Let Me Introduce Myself 2020

You might be a long time reader of this blog or you might have just happened upon this site from a link from social media and I thank you regardless of how you found your way to ABC Football.  We are only a few days/hours/minutes away from the opening of the 2020 CFL season and I thought this was a good time for me to reacquaint myself after an interesting off season.

If you'd like the condensed version, I don't blame you at all, after all our attention is pulled in several different directions these days... then please click on my About Me tab.  You'll find all the necessary information there.  If you prefer the long winded version, then by all means stick with me. * smile *
This is not a blog post about how I became a Rider fan because I think I've already been there, done that, and bought all the Rider tee shirts. If you are interested, this is my Origin Story.

I grew up in Prince Albert and in 2001 moved to Saskatoon.  I took music lessons all of my teenage years and when I was 17 I began teaching piano lessons.  Music has always been a huge part of my life and livelihood.  Except for a 5 year hiatus when we moved, I've always been a teacher.  My interest in practice ebbs and flows but I strive to keep learning and being the best instructor and mentor I can be to all the students who cross my path.  I probably should have become a school teacher but...well, I didn't.

I thought I was going to be a writer.  I did a few years of Arts & Sciences...basically enough to know that I was neither good at learning in that forum and that the learning how had nothing to do with the act of actually doing it.  Now I know that I could have made different choices but things always have a way of working out and because of them I met my Husband who you may have seen me refer to as "Hubby". We celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary in December and the one thing we enjoy doing together is going to football games.
I've always been able to succeed at pretty much anything I've ever tried.  That's not me being egotistical.  It's the truth.  No one ever told me I couldn't do something.  I always felt that I was free to pursue my passions.  I play music, I bake, I travel, I draw, I snap photos.....

On a social media forum which has long become extinct I began blogging about every day life, my love of donuts and my teaching stories.  My readers ( a handful of friends ) became wildly aware around 2008-ish that a lot of my blogs were about football.  Some of those very early blogs can be found in the archives on this very page.  It became apparent that I could just write about sports and eventually my page got moved here to Blogger and eventually through a few name changes we arrive at what ABC Football is today.

This page will always be from the fans perspective and over time I think I've become more level headed and logical and less radical.  Yes, I know, crazy words from a Rider fan!   I try to not take football or myself too seriously and I think that's evident through my CFL Power Rankings.  I think we can look everywhere, especially in Saskatchewan, and be bombarded with Roughriders news from sports media people.  I try to not let what's going on around me influence my perspective.  Why try to fit in?  The 2019 Power Ranking can be found by looking for "power grouping" in the Search This Blog box.  If it's just the Art you are looking for then click on the Garfunkel's tab at the top of the page.

Sometimes you have to excuse me.  I am the music teacher after all and that often takes precedent.  It also means you might be swamped with vague musical quotations from my current obsessions.  It might mean I don't get to write regularly because of my schedule.  I'm okay with it and I hope you are too.  I will always share my newest posts on my Twitter account, Instagram and the ABC Football Facebook page.  I firmly believe that while I am a Roughriders fan first and foremost, that is not all that I am.  I am diverse and sometimes complicated.  I can enjoy several things at the same time and remain smilingsandra or smilingriderfan or whoever I am :)

I am the administrator of ABC Rider Fans on Facebook.  The group doesn't have the big numbers that some Facebook groups do but the people who are on the page have fun.  It's not uncommon to go off topic or to joke around with each other.  We are friends.  If you've joined, you can expect Game Threads hosted by moderator John Strutt and we love it when everybody posts and shares.  You can expect CFL news while being Rider fans.  The rules are simple and easy to follow.  Search the group up and join in.

A question I get asked often is "why ABC?".  At the time, I wanted something that would come up on a Google or Facebook in an alphabetical type of search.  I also thought ABC could refer to the abc's of football and almost in a football 101 type of way.  Yes, it is also an acronym for Anyone But Calgary and that's a cool thing too but it does not mean the group/page is completely anti-Stampeders.  Not really anyway.

I am a Roughriders season ticket holder and this year will be in section 118.  I'm pretty excited to sit in a different part of the stadium.  I'm also pumped for the home opener on Canada Day.  Who doesn't love cheering on Canada's Team on the same day we get to celebrate our nation?!  If you see me, stop me and say hi!
I'd love to interact with you.  If there are blog topics you'd love to see me discuss then by all means let me know.  Thanks for reading and as always...

...Go Riders!

Let Me Introduce Myself

You might be a long time reader of this blog or you might have just happened upon this site from a link from social media and I thank you regardless of how you found your way to ABC Football.  We are only a few days/hours/minutes away from the opening of the 2019 CFL season and I thought this was a good time for me to reacquaint myself after an interesting off season.

