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To the Ever Victorious Rider (May They Win Forever)!
There’s an ominous feeling as I get ready today (by dressing warmly!) to cover the Riders.
In the last 100 years, our Saskatchewan Roughriders have been only able to win the coveted Grey Cup 3 times. Our opponents today have won the Cup a total of 8 times in that same century and have made Grey Cup appearances 18 times. While our Riders have been able to match the number of appearances at 18 as well, any fan would argue we’ve suffered much more heart breaking defeats – sometimes at our own hands.
The rabid Rider Nation is known across Canada as having no equal with fans attending practically every game in every town where the Riders play to cheer them on. As rabid as they may be, another side has always existed – a fickle and punitive fan base that’s able to turn on the team at the first sign of failure. Mid-game interceptions, 30 point leads, nail biting finishes; fans sit at the edge of their seats until the very end, not even daring to breathe until the last second of the last quarter is played and the game is in the books. A team known for last second fumbles, interceptions, and miscounting team mates – the fans have come to expect them to ‘snatch defeat from the jaws of victory’.
But this season seemed to be our year, blasting out of the gates at the start of this season with 5 victories before being handed some losses to keep us in check. This team never lost sight of the importance of this season – the 101st Grey Cup was being hosted in Regina, SK. This was a team that had to make history happen on their own turf. After almost losing to the BC Lions in the Semi-final, almost every sport writer in Canada wrote them off to the Calgary Stampeders. But the strength and determination that brought this team out of the gates this season was renewed at McMahon Stadium, where Calgary was handed such a devastating defeat.
Which brings us to today. . .
Today as I get ready, I’m aware of the history, the agony, the defeat, the almost wins, the penalties we lost by, everything. But, history has turned a new page and we are at the start of a new century. We are not bound by our history, we are not cursed to snatch defeat, we are no longer the land of ‘there’s always next year’. No. Today, we are in the new Saskatchewan, a land of possibility, a land of renewed hope and expectation and a land where we are the masters of our own destiny. Today, we are the Rider Nation and today we will pack our stadium. Today, we will cheer long and hard and when the dust settles, one team will hoist that cherished Grey Cup!
The Saskatchewan Roughriders over the Hamilton Tiger-cats with a score of 33-23.
– By Bill Stevenson for Bill’s “Right On” Blog
