CFL Advent Calendar

Fridays around here are either for football or flashbacks and sometimes it's both!  I've had a flood of ideas recently and I was thinking about a post I wrote called CFL Subscription Club on ABC Football.  The entire blog is talking about how you can subscribe to all kinds of services to bring you monthly boxes of anything from food to underwear and my argument was why doesn't one exist for the CFL?  Well, since it's Christmas, this got me thinking, (by the time you read this I'll already be into my advent calendars) why doesn't a football, a CFL in particular, advent calendar exist?

Well, likely because no one in marketing has thought of it.

* crickets * - CFL marketing department probably.

Imagine, as Grey Cup hysteria winds down, that you could purchase a CFL advent calendar.  24 days of CFL football items behind little doors of some kind of football themed box.  Hey, I can't have allll the ideas now, can I?  I'm not talking about big ticket items, but I know for a fact that the Roughrider Store has pins, stickers, tattoos, earrings, keychains, Christmas ornaments and likely other small items which would tuck very nicely into a decorative box.  December 1st you scramble over to your CFL advent, peel back the door and reveal...

With my luck it would be a Blue Bomber pin.

Every person who purchased an advent calendar would end up with a nice collection of memorabilia from all 9 CFL teams.  The items could be traded on social media and Facebook groups.  Fans could wear their items to events for the upcoming season. 

"Hey, where did you get that cool Gainer pin?" 

"Oh, it was in my CFL advent calendar!"  

The entire Christmas Countdown calendar would culminate in day 24 where there could be a coupon to be redeemed in team stores!  Then every fan could flock to their local team CFL store on Boxing Day to purchase an item of their wildest dreams.

* sigh *

My little green Roughrider heart swells with the thought of it.  Let's face it, there hasn't been much for us Rider fans to be excited about this last year.  It's too late for this year of course with Christmas already a couple weeks away, but hey, CFL get with it - get with the times.

Something like this could be marketed for the countdown to the 2023 CFL season and debuted during training camp and then the 24th door of the calendar would coincide with the home opening weekends...

...but I'm just the ideas person.  Just a fan.  Just a girl writing little ol blogs - wishing there was something football related to go with her tea and jam Advent Calendars.

The Hallmark of the CFL

I don't know about you guys but this time of year I'm all about the Hallmark movies.  Sure, I enjoy the classic movies like Scrooge, Christmas Vacation and The Christmas Story (you'll shoot 'yer eye out!) but when you really need to escape the pressures of the season I find there is nothing better than watching a cheesy movie.

We joke that the plots are all the same and they are to an extent.  Girl escapes a bad relationship by fleeing to a small town.  She bumps into the town handyman who is the towns most eligible bachelor naturally.  Through a series of events they begin to fall for each other but then something happens to break them up.  Usually by Christmas Eve they've come to their senses and sorted out the misunderstanding to realize they belong together forever.  Cue the kiss we waited 1.5 hours for.

*sigh*

So what if football was like a Hallmark movie?

Football players come to camp from all over and last year they came from European countries and Mexico too.  Imagine coming from some place in Germany to Regina.  It's not only culture shock but you've left everything behind that you knew to learn a new way of life and train in the CFL.  While players don't arrive in Canada to fall in love many do fall in love with the league and their teams.  Ok so maybe that's a stretch but all players talk about their teams like a brother hood.  Some teams come together better than others and it seems those are the teams which are destined for greatness.

The wins start happening.  The big plays.  The offence wins over our hearts.  We start thinking out team can win it all.  Then inexplicably something happens.  In 2013 to my Riders it was the famous Dewdney incident.  To this year's Grey Cup winners, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers it was the drug testing of Andrew Harris.  The player and the team are left to face the adversity and while some find it a hard situation to recover from others persevere and might even come back stronger than before.

