Stay the Course

How many of you were around in 1979? I was. I was seven. At age seven I don't even recall the word Roughrider muttered in our household. No one ever mentioned them until I was what I refer to as “stupid teenager” in 1989 when my Dad professed that 'the Riders are good this year'.

That's a small snapshot of what life was like when the Riders sucked.

Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister. People played Atari. We listened to music on a Sony Walkman if you were lucky enough to have $200. We watched M*A*S*H* and wondered who shot J.R.

Social media was chatting with the cashier at the grocery store.

2 – 14

That was the how the season went and that's why no one talked about them.

There were only four recognizable names on the 1979 team roster. Ron Lancaster had forfeited his role as quarterback and became the coach. Tom Clements was the quarterback and he had huge shoes to fill on a team that had to find a new identity. It was doomed from the start.

We live in a different world now. Rider fans came out of the woodwork during the 2007 season. Something magical happened and we had to put lifters on the bandwagon to support the additional weight. Now we wear our Rider green every single day and we aren't ashamed. We put it on our cars and houses and tattoo it on bodies. It's Rider Pride and it's been easy to back our team through recent winning times.

Roughrider fans are now are young and impatient. They weren't here in 1979.....weren't even a sparkle in someone's eyes..... and don't care to learn about the past. They point fingers, ridicule and want people to lose their jobs. The worst part is they are the loudest voice on social media. Instead, of doing their homework they follow the ill words of others like sheep.

Let's face it.....weeks before Gary Lawless wrote his article talking about Coach Chamblin being fired it was being discussed everywhere. All the radio programs were talking about how changes needed to be made and even though they weren't calling for heads to roll it doesn't take much to plant that seed of doubt in a smart phone obsessed mind. Who was Lawless's source? Heck, it could have been all of Rider Nation.

I for one have greatly adjusted my attitude. So what? We (the team) may not have glorious wins this year. Every game will be a struggle that will make you want to rip of your jersey and throw items at the TV. That's okay. That's passion. That proves you care. But when it comes down to it.....isn't it wonderful that we have this team in our province, which helps define our province and community? Isn't it great that we can come together to cheer for these guys who have left family and loved ones and come from across the United States and Canada to become the 2015 Roughriders!

We are so blessed.

The 13th Man.  Other CFL teams WISH they had a fan base like ours.

So I dare you – this week, week seven, look for the good things. Look for small improvements. Look for someone doing their job well. Look for better instead of the best. Trust me, we will all be happier and more content for it. This team has faced a HUGE amount of adversity this year that not many other CFL teams could easily recover from and now is the time to stick with this Roughrider team. The payoff will be down the road but I know in my greenest of hearts it will be sweeter than you could ever imagine.

And if not, well, I'm sorry you feel that way. Just know that one bad decision could turn the time back to 1979 and as much as I enjoyed Atari, I love the 2015 version of the Roughriders far more.

Stay the course. Persevere. And Always Bleed Green.