RETIREE RELISHES RETURN
Longtime broadcaster John Lynch is feeling the impact of the CFL'S cancelled 2020 season
John Lynch is still watching football in 2020, but it's not the same without the CFL.
The long-time Regina-based sports broadcaster has filled the void created by the COVID-19induced cancellation of the 2020 CFL season by viewing NFL and college football games.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed we are where we are now,” said Lynch, who has covered the Saskatchewan Roughriders on radio and television since 1969.
“My life has revolved around the Roughriders, as a lot of people's have. Still there is no way I thought there was ever a chance of this happening.”
The impact of the CFL'S cancelled season hits home when Lynch sees Mosaic Stadium, the $278-million home of the Roughriders that sits empty only three years after officially opening.
“I drive by that stadium and it bothers me,” Lynch said. “I mean that it has to be occupied because it's the best stadium in Canada and one of the best in football.”
Lynch, 83, has seen the Riders through good times and bad.
He has witnessed all four of the 110-year-old franchise's Grey Cup victories and the move from old Mosaic Stadium into the new facility. He has also endured long playoff droughts and watched when provincewide telethons were needed in 1987 and 1997 to keep the team alive.
“There aren't any lowlights,” Lynch said. “Doing football is such a great thrill that I can't really find anything bad to say about it. It was all an event and exciting to talk about. Even when the Riders were terrible from 1977 to 1985, it was still a thrill to do.”
Lynch's media duties began after graduating from the University of Saskatchewan with a commerce degree. He often worked in sales, marketing and management with numerous Saskatchewan companies while covering the Riders.
His radio career has includ
ed stints at CJME, CKRM and CKCK in roles ranging from sideline reporter to colour analyst to play-by-play of Riders games and appearances on numerous radio programs.
In 1986, Lynch made the move into television on In The Huddle with Cable Regina (now Access Communications). The program,
devoted to the Roughriders, featured Lynch and Roy Brown as co-hosts, along with Paul Klinger.
“Everyone wanted to watch In The Huddle because we had all of the latest news,” Lynch said. “It was the only show like that on TV.”
In The Huddle also provided a platform for Lynch to display a wealth of knowledge on the back
grounds of players and prospects.
He would present statistics and other nuggets of information that he had gleaned from studying countless magazines devoted to college sports.
“(Former Riders general manager) Eric Tillman told me one time that he's always been very impressed and admired Lynch's knowledge of the history of the game,” said Rod Pedersen, Lynch's long-time friend and the play-byplay voice of the Roughriders from 1999 to 2018.
“He knows who these players are and he knows the conferences and watches all of the college games. John's been following it, and he'll tell you, since 1948.”
That was the year that an 11-yearold Lynch attended his first Riders game — a Western Interprovincial Football Union two-game, total point semi-final between the Green and White (which entered the playoffs with a 3-9 record) against the 12-0 Calgary Stampeders.
The Riders tied the Stampeders 4-4 at Taylor Field before losing 17-6 in Game 2, played in Calgary.
“We gave Calgary the toughest game they had all year,” Lynch said. “We lost the second game, but it wasn't bad and we were right there with them all night.”
Lynch had one of the best seats in the country for Riders games. He's also been there for victories in the 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013 Grey Cup games.
The 1966 Grey Cup game stands out because it was the first championship for the Riders. However, Saskatchewan's 45-23 win over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-cats in the 2013 Grey Cup at old Mosaic Stadium was just as memorable.
“Sunday for the game was supposed to be cold, but by Sunday morning wasn't too bad,” Lynch said. “By noon, it was getting pretty good. In the afternoon, it was really great. You had to wonder if the guy upstairs wasn't working on that one.”
As a fan and a broadcaster, Lynch has seen many of the Riders' legends perform.
He remembers when Glenn Dobbs was the Riders' star quarterback in the early 1950s. Dobbs eventually landed in Canada after being selected third overall by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1943 NFL draft and became one of the team's most popular players.
“He was a true triple threat and could run, pass and punt the ball out of this world,” Lynch said.
Lynch also had an opportunity to watch quarterback Ron Lancaster and fullback George Reed become legends with the Roughriders.
Lancaster and Reed shared in the Riders' 1966 Grey Cup victory and their contributions have been recognized with their own statues outside Mosaic Stadium. They are among the eight former Riders to have had their numbers retired.
“(Lancaster) was a great quarterback who could make the big plays when he had to,” Lynch said. “That's why we had the records that we did with him. He was short, but he could run too.”
Reed retired after the 1975 season with an assortment of Riders records, including rushing yards (16,116) and overall touchdowns (137 with 134 rushing, three receiving).
“He has a hard-running fullback and he ran viciously,” Lynch said.
“He would barrel into guys and challenge them to tackle him and even then you had to gang-tackle him. He dragged tacklers and he was money in the bank. He was intense and Roughriders fans were lucky to have him.”
Lynch announced his retirement from broadcasting in 2014, but remains a weekly guest on the Rod Pedersen Show. The two-hour show airs weekdays, beginning at 10 a.m., on Facebook and Game+.
“The viewers love him,” Pedersen said. “We have a contest every day for the rock star of the day and he perennially wins it.
“I learned a long time ago that his voice reminds people of their youth. It reminds them of a happy time and that era of Riders history that they're in love with, and Lynch has a tie to that. I think that's the biggest reason why people love him so much.”
Lynch, who grew up in Rouleau before settling in Regina, was recognized in 2003 with his induction into the Saskatchewan Rural Sports Hall of Fame in Indian Head. He has remained in Regina with his wife, Margie. Lynch has two children, Colleen and Greg, and two grandkids, Annabel and Sam.
Lynch remains active despite batting some health issues, taking his dog Taffy on daily walks around his Regina condo.
It's all part of adjusting to life without the CFL. Lynch, however, wonders if there will be a season in 2021.
“I hope so,” he said, “and I hope that enough people care to get this going again.”