Finally we come to the big day and the only thing I want to see kissed is the Grey Cup as my team hoists it.  Well in 2019, even though we tried to write the storyline of the Saskatchewan Roughriders seeking redemption over the 2009 Grey Cup in Calgary, it wasn't meant to be.  The Winnipeg Blue Bombers who I had said all season long came into Mosaic Stadium and were victorious.  There are lots of reasons why and if the fate of the Offensive Coordinator was hinged on one thing I'd say it was the 4th quarter play when the Riders failed to score in the red zone.  You have a player like William Powell and you don't hand it off to him.  You have a Quarterback like Cody Fajardo who plays with his heart and who played injured because he knew how much it meant to Rider Nation and you pull him out for the 3rd string quarterback who has been warming the bench.  For sure, there were other things in that game that went wrong before that but the Riders failed and the Bombers weren't going to stand back and let us fool around.  

The following week in the Grey Cup the Bombers hoisted the Grey Cup after a 29 year drought.  I've never seen such an impressive display of an offensive line in a game ever.  My green heart was envious.  As a Grinch, I didn't want to be happy for them.  As a football fan who knows how hard it is to get there again and again, I was happy for them.  The Bombers found their Hallmark ending to 2019.

The Roughriders have brought in Jason Maas as the new Offensive Coordinator while the Edmonton Eskimos search for a new Head Coach.  Rick Campbell who many thought would end up in Eskie green has been named Head Coach of the BC Lions.  Mike O'Shea held a press conference that meant nothing.  Paul LaPolice was named Head Coach of the Ottawa Redblacks which has many in Winnipeg wondering what's going to happen to their Quarterbacks who are Free Agents.  Montreal is still searching for a buyer.  We all wonder if Halifax will ever be that 10th team.

The off season is going to be very interesting although the news will be slower and of course we will all take a break to celebrate the meaning of the Christmas season.  Thank you to everyone who reads my blog and interacts with me every day.  I hope you enjoy the hustle and bustle of the season but find some quiet moments to sit down and enjoy a Hallmark movie too.

Merry Christmas

Instead of posting my usual list of the Friday Football 5, I'm taking this opportunity to share.  Christmas Eve is Monday and I'm sure most football fans are checking over their Christmas lists twice, attending parties and visiting with family and friends.

My cookie sheet advent calendar - are you ready?

If you find yourself hiding from *that* coworker in the staff bathroom don't fear...we've all been there and while you're hiding why not peruse last Friday's Football 5 Christmas Edition.  Since I published that post the Roughriders re-signed Zach Evans, Patrick Lavoie and Loucheiz Purifoy. Spencor Moore was traded to the Montreal Alouettes.  Willie Jefferson has not re-signed as I'd hoped but there's always time for Rider Claus to come through with that one.  While nothing has happened in regards to the CBA the CFL did release the 2019 schedule December 20th which made many of our weeks and proceeding that all the Roughriders media took to keyboards dissecting and commenced complaining.  The 13 days of shopping on the Rider Store website was over but they've continued with other sales and while you'd never get it in time, even though I got mine in 2 days, it won't be a Christmas present at this point.  Still, there are some great buys and if a special student happened to give you a gift card - this might be a good time to spend it.

Schedule posted on Riderville.com

The kids are out of school today (Dec 21st) and if you're looking to make a special memory with them, spending time in the kitchen baking and decorating cookies is a terrific way to do it.  Some of my best Christmas memories are doing that with my mom and later on with my niece and nephew.  Don't have a recipe?  Check out my mom's tried and true recipe in my blog For the Cookie Loving Football Fan.  

Those same kids making you crazy?  Ready to send them back to school?  Why not click on the Power Rankings tab at the top of this blog page and share a laugh over all my various "art" rankings throughout the 2018 season.  Sit down with a glass of eggnog & pull out the art supplies and do some adult colouring of your own.  It sure helps me through every season and it might help you as well.

Next week what can you expect once Christmas is over and we're all dazed from Turkey hangovers?  I have two exciting blog posts planned for you.  I'm going to recap all the major Roughriders and CFL stories which have impacted us over 2018.  There are many.  I'm also going to reflect on the blogs I've posted which were the most viewed and which people/fans connected with the most and also follow up with how those blog subjects turned out.  Check back on this page or all the various social media outlets for those posts and if you really don't want to miss out consider subscribing by email.

