Retired nun says God a Riders fan
Sister Rosetta Reiniger suggests Saskatchewan will win not just CFL East final, but also Grey Cup
SASKATOON — A retired nun in Saskatoon suspects God could be wearing a Saskatchewan Roughriders jersey and a watermelon helmet when the Riders meet the Toronto Argonauts in this weekend’s Canadian Football League Eastern Conference final.
Sister Rosetta Reiniger is one of a group of nuns who believe God will be on Saskatchewan’s side when the teams kick off Sunday at BMO Field for the right to go to the Grey Cup in Ottawa on Nov. 26.
She told a Saskatoon radio station this week that while God loves every team, there’s only one colour the Holy Spirit wears — and that’s green.
Sister Rosetta is a superfan who has been cheering for Saskatchewan for more than five decades, and has been witness to many of the team’s highs and lows.
After three tough years that saw the club miss the playoffs, she believes the green and white are ready to return to glory.
Sister Rosetta may also have an ear to the great huddle in the sky, because she says Saskatchewan is also going to win the Grey Cup.
“I just feel like they’re on a roll right now,” she told CKOM’s The Brent Loucks show on Wednesday.
“They’ve come through some difficult times. Now our players are playing well together.”
Sister Rosetta used to make the trip to Regina once a year for a game. Now, she and her fellow nuns cheer on the team from their convent’s retirement home.
Popcorn and a special prayer for the players before each game are part of their tradition.
Even a small version of the club’s mascot plays somewhat of a divine role.
“We still have Gainer the Gopher sitting on my TV. He watches every game with me,” said the devout fan.
She also has a football signed by the entire team that was given to her by former Saskatchewan coach Ken Miller in 2009.
“Yeah, I think we have a very good chance, and we are going to win (Sunday),” she said.
TORONTO — A return to the Grey Cup — not redemption — is fuelling receiver Chad Owens.
He will suit up for the Saskatchewan Roughriders when they visit Toronto in the East Division final this weekend. And Owens’ focus will be helping the Roughriders advance to the Grey Cup and not proving the Argos were wrong to let him leave almost two years ago.
Owens spent six productive seasons in Toronto (2010-15) before being allowed to walk away in free agency and sign with the archrival Hamilton TigerCats. Time has allowed the 35-yearold Honolulu native to get over that disappointment and now his focus is on getting Saskatchewan back to the Grey Cup for the first time since the Riders won the championship in 2013.
“I’m two years removed,” Owens said from Ottawa on Thursday. “Last year was a different story.
“They’ve got a totally different staff there, new management. This is another game and I’m focused on us. It’s an opportunity to go out there and win a football game and have a chance to play in the Grey Cup.”
Owens, affectionately dubbed The Flyin’ Hawaiian, helped Toronto win the 100th Grey Cup game in 2012, the same year he captured the CFL’s outstanding player award after accumulating a record 3,863 all-purpose yards.
Owens was named a league all-star four times with the Argos and in 2010 received the John Agro Award, given annually to the league’s top special-teams performer.
Owens admits he played with definite purpose in June 2016 when Hamilton opened its season with a 42-20 road win over Toronto at BMO Field. Owens had six catches for 67 yards and a TD in that contest.
The 2016 season was shaping up nicely for Owens, who had 55 catches for 808 yards and five TDs with Hamilton before suffering a foot injury.
After signing with Saskatchewan, Owens began the season on the six-game injury list with an apparent foot ailment. Owens finally cracked the lineup late in the regular season, registering 17 catches for 235 yards and a TD in three games. This past Sunday, he had a 16-yard catch and 19-yard run in Saskatchewan’s 31-20 win over the Ottawa Redblacks in the East Division semifinal.
The Riders are trying to become the first crossover team to reach the Grey Cup since the rule was adopted in 1996. Saskatchewan (10-8) finished fourth in the West Division but gained the third and final playoff seed in the East after amassing more points than third-place Hamilton (6-10).
Toronto (9-9) finished the regular season atop the East, earning home-field advantage for the division final.
“It’s huge for us as a team to be in this position,” Owens said. “We’re one win away from having an opportunity to go for the ultimate goal. “That in itself is very motivating . . . . “I don’t know what (the future holds),” added Owens, who is under contract with Saskatchewan through next season. “I’m just focused on winning a Grey Cup.”