Bring 'Em Out

Holy Sheets, guys!  We are headed to the 101st Grey Cup!  The Roughriders in the house that Ronny and George built.  It chokes me up.  This is what we've dreamed about all our lives as Rider fans.  Making it to the big game in our very home and winning it on Taylor Field at Mosaic Stadium.

Can this get any better?

What a euphoric week.

How did we get here?  A year ago, I believe Coach Corey Chamblin, GM Brendan Tamon and President Jim Hobson planned for this.  How do you win the Grey Cup?  First you need to build a championship team and bring in players like Geroy Simon, John Chick, Ricky Foley, Dwight Anderson and so many more. Then you employ the genius offensive mastermind of George Cortez.  You hold training camp away from home, in Saskatoon aka Riderville North, where players could bond together like brothers.

Did George Cortez hold back plays?  You bet your pants he did.  I knew it all along too.  You can't show everything you've got because then all the teams know you.  You keep those plays for play offs.  That's when you pull them out of your pack pocket and make defenses jaws drop open in surprise.  You bet that's what happened when we took over and totally dominated the line of scrimmage against the Stampeders in the Western Final.  They had no idea we were coming.

Supposedly the league is criticising our players for not touching the Western Division trophy.  As elite quarterback Darian Durant said on the sidelines, "I don't want that one."  Nope we don't either!  Ridernation wants the cup!  We want the cup!

We want the cup in the name of Sir Earl Grey.  Even if he thought he was donating a hockey trophy.  The story I recall is that he heard about Sir Stanley donating a cup and he wanted to do the same thing.  Well, Sir Grey, I am so glad this happened. What a beautiful cup she is.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are hosting the 101st Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium.  Our home.  The visiting team?  The Hamilton Tiger Cats.  They finished second in the east and beat the defending 2012 Grey Cup champions the Toronto Argonauts to get to the cup.  The Hamilton head coach is ex-Rider and coach Kent Austin.  Kent Austin quarterbacked the Roughriders in the 1989 Grey Cup win and he coached the Riders to the 2007 Grey Cup win.  His banner hangs on our stadium.  The Hamilton quarterback is Henry Burris, also an ex-Rider, who left us when he was going to be demoted as quarterback.  There are several other ex-Riders on the TiCat team: Andy Fantuz; Luca Congi.

But hold the Grey Cup train!  Our offensive coach, quarterback whisperer, George Cortez is the Hamilton ex-head coach.  Our linebacker, although now injured, Rey Williams was dismissed in the off season.  He has a huge chip on his shoulder.  Our head coach, Corey Chamblin was a defensive coach not all that long ago with the TiCats.

This will be the last big hurrah for Taylor Field.  We are building a new stadium for 2015.  Mosaic is a wonderful old girl.  I hope she gets to party like she's never before.

There are all kinds of storylines here.

This week is going to go fast and yet drag along at the same time.  Game time is 5pm Sunday.  I plan on savoring each moment.  I plan on wearing green all week.  It's going to be crazy.  And I am ready!

BRING 'EM OUT!  BRING 'EM OUT!  WE WANT THE CUP!!  WE WANT THE CUP!!!!

Go get it boys.