Thank you for reading this blog and sharing with me through this last year.  I wish you and yours the happiest and merriest Christmases ever.  I hope you see the magic of the season and feel the love shared throughout the holidays.

Friday Football 5 ~ Christmas Edition ~

🎵Tell me what you want - what you really really want!🎵

Baby Spice Image from Food & Wine Magazine via

The American Holiday Baking Show

Over the last week I poised a question to Rider fans on various social media platforms.  What are you wanting from Rider Claus this year?  Is it a quarterback, a new Roughriders jersey, the CBA to be settled or perhaps something else entirely?  The following Friday Football 5 Christmas Edition is a countdown to the number one item on every Rider fans wish list to the chubby dude who breaks and enters into all our homes on Christmas Eve.

This truck could be yours for $34.99 via The Rider Store

5.  Are you dreaming of a green and white Christmas?  If that answer is heck yeah!  Then you better check out the Rider Store's 13 days of Christmas for the deal of the day.  Right now there is free shipping in Canada with orders over $100.  I've purchased many Christmas items in this fashion over the years.  I noticed there is a Rider Santa tee shirt, trimmings for the tree, a nutcracker and the super popular truck with a tree in the back.  Hmmm....I might have to place another order!  Don't forget those Hillberk & Berk sparkle ball earrings for that special lady on your Christmas list.

4.  Rider fans want an announcement prior to Christmas with a number of the teams players who will be Free Agents in February re-signed with the team.  One big name on this list is Willie Jefferson who had 2 top 10 defensive plays in the CFL in 2018 and was seemingly snubbed in the CFL awards.  He doesn't have any NFL workouts planned and says his film stands for itself.  Since he is one of my favourite players it would be amazing to hear he'd be back with the Riders for 2019.

A previous Rider Store purchase

3.  It would stand to reason that many players on that Free Agent list likely don't want to sign because of the upcoming CFLPA negotiations.  It was announced early in the week that the CFL General Managers and Head Coaches will meet on January 10th, 2019 in Mount-Tremblant, Quebec.  They will meet with the media January 8th.  Wouldn't it be nice if all of these CBA issues were settled early in 2019 so the season can get underway?  Read the CFL's announcement HERE.

2.  Rider fans are not known for their/our/my ability to accept change.  Randy Ambrosie has instituted a coaching cap for 2019.  While it seems that Ambrosie has mostly changed things in the CFL for the better lot's of fans are seeing the detrimental effects of this "Rider Rule" since many teams have already had to part ways with staff.  If Randy doesn't shout Bazinga! then we all have to learn to accept this new situation.  While that's not really something Santa can bring us - it can strengthen our belief, hope and will to support our team through the next year and hopefully the number of coaches on staff has nothing to do with coaching a team to winning the Grey Cup...which is ultimately what Rider Nation wants in 2019.

1.  "I want a frickin' healthy QB and he stays around for awhile" are the exact words used by Twitters @trbltmd.  It's true.  The number one item on every Rider fans Christmas wish list is a healthy quarterback who not only leads the team for 2019 but stays loyal to the Riders for several years and leads us to the promised land.  While we'd like to think Mike Reilly is this guy, I've changed my thinking because I don't think the Riders want to throw the bank at him and sacrifice the rest of the team.  Collaros was a time bomb and that's not to say he wasn't well liked, it was just that he just wasn't able to take another hit and when that did happen (no thanks to Odell Willis) just when the Riders really had momentum in late October early November well, all hope was dashed.  Lot's of people think Jonathon Jennings is this teams best hope.  I'm remaining patient.  You never know when the person emerges as *that* guy when you didn't even know his name.  After all, in 2007 Darian Durant held a clip board and look how that turned out.  No matter the name of the quarterback, he's going to have to be strong of character because Rider Nation has HUGE expectations.

Dear Rider Claus... ($39.99 @ The Rider Store)

Thank you for being a reader of ABC Football and supporting all my adventures.  You can always find me on twitter (@smilingsandra), on facebook and instagram (@smilingriderfan) and don't forget to join ABC Rider Fans to get the scoop in 2019. I hope you find magic and sparkle over this holiday season and may Rider Claus bring us all our deepest hearts desire.  Go Riders!

