Faith, Riders & The West Final

Football has gotten me through a lot of situations in my life.  Some have been good and memorable and some have been hard and emotionally taxing.  Regardless, the thought of whatever I have to deal with football will be there for me.  

To be a Saskatchewan Roughrider fan you have to be a little nutty it seems.  You have to have faith and belief no matter what.  A few years ago I had a health issue and found myself undergoing 2 MRI's within the same year.  I remember laying in the MRI machine prior to training camp and thinking I just have to get through this and then I can see all my favourite players at camp.  Darian Durant was still with the team at that time and I recall just thinking about how great it would be to see him lead the team again.  The faith I carry as a Christian and the faith I have as a Rider fan helped me through that.  My test results were normal and I was blessed to attend training camp that year.

This year as I'd written about early on, maybe back in April or May was that I had become a little numb to what was going on with my team this year.  That certainly wasn't a good look as an admin on ABC Rider Fans or as a blogger who usually shared in the excitement or all the football events.  Looking back I'm not sure why exactly I felt that way.  Chris Jones had left for the NFL.  We had a new GM Jeremy O'Day and a new head coach in Craig Dickenson.  We still had relatively the same team and had done well in Free Agency and draft.  I still felt very "meh" about the whole thing.

I was unable to attend Training Camp in Saskatoon in 2019.  Not only did it coincide with my major music festival which I prepare all my close to 40 students for but there was a medical emergency in our family.  My Mother in Law was at our house for a week while my Father in Law was in the hospital.  Family comes before football and we didn't attend a single workout and missed the Fan Day at Gordie Howe Bowl.  

Then the season started.  I met Henry Burris and Matt Dunigan.  Zach Collaros went down the 3rd play of the season.  Cody Fajardo emerged as starter.  Corndogs and Sprinkles of Jesus happened.  I was right back in it.  I started to feel a belief in the team that I hadn't felt in a really long time.  I was always on board with the Chris Jones era but I began to realize what all those "why won't Jones wear green" people were trying to say.  The Saskatchewan Roughriders regained their personality.  People like Charleston Hughes had already endeared us with his surfing celebration but others like LJ McCray stood out.  Manny Arceneaux with his veteran advice and presence.  I can't be remiss in mentioning how many games came down to the foot of Brett Lauther.  We knew their names again and we cheered and rejoiced.  United in Green again.

I had gallbladder surgery at the beginning of August.  I was glad to have that over with.  I was fortunate because it didn't coincide with work or football games.  I was able to attend the August 24th game against the Redblacks.  I was still a little sore and bandaged but the promise of football made it all pain free.  Kerry Joseph and Neal Hughes were inducted into the Plaza of Honour that weekend and it was phenomenal to see them both.

Lot's of fans on ABC Rider Fans and other pages as well as Twitter have said they were happy with the season the Riders had.  When Collaros went down at the beginning of the season and maybe even before that the Riders were pretty much counted out.  No one could have predicted a 13 win season for the first time since 1972.  They were able to finish first in the west for the first time since 2009. We all know what happened that year.  As I write this I can see Riders OC Paul LaPolice throwing his headset in the booth at the botched play but I also remember that the game had been lost a few plays earlier.  It never comes down to just one thing but several things.  The same could be set for the West Final the Riders hosted on November 17th. 

I attended my very first West Final.  We didn't know the week leading up if we'd be able to attend or not.  Hubby has had to work lots of over time recently.  I've had some health concerns pop up again.  I had listed my tickets for sale but at a price I knew most wouldn't pay because I really wanted to go.  Friday night while I was at work teaching my rock stars I received an email from Hubby "I hope our tickets haven't sold".  I could have danced and strutted around my classroom but I didn't...I restrained myself.  The weather was terrific.  I didn't need my heavy duty gloves I had bought but I did make use of the mens long underwear I had bought just for the game.  The Costco salesperson had joked that she hoped security didn't check because I said I didn't care they were mens * laughs *  It was plus temperatures and sunny and it was all there for the Roughriders to take in their spiffy retro uniforms.

