Saskatchewan is Always the Best Choice

With wild anticipation Roughrider fans waited for the announcement by the CFL of which city would be hosting the 2020 Grey Cup.  Three cities had put in bids - Montreal, Hamilton and Regina.  The talk around the water cooler had it narrowed down to Hamilton and Regina with the scuttlebutt waffling between which city deserves it most.  While Hamilton has not hosted in recent years lot's of people feel they deserve to host it the most.  The bidding process is reportedly to be narrowed down by which economy and city can support all the events and which one can put the most successful promotion together.  Does deserving it come into play?  There wasn't even a whisper as to a hint of how the announcement would play out but in my classroom (my student had cancelled for those wondering) I listened to the announcement on my phone on the Rider app.  The city of Regina and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will host the 2020 Grey Cup.  Was there ever any doubt?

Players sign in big cities and markets for a bigger salary but it's not until they make the move to places like Toronto or Vancouver and discover the cost of living there is much higher.  A price tag of $2000 a month for rent on a cardboard box of an apartment is shocking.  To get affordable accommodations players need to live farther away from their host cities.  In Saskatchewan, you may have a little less in your bank account but you will have a spacious place to live and still have money left over to have a life. While this doesn't affect a Grey Cup bid, it does effect the product a team puts on the field and the likelihood of said team in getting to the big game.  In Saskatchewan, we like good hearty players who see the value in playing for the organization but also contributing to the community.  We know your name and lineup in droves at autograph sessions.  The love we all share makes Saskatchewan a warmer place despite the temperatures on the newscast.

If you are a Roughrider fan or a CFL fan coming into the province for a regular season game or a special event there are many options for you.  Back in 1995 the Roughriders Grey Cup slogan was Huddle Up in Saskatchewan and fans were encouraged to open up their homes to visitors.  Is this where the CFL Family was born?  Lot's has changed in Saskatchewan since '95 and there's been great strides to attract and build hotels for all the special events which now come into the province.  If attending CFL festivities the week prior to Grey Cup aren't your thing then it's only a short jaunt down the road from Moose Jaw or Saskatoon.  In 2013, Saskatoon was known as Riderville North and hosted fans and watch parties.  Finding a place to lay your head after a night out with your CFL pals has become exponentially easier.

Green is always the colour in Saskatchewan and is the model for many other CFL franchises.  Fans in 2018 were concerned about these new football leagues sprouting up and while those concerns have been laid to rest after seeing the dismal attendance at AAFL games the CFL needs to show off it's league and there's no better way to do that than have the Grey Cup in Regina.  The 2018 Grey Cup in Edmonton, while a failure for the Eskimos, was an immense success for the city of Edmonton.  The CFL needs to continue the momentum and continue to provide strong showings after Calgary in 2019 which will no doubt be a rousing success as well.  This is one reason I believe Regina was given the 2020 Grey Cup opportunity.

Many fans think that the city of Hamilton got the short end of the stick.  The last time the Grey Cup was in Hamilton the year was 1996.  The Macarena was all the rage...remember that?  Fargo had us all wondering why the movie was based in Minnesota and we were all shouting SHOW ME THE MONEY!  While both Hamilton and Regina have new stadiums, the opening of Mosaic Stadium was next to glitch free while Tim Hortons Field had construction, contractor issues, repairs and lawsuits.  It was just last year that a two year legal battle was finally settled.  It would seem to be reasonable to give Hamilton and the Tiger Cats some extra time to settle in and get everything sorted before hosting a Grey Cup with the entire nation and several other countries watching. If you'd like to know more about Hamilton's bid for the Grey Cup this CBC article is a great read: 5 Things to Know About Hamilton's Bid to Host the 2020 Grey Cup.

From Andy Hamilton Photography. Grey Cup 101 - From My Perspective

Do you remember how Taylor Field sparkled at Grey Cup 2013?  It was breath taking.  She was old and dilapidated but held together with memories and love.  Flash forward to the jewel that Mosaic Stadium is.  It's November something 2020.  It's a record sell out for the Grey Cup.  The aerial shots are spectacular.  The prospect of what that will look like in a TSN shot makes my Rider green heart palpitate.  I'm going to be honest here and yes my Roughrider bias will show...when I started seeing the pictures of the Roughriders watch parties from the Canadian Brewhouse locations and live from Mosaic Stadium, I knew 2020 was ours.  Why wouldn't you want it where football is king even on a random Thursday in February?  There was never another choice.