Corner Gas star bleeds green with Rider pride B2
REGINA Brent Butt is proud of his Rider Pride.
The star and creator of the hit Canadian comedy Corner Gas and now, Corner Gas Animated, cheered for the Saskatchewan Roughriders while growing up in Tisdale. Butt’s Rider Pride has continued even though he has lived in Vancouver for more than 20 years. Corner Gas Animated and the Riders have joined forces with some lighthearted vignettes of the cast cheering on the Roughriders that are being shown at Mosaic Stadium.
Butt talked to the Regina Leader-post about the Riders and other aspects of the comedian’s life:
Q What’s more iconic, Corner Gas or the Roughriders?
A The Riders, no question. Having said that, Corner Gas is in second place, but a distant second.
Q Why are the Roughriders so iconic?
A It’s something in the blood. It’s the fact that it’s the only major professional franchise the province has had for a very long time. It was the one place where all of our eyeballs would go to watch pro ball. I don’t claim to be a molecular biologist, but I think it’s just ingrained at some sort of a cellular level.
Q How would you describe yourself as a Riders fan?
A I grew up wanting to be George Reed. My big thing at recess was to see how many kids it would take to knock me down because in my mind I was George Reed. I grew up wearing green and loving green. The fact is, I haven’t lived in Saskatchewan since the 1980 s, but I still we army Riders stuff around town, an di get called on it all the time. That will never change because I’m a diehard Riders fan.
Q A Mainstreet poll of the most popular people in Saskatchewan featured now-former Riders quarterback Darian Durant first, you second and Kevin Glenn third. Does it make you think you could be the Riders’ quarterback?
A Yes. That is the only reasonable conclusion. Unfortunately, they don’t make a helmet that will fit me.
Q In 2009, former Riders Gene Makowsky and Matt Dominguez had cameo appearances on Corner Gas. Why is there a connection between the Riders and Corner Gas?
A We had that cameo on the show, and my character would dress up as Saskaman (a super Riders fan) on occasion. He would paint his face green, and Hank was often seen wearing Rider gear. A regular prop on the show in front of the cash register at the Ruby was a Roger Aldag figure. If we were going to make this authentically a small-town Saskatchewan setting, it only made sense that the riders were part of it.
Q Has that connection been carried on to Corner Gas Animated?
A Specifically we haven’t done anything with the Riders in the first 13 shows in terms of a storyline. The Riders’ connection was there, and we are talking to the Riders about keeping up that partnership. They were keen and we were keen. we ended up making those animated scenes that play on the big screen (at Mosaic Stadium) and they feature us as Corner Gas cast members cheering on the team. They are a lot of fun.
Q The opening ceremony for the 2018 Memorial Cup in Regina included a tribute to the Humboldt Broncos. You and Rob Faulds were hosts for the tribute. You were also born and raised in Tisdale, so what impact did the crash have on you?
A It was such a brutal and heartwrenching event. It doesn’t matter where you’re from because it impacts you and people around the world. It hit home for people in small-town Saskatchewan even more. On Corner Gas, one of the supervising producers (Andrew Carr) is from Humboldt. He has worked on all seasons of Corner Gas, he wrote the movie with me, and now corner Gas Animated. He knew people who were directly affected and it’s one of those things you can’t wrap your head around.
Q It has to be cool to have created a show like Corner Gas that is such a big part of Canadian culture. Did you think of that while growing up in Tisdale?
A I did imagine it. I was a big daydreamer as a kid, and my whole focus was on show business. I envisioned myself doing standup comedy and doing TV. I remember having arguments with friends of mine as a teenager about wanting to make Canadian TV. They would say, ‘You can’t do a sitcom in Canada.’ Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it can’t happen. When Corner Gas was airing, it wasn’t only the top Canadian comedy. It also beat out the American shows. That’s something we are all very proud of.
Q What’s your favourite memory as a Riders fan?
A It would be hard to beat the 1989 Grey Cup when they kicked the field goal to win. I was on the road and we were watching it on a 13-inch black-and-white TV. It was just pulling the signal out of the air and it was all snowy. When Dave Ridgway kicked the field goal to win the game, we were all bawling because I got to see the Riders win my first Grey Cup. The Riders won the Grey Cup the year I was born (in 1966), and I was two or three months old, so I have virtually no memory of that.
Q What was so special about the 1989 Grey Cup?
A It was all those years of watching and hoping, and there were so many rough seasons where the team was legitimately tough to watch. You stuck through it because you bleed green and you hope that things will turn around. It all paid off with that game, which some people say was the best Grey Cup ever. There was so much drama. You have the Tony Champion catch and then The Kick … I will never forget that moment.