For the Cookie Loving Football Fan

From "Christmas Cookies" by George Strait

A member at ABC Rider Fans Facebook Group asked that I post my recipe of cookies which were pictured at the end of Friday Footbal 5.  I saw a meme last week that says every recipe blog starts off with how the blogger was out for a wintery walk and it reminded them of tobogganing as a child and yadda yadda yadda and the poster just wanted to hurry up and get to the recipe and who cares about the other stuff.  While I do feel the pain of having to navigate all that nonsense to get to the real information I think we all want to share our warm fuzzy memories of the season with our readers, family and friends.

I was not an athletic person whatsoever so I've mentioned my last bit about tobogganing, but what I can tell you is that some of my fondest Christmas memories are of my Mom and me baking cookies. I remember having to kneel on a kitchen chair at the cupboard and watching with wild anticipation as Mom would roll out the dough and then we'd choose just the exactly right cookie cutters.  I was really blessed to have a childhood which contains sweet memories like these.  I was equally fortunate to have a niece and nephew who I was close to, so when I was older and married I'd invite them to my house to make cookies.  One year in particular, my niece was sick and couldn't come for cookie decorating so my nephew and I did it but put some aside in a special care package to take to her.  She proclaimed that the Christmas cookies held special healing powers because upon eating them she immediately was feeling better.

Flash forward to rabid Saskatchewan Roughrider @smilingriderfan.  I purchased a set of Wilton Football Themed cookie cutters several years ago.  This LINK will take you to the American website however you can likely still pick them up at Michael's Craft Store (as I did) or if you like to avoid real shopping during this time of year, they are also in stock on Amazon.ca.  The set includes shapes for pennants, footballs, jerseys and helmets.  I only used the jerseys and helmets although the recipe, which is coming up soon, makes enough cookies for the whole neighbourhood and then some, but I also felt I needed to make Christmas shapes too.  Of course you may have a favourite sugar cookie recipe or you might not have the time and in that case Pillsbury will do just fine.

Makes 5 dozen cookies

Without dragging it out farther... here is the recipe for Mom's Sugar Cookies.  There isn't any special instructions except throw it all in a mixer to combine.  Form it into a roll, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  If you don't refrigerate the dough it will be pretty much disastrous and frustrating as the dough won't be able to be worked with.  Roll out the dough and cut into shapes, football themed or otherwise and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 8 minutes.  I use silicon mats on my baking sheets so the cookies don't get overly brown and so cleanup is a snap.  One substitution you can make is the butter/shortening.  You can use margarine instead and the recipe still turns out wonderfully.



Once the cookies are completely cooled you can frost them with your favourite method.  Back as a kid we'd just use your regular butter cream home made frosting with a myriad of sprinkles.  These days because my Hubby calls sprinkles "gravel" I bypass that method.  This year I purchased Cakemate Cookie Icing in various colours and although it didn't turn out to be my favourite product the cookies turned out pretty and tasty.

Go Riders!

Maybe you want to make a batch of these for your favourite Riders fan or just make some sweet memories with some close family members.  I hope this blog, even though it's strayed from it's normal football talk, was enjoyable to read and if it was please share it with others on your Christmas list.  Nothing says love like a home made gift wrapped stack of sugar cookies shared with our CFL family and friends.

Oh Snap! Looks pretty happy for a guy who just lost a leg!

Life, Football & CFL Family

View from the CN Tower

Two months ago around this time I was getting ready to fly off to Toronto not only for a football game but for my husband's eye surgery. It was cheaper to fly out of Saskatoon on a Saturday so it was a big perk that my Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing the Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field October 15^th. This is my story of life, football and the CFL family.

Hubby, who mostly prefers to remain anonymous on my blog and social media, was born with pupils which were formed more tear drop shaped instead of round. This distorted his vision in his one good eye as the sight was lost in the other. At some time a cataract formed distorting and discolouring everything. To complicate the situation Hubby has glaucoma and fewer tendons than you or I. He was referred to Dr Ike Ahmed in Mississauga who we were told “is a rockstar” and could do surgery to correct the pupil, remove the cataract and do a procedure to eliminate the glaucoma. Dr. Ahmed grew up in Prince Albert Saskatchewan. He said he knew our case was special because of where we were from. Surgery was booked for October 19 and Hubby and I flew off on October 15^th.