During pregame I saw Randy Ambrosie on the sidelines and I knew.  I knew the Riders weren't going to win.  Oh how I wanted them to win.  We couldn't let those danged Bombers win in our stadium again.  In my little green heart I dreaded it.

It doesn't come down to balls hitting the goal post uprights.  The game was lost before that.  There are several plays and while I'm certainly no offensive coordinator for the life of me I don't understand why the Riders didn't use their run game.  Three times in the scoring zone and came away with field goals or fumbles or turnovers.  You can't win like that.  When I look back now that it's been a few days I even wonder if the Bombers were really playing full tilt or not.  I don't think they really had to even if it felt the Riders controlled part of the game.  We shot ourselves in the foot.  We were our own worst enemy and that wasn't new either.  It had happened all season long from penalties or other stupid mistakes and play calls.

We didn't stick around to see the Bombers get awarded the Western Conference Trophy.  Back on the bus back to the mall where our car was parked fans seemed fine.  It was often quiet on the fan buses anyway.  I heard lots of well it was a good season.  I even joked and said "well we really want to win it all at home next year anyway."  When we returned back to Saskatoon and I went online to all the fan pages I found that people were rather complacent.  In season passed there'd be outrage or drama or something.  It was oddly quiet.  While I had regained my mojo had others lost theirs?

What's a worse pain in the butt than enduring a Blue Bomber victory at Mosaic Stadium?  The fact that because of those earlier health issues you'd have to endure yet another test Tuesday.  A necessary evil.  I had a sigmoidoscopy.  It's a less invasive form of colonoscopy.  This time I didn't have the promise of my Riders next week.  This time it was my own faith that had to carry me through.  My faith and support from family and friends.  I can tell you that everything went fine and the test was normal.

What's next?  Well I know that the future for the Roughriders looks bright.  We have a starting quarterback found and locked up for the first time in what feels like years.  There are a lot of free agents but a lot of players will be back and new faces will arrive in Riderville.  It is the cycle of football and life in the CFL.  

I've tried to be a really good CFL fan.  Both the Hamilton TigerCats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers have extensive drought from Grey Cup wins.  One of them will end that drought.  I've said all season long that this is Winnipeg's year.  We have to wait until the 107th Grey Cup in Calgary (Calgree) to find out if that prophecy comes true.  What I do know is that I want my fellow CFL fans who have also had some pretty rough years finally find some sunshine in their lives and a team win would do that for them.  

From the Vault: A 2009 Blog Flashback

Earlier this week I began thinking about what my blog posts were like back in 2009.  I know I wrote about my beloved Roughriders but the issue is that back then I wrote on a blogging platform that no longer exists in any form.  I briefly tried out another site which I didn't care for either and eventually landed on Blogger.  I tried to transfer the important things in an attempt to save what I thought were my good stories.  Today I found this from 2009 Training Camp and beyond entitled: The Tale of the Wes Cates Shirt.  Enjoy.

The thing about Wes Cates #20 is that he is a triple threat. He can carry the ball, he can catch the ball and he can block so his quarterback has time to throw the ball. His skill and versatility amazed me when he came to the Roughriders in 2007 from the Stampeders. But this isn’t really a story about the Columbus, Ohio native…..its about what has become known as “the Wes Cates shirt.”

I didn’t have anything to wear to Green and White Fan Day 2009. The only store that sold Roughrider merchandise back then was the hot tub place on the corner of Idylwyld and 22^nd Street here in the City of Bridges. It was a Friday that I stopped there to make a purchase and stock was limited. I chose a green [naturally] shirt with the Rider logo on the front trimmed in black and white.

My first official Roughrider shirt. I was very proud.

Perhaps…..too proud.

