Riders, Flags, & Blue Grass

So I was right.  The Calgary Stampeders came out of Grey Cup 2014 victorious.  But it was close wasn't it? I must admit that when the TiCats got Banks running back that last punt I kind of said to myself "shoot, leave it to the Stamps to mess that up." Then I saw the flags.

HA HA!

Then I realized how similar a situation that was to our very own Riders 2009 occurrence.  Ack.  The cup no one likes to think about.  However, there was a main difference, in '09 the Riders had indeed won in regulation time.  The TiCats still had minutes left on the clock and the Stampeders were in fact faltering.  The emotion was very similar and one does have to feel for those players who's hearts lept in jubilation and then crumbled to the depths of despair.  The sun came up for Rider fans and I'm sure it still did for TiCat fans too.

The biggest news/rumours of Grey Cup was Dave Naylor and Jim Lawless breaking "news" during the pregame TSN show that there would be huge shake ups in the Riders organization including George Cortez,  Richie Hall and Baron Miles.  Huh? Wha?  Knowing what I know of these two "reporters", I took it with a block of salt.  What it did do was spur tons of speculation and rumour and all sorts of conversations in the Twitterverse.

Then nothing happened.

Nothing from the Riders.

*pin drops*

Then there was a tidbit of news.....

There were new retro license plates announced.

*eyeroll*

COME ON! Rider fans deserve better than that!

The news gradually emerged that George Cortez was not really let go.  His contract was up and it was decided that it was not being renewed.  It was also eluded to that all coaches would be evaluated and there was some truth to the Richie Hall rumours.  Wow.  How shocking is that?  I mean Richie is a Rider institution.  Plus no one ever doubted the Riders defensive scheme.

What an amazing man Richie Hall is.  I met him the year he returned to Saskatchewan after his Head Coaching stint in Edmonton.  He was gracious.  I told him I was glad he returned to us.  He smiled and said he was happy to be back. *beams* Richie was every bit as gracious in his media scrum this week.  It's part of the game.  It's part of what happens when you want the team to win.  As hard as it is to accept on a personal level that you've been demoted, when you believe you just do what the best interests are.  I'm not sure any other person or coach would be able to be so articulate and logical in such a circumstance.  Bravo Richie!

The hardest part is that from this fans point of view I want to scream NO IT'S SPECIAL TEAMS THAT NEEDS FIXING!!!!  But the sun still rises and there will be more off season changes that may be harder to accept.

Like 27 free agents.

Gulp.

Speaking of sun...or maybe sunglasses, rather, how about those Oregon Ducks? I've managed to catch two football games.  Wow they are exciting and fun to watch!  They actually remind me so much of our very own Riders last season.  You see, instead of moaning and groaning and whining about the CFL season being over, I've decided to get into something else and decided college football is it.

It's very easy for me to get behind the Oregon Ducks as well as the Boise State Broncos.  I've got family who lives in that area of the United States so it's fun to watch and be excited for them, after all they stay excited for the Riders for me.  But holy smokes, those Ducks uniforms are bright.  They have cool designs and about 100 different looks.  If that isn't your cup of huckleberry tea then it sure is fun to watch Boise State on the smurf turf.  It's not quite as hard on the eyes.

How do they make grass blue anyways?

*shrugs*

Apparently there are 4 college teams who have coloured turf.  Thank goodness green is the colour around here, eh?

Christmas is less than 3 weeks away.  It's a busy time for us all.  There likely won't be another blog post before Christmas.  I thank each and everyone of you who read this blog or follow and chat with me on Twitter (@smilingsandra).  You make watching football so much more fun and brighten many days.  I hope Rider Claus is good to you all and you find the best and magical surprises under your Christmas trees this year and have an amazing new year too!  Let's plan to paint Winnipeg GREEN!