Hubby outside BMO Field

We arrived in the 6ix with plenty of extra time. We rented a Volkswagon Jetta and drove to BMO Field. I was amazed at the parking. If you were coming from anywhere else the GO Train stop was right there. You'd almost never know a game was going to take place and the stadium was rather deserted except for the sound of a band practicing. We threw on our Rider jerseys and took a walk around BMO Field meeting a few other fans who were doing a similar thing. Then we wandered over to the Shipyard where the Riders were doing a tailgating fan fest type of thing. It was disappointing. Other Rider fans were there but besides a DJ playing music and games for the kiddies not much was really happening. We spent $9 on a “rink burger” and took in the sights from a park bench. I was wearing my 306 hat and at one point a lady came and asked me where I had bought it. With not much really happening we decided to leave but just beyond the gate I heard my name being called by the lovely @jfeliciao who introduced us to @TOBenfica.

I wish I had picture to prove it. * eyeroll * I guess that's what leaving home at 3am gets you!

Upon entering BMO Field we were greeted by an usher. He congratulated us on the construction of New Mosaic Stadium and asked how this one compares. BMO Field is a great venue! It's beautiful! I didn't even care that the field isn't painted because of the soccer turf. We sat on the non-bench side Row 2 right on the 55 yard line. Terrific seats except for the crazy blue seats on field level which don't really seem to have a function except take up valuable sideline space.

We met a couple seated beside us who drove from Kingston. I wish I had caught their names but I didn't. They were so friendly and we had fun chatting back and forth. They admitted they were casual fans and didn't follow the team or football really. We explained how we flew from Saskatchewan and they were surprised that we'd even come to a football game. I mentioned that we travel 2 hours each way to go to Roughriders home games and they were floored because as we all know the turn out at Argo's games is rather dismal. “There's so much going on here on any given day.” The lady talked. She said how during one game there had been a baseball game, a concert and other events going on. It's an aspect I truly hadn't though very much about. In Saskie, when we mention 'going to the game' we all know its a Rider game but in Toronto they have no idea what you're talking about. The following week while the Blue Jays were playing I overheard two people on the GO Train wondering why people were decked out in Jays gear. This is the kind of city Toronto is. I would like to hope if marketing was done properly or at all the hype to go to a football game would be there and sadly it takes a whole lot more than just a winning record. The players on the Argonauts deserve better from the people of Toronto.

“Who is your back up quarterback?” I asked.

“I don't know. I don't follow the team. We are just here for fun.”

Guess what? The Roughriders won! October 15^th was the only football game I saw my team win in person and I had to travel across Canada to see it happen. Darian #SignDurant Durant was on fire. Joe McKnight busted out of no where. WE HAVE A RUNNING GAME! I exclaimed. I saw the likes of Willy Jefferson who made my knees weak. Wow. This team on this day was incredible. Riders won 29 – 11. Joe Craig Jr returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown, Ricky Collins made a crazy one handed catch and Joe McKnight rushed for 150 yards. This team....I loved this team.

McKnight lines up behind Durant

I love this league and the fans who support it. I've made friends with people who live everywhere in this nation and some outside of it with the common denominator being the CFL. I asked for prayers during Hubby's surgery and got support from a myriad of incredible people from directions, places to eat and one special person was horrified we had been eating out and wanted to cook us a meal which unfortunately didn't come to fruition due to scheduling. I want all of you to know that you made our process easier and I so very much appreciate all the support. Our prayers were answered and Hubby's surgery was an amazing success. Dr. Ahmed said we got the best outcome out of his patients that day and that Hubby's sight would only get better, so much so, it would be mind blowing. It could have been very different outcome and we had tried to prepare ourselves for anything. Our lives were changed for the better. It was miraculous. I am so thankful and we are so blessed.

