode-by-episode cuts on The Bachelorette.
Taman had never met Sutter. And although he has caught The Bachelorette a few times, he did not put two and two together until he got a message from Sutter's agent Tuesday.
On The Bachelorette, Sutter brought Rehn to his Colorado fire station on Episode 4 and showed her how to slide down a pole. The next episode, they canoodled in a Seattle hot tub and had dinner atop the Space Needle.
Popovich, accompanied by four other bachelors, took Trista to a San Diego Chargers game.
Alouettes GM Jim Popp calls Popovich "a great athlete."
"He just has not found a [football] home," Popp said Wednesday. "He's been between NFL camps, NFL Europe. He's a good enough athlete that he could even come on the offensive side of the ball and play receiver if he needed to. He's a very smart, intelligent player.
"To play at Miami of Florida, you've got to be a great football player."
Popovich is definitely coming to the Als' camp, Popp said.
The CFL team had no idea he was even on the show when it signed him. He let them know the day before the first show aired "because he wasn't allowed to tell anybody that he was on the show," Popp said.
The 25-year-old was also with the Barcelona Dragons. Signed as an undrafted free agent by Tampa Bay in 2000, he also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons.
He was a walk-on at Miami before earning a scholarship.