The next morning I was getting ready and waiting for Hubby and going about my business. I was already clad in my brand-spanking-new-shirt when thirst struck. We had purchased a flat of pop that consisted of orange, grape, cream soda, and root beer. I bent over the package on the kitchen floor and used the scissors [clearly a mistake] to cut an opening in the plastic so that I could remove my desired flavour. Disaster struck. My scissors punctured a hole in one of the cans as I had tried to remove it and the soda sprayed all over my brand-new-official-never-before-worn Roughrider shirt.

DOH!

I think I cried. I think I stomped around. I took off my beloved shirt and sponged off the front as best as I could and used the hair dryer to dry the spots. Hubby said he couldn’t see any visible spots. It was going to be okay.

Off we went to the Fan Day at Griffiths Stadium. Hubby was wearing his Andy Fantuz jersey but with the mob surrounding him…..we were never going to get an autograph. It was the

same story for Weston Dressler. This was Darian Durant’s first year as starting quarterback and he stood all alone. I approached him and asked for a picture. He quietly obliged. Next we got a picture with Gene Makowsky, who nearly had to crouch down to my 5'3” level. Then I stood in line to see Wes Cates. He was the only one to put his arm around me like we were old pals getting a picture taken. I was slightly smitten. From that point on this particular Roughrider shirt has been coined “my Wes Cates shirt.”

The tale doesn’t end there. For every time I wore my Wes Cates shirt the team performed well…..really well in fact. Then it came to my attention that if it met with an unfortunate accident, such as a spill, on game day we would in fact win. I’m not really superstitious but you can’t ignore occurrences like that!

Last fall when we played the Stampeders in the Western Final the shirt met with such an accident. The Stampeders were an exceptional team in the 2010 season. They were the team to beat. I wasn’t entirely sure we could do it and I have HUGE Rider faith. I don’t know what was on our menu for supper but I do recall that the salad dressing was almost empty so I had tipped it so all the dressing would pour when I was ready. Wouldn’t you know it? It burped extreme ranch dill dressing all over the front of my Wes Cates shirt. It was a giant globbed mess. The Riders went on to win in over time 20 – 16.

I wore the shirt for the first pre-season game this year but not the second.

The shirt does not lie.

This season (2010/2011?), Wes Cates’ position may be challenged by back-flipping Hugh Charles or newcomer Brandon West but no matter what…..come game day…..July 3^rd I will be clad in my West Cates shirt to cheer my team, the green and white, on to victory and if I happen to spill a little something-something down the front…..well, we are all the better for it.

It's 2019 and I no longer have this shirt.  As with everybody and as time passes our bodies change and the washing machine becomes vengeful and shrinks out clothes.  I'm pretty sure I donated the shirt to the Salvation Army as I go through out closets a few times a year.  Someone somewhere has this shirt and it would only be fitting that they also have a beverage accident this Sunday November 17th when the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Western Final for the first time since 1972...when I was merely 2 months old.  I was probably dribbling down my clothes then too.  * wink *

GO RIDERS.

Friday Football Five

I had a terrible dream last night that the Roughriders CFL season was over...oh wait.....  It wasn't a dream and in fact it's very true and here we are watching 2018 wind down around us.  Part of me wants to say "It's Christmas Now" and the other is holding on tight to the tail of a game worn jersey. 

1.  BIG NEWS.  You may have noticed the title of this blog has undergone a slight name change.  I decided that because I seem to have my paws in various platforms that I needed to link them all together in some way.  I've had this blog for several years and traffic has ebbed and flowed but never anything very consistently.  Believe me, I am not complaining in any way and in fact I'm just wanting to make it easier for people who enjoy my pages to be able to find me and my friends.  So "Football" has become "ABC Football".  I've created a Facebook page using @smilingriderfan where I can post blog links and updates and in conjunction I've linked the Facebook Group ABC Rider Fans, which I started June 1st, all together.  So I see you're looking at me with that glazed over eye look.  Here's a fancy graphic showing it all for you.  

