Reynolds hoping fans give Green and White an edge in key contest
The Saskatchewan Roughriders may have two opponents on Monday — the Edmonton Eskimos and the weather.
During this cooler-than-usual autumn, the Roughriders are preparing to meet Edmonton at Mosaic Stadium in a Thanksgiving Day game that will have a significant bearing on the CFL’S West Division standings.
“It’s probably the most important game in the standings we’ve hosted since we opened that stadium,” Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds said Wednesday. “The stadium’s fantastic. We’ve had tons of sellouts. The fans have been fantastic.
“We’ve got lots going on, but we’ve got a couple of thousand of seats to sell. With the weather like this, people look at that and sort of say, ‘It’s on TV,’ and those sorts of things, so I think it’s a challenge.”
Cooler weather, especially when key games are being held in November, is the major reason why there is a push for an earlier start to the CFL season.
“All the Prairie teams seem to be in line on that at the CFL level,” Reynolds said. “We continue to work that issue because I personally think it’s an important one. Things have changed dramatically just in terms of the quality of television, et cetera. It’s just harder to sell tickets in the winter and late fall.”
The Roughriders have had sellouts of 33,350 for each of their last three home games.
A major selling point for Monday is the fact that Saskatchewan has a 9-5 record, thanks to a 6-1 stretch, and is in excellent position to stage a home playoff game for the first time since 2013.
“One of the things we’ve talked about a lot this year — and we’ve had a couple of disappointing losses at home — is that we need to establish home field as the true advantage it is,” Reynolds said.
“Quite honestly, our fans give us a massive advantage. It’s loud. There’s energy. We need to get to the point where we’re winning those home football games. It’s important for your franchise.
“You look at how Calgary historically has sort of finished first every year. They don’t lose many games at home because it’s hard winning on the road.”
Even so, the Roughriders have a better record on the road (5-2) than at home (4-3) this season. They are coming off back-to-back road victories over the Toronto Argonauts (30-29 on Sept. 15) and Montreal Alouettes (34-29 on Sunday).
“The thing I was really proud of was how they closed the game out,” said Reynolds, who attended the game in Montreal. “They needed two drives offensively to close the game out and they closed it out. I think that has been a bit of a theme this year. When we need to close out a game, we close out a game.”
The priority now is to close out the regular season with a flourish.
As it stands, the Calgary Stampeders lead the West with an 11-2 record and 22 points, four ahead of Saskatchewan. The Roughriders have a four-point cushion on two 7-7 teams — Edmonton and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — and are six points ahead of the B.C. Lions (6-7).
“We control our own destiny,” Reynolds said. “If we continue to win games and critical games, then we’ve got an opportunity at home. If you win a home game on Monday, you put yourself in a really good position to host a home playoff game, which makes it easier on the road to the Grey Cup, which is obviously your goal.”