Who would have thought years ago when I got involved with fandom of the Roughriders I would have found a community?! My People. We are like family who argue but don't you dare insult my sister! We are hard on each other being fans of different teams in the CFL but in the end we all come together. Sometimes it's for a celebration like the Grey Cup and other times it's mourning the heartbreaking untimely death of a player like Joe McKnight.

The Christmas season is upon us. It's the season of love, hope and peace. For everyone who was there for me I wish you togetherness, magic, wonder and more warm fuzzies than your heart can hold.

Merry Christmas, Happy 2017 and Go Riders Go!

All the Rider Fans in Riderville

Hello!

...how are you?

It's been a long time.

It was Grey Cup weekend and I thought I should write a blog. Then I didn't. Then it was the week after and Chris Jones was hired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and I thought I should write a blog. I didn't. Then half the 2015 roster was released and I still didn't write about it. Suddenly it was Christmas recital season for me and the holidays which are so busy for us all and I realized I hadn't written a word since November 2015.

I was also a tiny bit concerned that no one seemed to notice.

Meh.

We are all busy and have lives to lead. I hope that every Rider fan in Riderville and other far off places was treated well by Rider Claus. I was! I got a cowbell, a Rider Farewell tee shirt and the Johanny Jutras book. I'm set for the 2016 season. I'm probably the only female to be happy with these gifts!

On Grey Cup Sunday Gary Lawless talked about the possibility of Chris Jones leaving the Edmonton Eskimos for the Roughriders. The Eskies then won the 2015 Grey Cup which was held in a miraculously warm Winnipeg. One week later I strung a string of lights on my wooden reindeer and Co-Op Roughrider bear and switched them on. I tweeted a photo and mentioned Rider Claus. The very next tweet I saw was that the Roughriders had hired Chris Jones not only as Head Coach but as General Manager and Vice President of Operations.

GASP

It's shocking. Eskimo fans freaked out. My family in Edmonton were saying not so pleasant things for the holiday season and then the other foot dropped. The whole coaching staff except for one followed Jones to good old Saskie. “Poached” seemed to be a common reference across the boarder while all the Rider fans sang and danced like all the little Who's in Whoville on CHRISmas morning.

Yes, in the past I was annoyed and disappointed with Chris Jones' behaviour as it's no secret he avoided shaking hands and missed having the team on the field for the anthem on occasion. When I tuned into TSN for the press conference all that was seemingly erased because it turns out Chris Jones is a totally likable human being. He talked about his philosophy and his family and all the things I thought I had figured out over the 2015 horrific season were obliterated with the epic singular action by President Craig Reynolds.

What I like most is the decisiveness of Chris Jones. There was no messing around. Nope. The axe fell on many big time players and free agents like Terrell Maze, Tyron Brackenridge and Weldon Brown. My Husband chanted “Terrell Maze” over and over again as he tried to console himself. I found myself not really surprised at all. You have to pull the band-aid off before you get used to it being there. Chris Jones had no relationships with these players and he couldn't keep them here just because they were nice guys and the fans liked them. If they didn't do their jobs in 2015 they were gone. Simple as that. If they were slow or undersized or made too much money. Gone.

Chris Jones cemented his role. He is the Head Coach and not the Riders Life Coach.

Who have I become? At one time this would have made me crazy!

Heck, I even cheered on Henry Burris in Grey Cup 103!

~ insert shocked expression here ~

Here we are in 2016 and it turns out I am a person who has decided to stop being offended by 'stuff'.

I'm not sure the Roughrider releases are done. At the same time I think our team, Canada's Team, will acquire some players who will impress and delight us. For the first time in the longest time I can remember the Roughriders are holding open tryouts at the mini camps in the US. I am reminded of a story by Donald Narcisse who was given money by his mother and told to go to a tryout. This alone makes my little green Rider heart grow a size.

Before we know it, Free Agency will be here. Training Camp rumblings will begin. The off season will be over. We are living in an exciting time. We are evolving. The team we love dearly is rebuilding, we are bidding ado to Taylor Field at Mosaic Stadium and we are moving toward the future franchise we can only desire in our wildest dreams.