2.  So the Commissioner of the CFL Randy Ambrosie (from Winnipeg) took his time all week deliberating on how to handle the fall out of the Western Semi Final, player safety and Rushing the Passer type calls.  It was announced that the CFL would add another official to the field.  An eighth official has been added to specifically look at quarterbacks and calls to them.  I don't understand how another body on the field is going to change anything.  The officials on the field were already supposed to be in charge of these things and missed it...not only missed it but admitted he couldn't see what was happening.  What makes anyone think that this 8th guy will be any better?  Oh look! Squirrel! Whoops, I missed your QB getting killed.

3.  At least it's something.  Jackson Jeffcoat was fined the "maximum amount" for his helmet to helmet contact, if we can call it that.  In the CFL, the maximum fine is half a game check.  Not knowing Jeffcoat's contract that amount could be a couple thousand dollars.  It hits him in his pocket book but *if* the Blue Bombers make it to the 2018 Grey Cup (1990) will it really matter to him?  I doubt it.

4.  TWO OTHER BLUE BOMBERS WERE FINED.  I've heard around the interwebs fans of other teams call my Saskatchewan Roughriders the dirtiest team.  How is that possible when the Winnipeg Football Club had 3 players fined in the same game in which people touted they were the least penalized team?  Bombers offensive linemen Patrick Neufeld and Sukh Chungh are also facing fines for late and unnecessary hits on Saskatchewan players during Sunday's game.  Coach Mike O'Shea defended Jeffcoat but how can you justify three of your players getting fined in a play off game? As I wrote in my previous blog, It's a Wrap, this isn't the first time for Jackson and now he's a roll model for his team mates.

5.  It's all water under the Bridge.  It's old news and it's time to move on.  This weekend is the East Final and West Final in the CFL.  I feel disheartened because my team isn't there and to paraphrase the words of Coach Jones, unless you leave with a ring on your finger the season stats don't mean anything.  I'll likely still watch the games but not with the same fervor I had previously.  Even though I've often said Anyone But Calgary (ABC) I think I'm secretly cheering for them.  Just don't tell anyone!

I hope to make this a somewhat regular feature on my blog sites.  I hope you join me in this celebration of the 2018 Grey Cup and the off season.

Football Friday

The question is not "will the Riders do it" but, "how will the Riders do it."  

1.  The Roughrider have to play a mistake free football game.  No penalties and no stupid plays.  The team who makes the least amount of mistakes will win.  That means, no silly pass interference calls [who knows what that is anymore anyway], no roughing calls and no interceptions or turnovers.  The Riders have to play the cleanest game of their lives.

2.  There is no debate this time around about Cornish versus Sheets.  You know I'd vote Sheets any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  Sheets set a goal for himself and the whole team rallied to help him out.  He is a clear motivator.  Cornish has trouble keeping his pants up and is only concerned with himself and how he's "the best".  The guy who puts this silly topic out of their mind and performs will come out the winner.

3.  Gainergate.  In 2006, Gainer was banned from the west semi final in Calgary.  Riders won 30-21.  It was announced today that Gainer will not be making this trip.  It was not mentioned that he was banned or forbid from attending.  I think this is a good omen.

4.  In 2010, Jerrell Freeman won us the game.  Times have changed and Jerrell Freeman is a beast with the Colts.  However, we do have John Chick who makes me weak in the knees every time he walks across my big screen tv.  It could come down to the best defense or a big defensive play.

5.  The last time Regina hosted the Grey Cup was 2003.  Mike McCullough was drafted that year.  The Roughrider season ended 11-7.  Our Quarterback was Kevin Glenn who is the started for the Stampeders this Sunday.  Our coach was Danny Barrett.  The Edmonton Eskimo's went on to the Grey Cup to defeat the Montreal Allouettes.  Interesting that the talk is Danny Barrett might be in the running for the Eskies new Head Coach. 

Those are my thoughts for the day!  I'll see you on the flip side.....Monday.  When the Roughriders are Western Division Champions.  Go Riders Go!