If you'd like the condensed version, I don't blame you at all, after all our attention is pulled in several different directions these days... then please click on my About Me tab.  You'll find all the necessary information there.  If you prefer the long winded version, then by all means stick with me. * smile *

This is not a blog post about how I became a Rider fan because I think I've already been there, done that, and bought all the Rider tee shirts. If you are interested, this is my Origin Story.

I grew up in Prince Albert and in 2001 moved to Saskatoon.  I took music lessons all of my teenage years and when I was 17 I began teaching piano lessons.  Music has always been a huge part of my life and livelihood.  Except for a 5 year hiatus when we moved, I've always been a teacher.  My interest in practice ebbs and flows but I strive to keep learning and being the best instructor and mentor I can be to all the students who cross my path.  I probably should have become a school teacher but...well, I didn't.

I thought I was going to be a writer.  I did a few years of Arts & Sciences...basically enough to know that I was neither good at learning in that forum and that the learning how had nothing to do with the act of actually doing it.  Now I know that I could have made different choices but things always have a way of working out and because of them I met my Husband who you may have seen me refer to as "Hubby". We celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary in December and the one thing we enjoy doing together is going to football games.

I've always been able to succeed at pretty much anything I've ever tried.  That's not me being egotistical.  It's the truth.  No one ever told me I couldn't do something.  I always felt that I was free to pursue my passions.  I play music, I bake, I travel, I draw, I snap photos.....

On a social media forum which has long become extinct I began blogging about every day life, my love of donuts and my teaching stories.  My readers ( a handful of friends ) became wildly aware around 2008-ish that a lot of my blogs were about football.  Some of those very early blogs can be found in the archives on this very page.  It became apparent that I could just write about sports and eventually my page got moved here to Blogger and eventually through a few name changes we arrive at what ABC Football is today.

This page will always be from the fans perspective and over time I think I've become more level headed and logical and less radical.  Yes, I know, crazy words from a Rider fan!   I try to not take football or myself too seriously and I think that's evident through my CFL Power Rankings.  I think we can look everywhere, especially in Saskatchewan, and be bombarded with Roughriders news from sports media people.  I try to not let what's going on around me influence my perspective.  Why try to fit in?  The Power Ranking can be found under the 2018 tab of this page or by clicking this LINK.  In 2019, my "grouping" will appear under the Blog heading and there will be a separate tab where I will post my Garfunkels...er, art.

Sometimes you have to excuse me.  I am the music teacher after all and that often takes precedent.  It also means you might be swamped with vague musical quotations from my current obsessions.  It might mean I don't get to write regularly because of my schedule.  I'm okay with it and I hope you are too.  I will always share my newest posts on my Twitter account, Instagram and the ABC Football Facebook page.  I firmly believe that while I am a Roughriders fan first and foremost, that is not all that I am.  I am diverse and sometimes complicated.  I can enjoy several things at the same time and remain smilingsandra or smilingriderfan or whoever I am :)

I am the administrator of ABC Rider Fans on Facebook.  The group doesn't have the big numbers that some Facebook groups do but the people who are on the page have fun.  It's not uncommon to go off topic or to joke around with each other.  We are friends.  If you've joined, you can expect Game Threads hosted by moderator John Strutt and we love it when everybody posts and shares.  You can expect CFL news while being Rider fans.  The rules are simple and easy to follow.  Search the group up and join in.

A question I get asked often is "why ABC?".  At the time, I wanted something that would come up on a Google or Facebook in an alphabetical type of search.  I also thought ABC could refer to the abc's of football and almost in a football 101 type of way.  Yes, it is also an acronym for Anyone But Calgary and that's a cool thing too but it does not mean the group/page is completely anti-Stampeders.  Not really anyway.

I am a Roughriders season ticket holder and this year will be in section 118.  I'm pretty excited to sit in a different part of the stadium.  I'm also pumped for the home opener on Canada Day.  Who doesn't love cheering on Canada's Team on the same day we get to celebrate our nation?!  If you see me, stop me and say hi!

I'd love to interact with you.  If there are blog topics you'd love to see me discuss then by all means let me know.  Thanks for reading and as always...

...Go Riders!

Origin Story

This week - week nine in the CFL, was the Roughriders second bye week of the 2017 season. It got me to thinking about how I became a fan and how that has shaped how I cheer for the team and show my Rider Pride.  We all have stories.  This is mine.

