Yes, it's true. I'm THAT woman. I'm the one who cries over sports. An even bigger confession is...I've cried over sports twice in the last week. Football in particular, although I have been known to get choked up over a good Nascar win, but this blog is about football.
The official unveiling of the New Mosaic Stadium was provided to us via a live stream on Riderville.com last week. It opened with a video of all the legends and legendary happenings at Taylor Field. I never stood a chance. With tears streaming faster than the video, I viewed what the New Mosaic Stadium will entale. What a presentation it was. This new stadium will be amazing. We will usher in a new era with this stadium. It's going to have actual seats. It will be a bowl style stadium. It will be partially covered by a translucient awning. The visuals were simply beyond my wildest expectations.
You can view for yourself here: NEW STADIUM
Now, everything I heard from people I know was positive. A new stadium is deeply needed. But what the heck is up with media types? I turned onto CKOM to hear the afternoon crowd being totally negative on multiple levels. They don't like the locatioin.....they don't like the parking.....they don't like the absense of a roof. Like what the heck! The location has not been a secret. We've known for ages there wouldn't be a roof. These people, who admittedly do not watch football need to get educated on the subject before spouting off all their gobbly-goop which in turns gets fans all in an uproar.
We want change. We need change. This is very exciting. We are going to usher in a new era with this stadium. PERIOD.
Another time last week that I cried was when watching All In. In case you didn't know [and every Rider fan does know], All In was the Roughrider dvd which came out last week available at the Rider stores and all Co-Op locations. The dvd chronicals the 2013 season leading up to the 101st Grey Cup and including winning said most coveted trophy.
Now don't get me wrong here. I loved it. The player and coach commentaries gave great insight into the whole season. Seeing the prep for Grey Cup was interesting because most of us don't know what goes into getting an event ready and it also showed us how the weather affects and is part of the game. I've seen everyone raving about the dvd but no one is saying what I'm about to.....It missed the mark. Okay, well kind of missed the mark. The feature began with the loss of the west final in 2012. I feel that even though that's what spurred the planning for the 2013 season, the dvd should have began with the [Ridernation prepare yourself].....it should have began with the 09/10 Grey Cup losses. Before you all freak out at me, my mentality for that statement is because for players like Darian Durant those losses are what created that monkey on his back that he desperately wanted to fling off. The video also glazed over the whole Cornish/Sheets competition. One of my most memorable parts of the 2013 West Final was when Cornish was walking off the field and Sheets was being interviewed. They asked him what worked and he said "pretty much everything." Another part that wasn't even mentioned was how the Roughriders refused to touch the West Final trophy. There were many storylines which came together....Tristan Jackson working on the rigs when recalled to the team....Kent Austin being a Rider now a Ticat....Fantuz/Congi and other ex-Riders..... But the number one thing the All In dvd should have included was the Grey Cup game itself. If time or money was the issue, we all know Rider Nation would have gladly sat through a 3 hour documentry and paid much more for it too. Hey, if we spend $200+ on multiple jerseys every year there is no doubt we'd fork over the dough for a monumental dvd and you all know it!
If you want to procure your own copy of All In just visit any Rider store or Co-Op store or order online at Riderville.com.
Did you miss this media announcement last week? The Co-Op in partnership with many football teams are again coming out with Game Day products. All moneys from these products go to charity. I think that's a worthy cause to knock down the Co-Op doors looking for these items. In Saskatchewan there will be Getzlaf Chris-py Dill chips and Darian's Quarterback Quench Sports drink. There will be many other items available in Saskatchewan as well which you can read about here: Co-Op Connections This time around you will also see items Alberta with Stampeder players/logos and Eskimo players/logos. Remember, it's all for a good cause.
Just today it was announced that Chris Szarka-train and Omar Morgan will be inducted into the Plaza of Honor. They are both terrific players. If Eddie Davis is in then Omar should be too. Can't have one without the other.
Last thing, which may make us all cry depending.....the Players Association and CFL are set to meet on Wednesday again. Will it be a major snafu like last week or will they actually come to terms? I have a gut feeling it will be worked out and players will be at training camp next Monday as planned in Saskatoon.
If not.....you'll see the real *ugly* cry from this woman.
