Ten Thought Tuesday

It's been a long time since I've done a blog like this and a bit of time since I've blogged period.  What can I say? Life gets busy.

1.  Did you hear that the Riders are bidding on the 2020 Grey Cup?!  I am thrilled!  Why wouldn't we want to bring the Grey Cup to the best facility in the league?  I can't think of one reason not to.  Sure, that means it would have been in western stadiums 3 years in a row but I don't have a problem with that at all.  If you look historically, the Grey Cup never came West in the first several years of the leagues inception.  We all know that Regina and the province of Saskatchewan throws a heck of a party.  A word from my witty husband - we better pray for global warming.  LOL 

2.  What is the deal with TSN and particularly Rod Black's love affair with Johnny Manziel?  TSN should be embarrassed for not only the telecast but the follow up highlight package.  Guess what?  The Alouettes lost!  The team that won was barely mentioned.  Don't go blaming Rider fans for the outrage either.  CFL fans from far and wide are sick of the bias.  If you say his name is good hype for the league, I'd say competitive games and successful teams garner more interest south of the border.  I do recall the Riders name being hyped and mentioned during NFL broadcasts...

3.  Stupid questions.  If you are going to do a sideline report with a player during a game or intermission then you better be asking him good questions.  Asking Tre Mason in one of his best performances of the season about his college alliances is disrespecting to the CFL game.  I loved his answer - all he cared about was the Roughriders and the Alouettes game.

4.  The Edmonton Eskimos fired their special teams coordinator.  Why?  Was he to blame for their recent losing skid?  That poor man was nothing more than a scapegoat.  There needed to be "consequences" and that fella was the one to pay the price.  Perhaps the Eskimos need to look at their offensive and defensive schemes before throwing someone else under the bus.  But don't do it this week...please wait until after Week 17 to do that.

5.  Monday is Thanksgiving and the Eskimos take on the Roughriders at beautiful Mosaic Stadium.  The temperature is forecasted to be zero.  Most of us are wondering what happened to autumn.  If you are heading to the game you might want to pull out your winter woollies and hot pockets.

6.  Another head coach who should be under the microscope is Blue Bombers Mike O'Shea.  He's been in the organization for 6 years now and only got 1 play off game.  They might be lucky enough to be the crossover team but as we know, no western team has ever made it to the Grey Cup through the east. 1990.

7.  The Riders have a bye in the last week of the season.  For this reason I've decided they are far better off to finish 2nd in the West.  There's no way we'd want our team to sit 2 weeks and then play in a play off game.  That being said, is it possible for the Riders to win out?  Is it possible for the Stamps to win out?  The ending of this season is pretty exciting.

8.  I am looking forward to New Era taking over the CFL merchandise.  I hope their have comfortable clothing made for real CFL fans and affordably priced.  I was in the Rider Store last weekend and spied a really great bunnyhug.  A quick look at the price tag? $70.  Why bother when a jersey is only $40 more?  

9.  Speaking of clothing, as long as I keep wearing my Rider shirt purchased at Giant Tiger the Riders keep winning.  I'm superstitious although my husband keeps informing me that my clothing/fashion choices have no impact on how the Riders play.  If that's the case, then why does Chris Jones stick with the green Diversity is Strength shirt?  Maybe, just maybe, there's something to it.

10.  We pvr a lot of sporting events just so we can fast forward through the commercials.  It usually puts me in a tough position because I also love to follow and post on ABC Rider Fans game threads.  If I don't watch it live how can I join in with the rest of the community?!  This reminds me of my favourite quote from the TV show Instinct - "If I don't watch it live I have no control over it."

Happy Turkey Day Rider Fans!