My first Roughrider memory was from the early 1980's when a player came to my elementary school in Prince Albert,

Saskatchewan. I have no idea what he spoke about or if other players were with him and until a few years ago I had his trading card.  He wasn't a big name Roughrider (Lawrie Skolrood) but was a Rider for several years. Interesting enough, none of my classmates remember this happening and all recall the yo-yo guy instead.  I wonder what it was that left an impression on me and no one else.  In 1980 the Roughriders went 2-15 and yet these Roughrider players were out interacting with the communities in the province like my class at Arthur Pechey Elementry School.



My Dad (2nd from right) with his 3 brothers @ Taylor Field

Being a Roughrider fan back then wasn't popular. There weren't Roughrider stores and of course no internet so next to zero fan interaction except for "guy on the street" contact.  Tickets were easy to get and didn't cost a lot.  As a teenager, the last thing I'd ever do was profess my love for the Roughriders.  I remember my Dad being excited in 1989 and saying how he thought the Riders were good that year.  So when I was in Regina in about 1991 I bought him a Roughrider tee shirt from the hotel gift shop. Even then and only a couple years removed from being Grey Cup champions, the cashier thought I was crazy.  Why on earth would I want to spend $20 on that?

Then I was busy getting married and starting a career and football wasn't even on the radar.  Hubby and I moved to Saskatoon and while our lives evolved changes were happening in Riderville too. The Shivers/Barrett era was over and in came Jim Hopson, Eric Tillman and Kent Austin. Everything changed.  Everything.  Suddenly it was cool to be a Saskatchewan Roughriders football fan.  The team was winning and everyone far and wide was clamouring for Rider gear.  One time on game day we were at the Co-Op and another fan stopped us in the isle to ask where we got our cool Rider shirts.  People started to take game day very seriously and would dress up even if staying home, fly flags from their cars and merchandise flew off the racks.  We ate Fantuz Flakes, Dario's and All Dressler Chips.  Rider Nation went nuts.

My favourite chips

The life we lived then was different from now. It wasn't even a thought that we'd attend a game never mind purchase season tickets. Hubby had been to Rider games having grown up farther south, but me...I had never been to Taylor Field for a football game until 2014 when the Ottawa Redblacks came for their preseason game.  We sat in the first row of section 25 and Hubby told everyone it was my first time...which was so embarrassing!  I mean here I was a HUGE fan and had never been to a game there before. (I had been there in 2013 for the Paul McCartney concert) What I've realized since is that it doesn't matter how big your fandom is - it's always someone's first.  That game the Roughriders were the visitors while the Redblacks were the home team. Bizarre right?  When the Redblacks came on the field Hubby shouted "Welcome to the league boys!" and the experience grew greater from there.

Now why wasn't I at the 2013 Grey Cup? I still don't know what I was thinking. I tried to make up for by being at several important Farewell Season games last year.  I saw the 1966 team, the 1989 kick re-inacted, and I saw Darian Durant send off the ol' lady in a storm of fireworks.  It still bothers me that I wasn't at the biggest game in the Roughriders organization history.

This year, the Inaugural Season of Mosaic Stadium, we do have season tickets.  On August 13th we had pregame on field passes.  For one hour prior to kick off we got to stand in the end zone of this magnificent new stadium and talk to other fans, players who came out to shake hands and create more memories.  Duron Carter chatted with players and signed the football of a young fan.  He went along the railing and greeted all the kids.  Rob Bagg came over as did Cameron Marshall and Willie Jefferson. It was awesome.  It was military appreciation day and I watched as players thanked all the personal who came out onto the field.

My photos from pre-game August 13th

Waiting in line at the Gate 2 entrance I met a woman from Weyburn who told me she was so glad she had family to stay with so she could attend games.  We stood in the shade and talked about how great the facilities are.  I met a man who travelled from Ottawa just to see his team, our Saskatchewan Roughriders play in person.  I asked him if he attends Redblacks games and he said, "No, I'm a Roughriders fan."  We met another couple who lectured my Hubby on Rider Pride when he said the Lions were going to beat us by 15 points. * smile * If you know who you are...I'm pretty sure my husband owes you twenty bucks!

Hubby & I @ Taylor Field 2016

Seeing Taylor Field being slowly dismantled makes me wish I had more memories there but right next door I'm creating amazing new ones.  Lawrie Skolrood's playing days may be in the rear view mirror but I am so thankful I have that connection because it's shaped who @smilingsandra is today.  Rider Nation is a terrific (crazy) fan base and I'd not want to be a part of any other no matter how much you make me shake my head and roll my eyes.  How and when we became fans changes our perspective on every issue.  Were you a fan in the aching 80's? 70's? 00's? It's been awfully easy being a fan over the last 10 years and I think sometimes we need to reflect to appreciate just how far the Saskatchewan Roughriders have come.

What's your Origin Story?