Here's to all the best in 2016! Let's ride into the Mosaic sunset being the best fans in the league. I can't wait to see you there.

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!

Cortez, Superman & Jinx

"Let's turn January into Christmas." ~ Cory Chamblin

As I recently said, every time I come up with a blog topic the news changes and the subject is moot.  Ugh!  I'm not going to bother with what's happened in December because apparently January is the new December.  

Monday the Riders announced the hiring of George Cortez.  All of Riderville is a buzz.  I've heard people saying he is the greatest offensive mind out there.  But hold the train!  I thought we didn't like Cortez.  I mean, he had tons of weapons in the Ti-Cat arsenal and that didn't seem to get the offence anywhere.  I even said to my husband, "I thought we didn't like Cortez."  His reply?  "Of course not, he was on the other team."

Okay.

After a week of a nagging dull headache and a few sleepless nights I was finally able to sleep well and wake up feeling normal.  Well, as normal as I ever was.  Anyhow, it figures that this of course would be when the biggest CFL news of the week would break.  Geroy Simon has been traded to the Riders for Justin Harper and a 3rd round draft pick.  Huh.  Actually, I think my words were Holy Crap!  At least that's what I heard someone say to the TV when it was talked about on the noon CTV news.  And by the way, Trish Cheveldayoff.....football is a 12 months subject.

Courtesy Darian Durant's Twitter page.

I don't know if you've read any of my previous blogs.  If you have, you might recall that Hubby and I ventured to Watrous last summer for a special Co-Op Customer Appreciation BBQ.  If you haven't then you should go read it.  LINK.  So this was the second time we've gone for such an event.  In 2011, we saw Cary Koch, Barin Simpson and James Patrick.

Courtesy Watrous Co-Op Facebook Page

The following off season Cary Koch was traded to the Eskimo's.  Barin Simpson retired.  James Patrick was injured.

Jinx.

My signed print of Efrem Hill.

When we went in 2012 we visited with Efrem Hill, Justin Harper and James Patrick.  I don't know if you can see where I'm going with this, but shortly after that event Efrem Hill was released.  With the Cortez news on Monday it was announced James Patrick was released.  Then today.....we traded Justin Harper to BC in exchange for Geroy Simon #81.  

Jinx.

Before this news, I was chatting with a Tuesday student who is also a Rider fan.  It totally made sense to her.  She pleaded with me..... "Don't ever meet Weston Dressler!"

Doh!  Too late.

I told her I've met Chris Getzlaf, Kory Sheets and Darian Durant too.

She screamed.  "Ah!"

I'm sorry.

If it helps.  I did not get to chat with Rob Bagg and he got injured and I never did have the pleasure of talking to Andy Fantuz no matter how much I tried.  So I cannot be blamed for that.

Still.  I'm a little worried because I had plans to attend training camp in Saskatoon this spring.

Ack!

Merry Rider Rough-mas

This blog should have been written a few weeks ago.  This Christmas season is so hectic and I was behind before I ever got started.  I had very high hopes too.  Anyhow, I wanted to post another video....didn't get done.  I wanted to talk about coaching dismissals.  Didn't get done.  And now today we hear the new Defensive coaching changes will be announced.  I still don't have that video ready to post.

But I found that life I forgot I had outside of football.  I am a piano teacher.  I've been busy instructing my students and pushing them to be ready for next weeks batch of Christmas recitals.  Some students are getting ready for exams.  Some just need plain pushing and motivation.  I had report cards to write.  Christmas treats to make and hand out.  Then.....

I got sick.

*cough*

Now I'm even farthur behind.  I can rejoice in the fact that my shopping is done.  Very easy this year because we purchased all the little kidlets Rider shirts for Christmas.  Shopping for kids is a foreign land to me.  I have no idea what a toddler wears.  What's the difference between a size 6 and a medium or large or whatever?  Thank goodness for knowledgeable staff at the Rider store.

Now that I'm on the mend I've got catch up to do.  

So I hope all those fans, players, family and friends of the Roughriders have a very merry green and white Christmas with those who mean the most to you.  I wish you all the best for the new year and always.