As I stated in the opening of that blog post, a lot of people didn't even really know I was a football fan in real life. I can pretty much guarantee that has changed. I've never been one to shout it from the rooftop because I feel that when I am at work, I am there to work, and I'm hoping my employer likes it that way. However, it does bubble over sometimes. While my fandom isn't tattooed on my arm it is in my heart at all times. In my classroom there is a Grey Cup champions sign from 2013 and a couple other tell tale signs if you look hard enough. I do tend to wear a lot of green and to answer my question from It's Not June Yet, there is never enough Rider green.
Back in March of 2016 the temperament was mixed and divided. Some love the Chris Jones regime, others hate him and others just hate his personality but love the coach. There are still (in March – 2 months later) fans who bring up the whole Chick/Dressler releases. Ridernation doesn't forget much. In the first season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders they went 5-13. It was a total and complete rebuild situation. 2017 was an improvement at 10-8 and less than 3 minutes from participating in the Grey Cup which our victors, the Toronto Argonauts would go on to win and let's not forget that Corey Chamblin our ex head coach was their defensive coordinator that year too. Flash forward to last year 2018 and the Riders once again improved on their over all record at 12-6 and hosted a home play off game for the first time in several years. While those same fans are still out there upset over how Chris Jones handled things (not this fan - I was on board from Day 1) it's easy to see how he was not only nominated for Coach of the Year but took home the award in November. Each year that Chris Jones has been with the Roughriders organization has been an improvement over the last. Yes, there's been some problems and some ugly losses (The Big Goose Egg) but if one was to take the temperament of the fans at right this moment I'd say we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we started. We are just missing that one quarterback ingredient, but I'll get to that later.
Here we are in 2019 and Corey Chamblin has become the Head Coach for the Toronto Argonauts after Marc Trestman was dismissed. It's always shocking when someone gloriously leads their team to victory one year and then is fired the next. It seems to be the way so often in professional sports. We know that in Chamblin's final year with the Riders he changed. We don't know if it was winning that did it or something else but we saw issues where coaches and players didn't want to work for him or with him. He has said publicly that he learned from his experience here in the fishbowl. It'll be interesting to see what kind of culture he's able to create in a place like Toronto that seems oblivious to the very existence of the CFL.
Rider Nation waited anxiously after an NFL reporter mentioned in an article that Chris Jones should be on the radar of several NFL teams. We wondered if it was news being created in the absence of football news in the CFL and we have seen an exodus of players to the NFL so why wouldn't coaches be going elsewhere too? Thankfully on Tuesday all the rumours were put to rest when news finally broke for the first time since December 20th, Chris Jones had signed a contract extension through 2020. He said there's unfinished business with the Roughriders and as I've always suspected, he wants to win a Grey Cup with our Riders. Hey, I'm all for that attitude!
I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that we don't say #isitjuneyet anymore. There has been an effort and movement to move the season up to avoid disasters like the 2018 Grey Cup and it's snowy onslaught. What a complete embarrassment that was! It was bad for the teams playing and it was disappointing to watch players slip and slide on TSN. In 2019 the season will begin in June and preseason begins in May. Wahoo! That also means training camps will open a week earlier and that completely works out for my schedule. So...#isitmayyet? I am assuming that the Riders return to Saskatoon for training camp in 2019 but we will have to await that news.
Back to my 2016 blog post...I went on to talk extensively about meeting new players and then how accessible fans are to CFL players. Aren't we lucky?! The three players I posted about were only Riders for a short time. I did mention my curse with meeting players and their dismissal. That tweet
 |
| Will Scott Moe like this post? |
Four years ago I was not a season ticket holder. 2019 will be the 3rd season that I hold tickets. I love that the Roughriders and Mosaic Stadium organizations have options for all fans. In 2016 I bought what was called Flex Tickets. Now, with my season tickets they have a great resale option available for games I am not able to go to. Sometimes, even if you are the biggest fan, it's just not possible to drive the 3 hours due to other adult responsibilities. I've loved being in section 126 and I enjoy being close to the field. What I don't enjoy is having to watch most of the game on the big screen because I can't see what's going on. In February I'm going to look at upgrading to another section. It'll be a great opportunity to meet new people and participate in the terrific Mosaic Stadium game atmosphere.
We said goodbye to Taylor Field and we welcomed Mosaic Stadium with open arms. We worked out the bugs in hosting a home play off game and now we are ready for more. It's go time. The next few months are going to be full of news and we will see some beloved players move on and we will also welcome new players into the fold. I'm not making any bold predictions but with every improving year - this is the year to do it all and it starts with Chris Jones going out and getting us the quarterback to lead us there. Who will it be? Take part in the poll posted below and let me know your thoughts! Stay tuned for the results!
Another well written, thoughtful and insightful blog
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony!
Delete