Roughriders fandom born of community
Saskatchewan’s proud fan base stretches far outside the province
In sports writing circles, there’s an unwritten rule that says you can’t be a fan. So no matter how great the play is, or when the team you cover wins a championship, you don’t cheer, clap or even smile.
Just open your laptop and tell the story.
But this week, I have to break the rules. If there are consequences, I will accept them and serve the punishment I am given.
Hopefully, after Sunday evening.
The Grey Cup is always a great celebration in Canada, but this year, there is a little more added sentiment — if, of course, you are a Saskatchewan Roughriders fan. (Sorry, boss: I confess.) The chance for the Roughriders to win the Grey Cup at home against the Hamilton Tiger Cats will be one of the biggest stories to be shared across Canada.
Because Roughriders fans are like Toronto Maple Leafs fans — they’re everywhere.
They come from a proud prairie province with a strong history of communities thriving on people helping their neighbours. I speak from experience. I joined the Riders brethren before I was 10 years old. Even though I was born in Alberta, my father, a Saskatchewan native, quickly turned me into a Riders supporter.
I was indoctrinated Dec. 2, 1967, when Dad took me to the Grey Cup in Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park between the Roughriders and — how’s this for irony? — the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
We were disappointed in the outcome. The Riders, who had won their first championship the year before, did not defend the Grey Cup losing 24-1.
But it was a great introduction for me to being a Riders fan.
In fact, the year after, a family friend contacted the Roughriders office in Regina. A few weeks later, I had my first football helmet. It was green and white. Our family spent summers in Dad’s hometown of Meota, bordering Jackfish Lake. We didn’t have a TV in our cabin, so Dad and I would drive to a cousin’s farm to watch the Riders play on TV.
Farming. It’s a huge industry in Saskatchewan that demands long hours in the summer. Yet, many of our relatives shut the tractors and trucks down just before game time to watch their beloved team play.
Growing up in Edmonton, I got my share fair of razzing — and rightly so — because I was a Riders fan instead of rooting for the Edmonton Eskimos.
Yet, Riders fans seemed to be everywhere. I quickly made many friends once we discovered we both cheered for Saskatchewan.
There will be hundreds of thousands of fans across Canada donning their green and white apparel and cheering for the Roughriders.
The Riders have won three Grey Cups: 1966, 1989 and 2007.
Winning a Grey Cup in Regina … well, it wouldn’t get much better. But no matter what the outcome, tractors will be driven on the field shortly after the game — not to celebrate, nor out of disappointment.
The teardown at Mosaic Stadium will need to take place and those who can will lend a hand.
That’s just the way they do things in Saskatchewan, not only in football, but in life.