I'm THAT Woman

Yes, it's true.  I'm THAT woman.  I'm the one who cries over sports.  An even bigger confession is...I've cried over sports twice in the last week.  Football in particular, although I have been known to get choked up over a good Nascar win, but this blog is about football. 

The official unveiling of the New Mosaic Stadium was provided to us via a live stream on Riderville.com last week.  It opened with a video of all the legends and legendary happenings at Taylor Field.  I never stood a chance.  With tears streaming faster than the video, I viewed what the New Mosaic Stadium will entale.  What a presentation it was.  This new stadium will be amazing.  We will usher in a new era with this stadium.  It's going to have actual seats.  It will be a bowl style stadium.  It will be partially covered by a translucient awning.  The visuals were simply beyond my wildest expectations.

You can view for yourself here:  NEW STADIUM

Now, everything I heard from people I know was positive.  A new stadium is deeply needed.  But what the heck is up with media types?  I turned onto CKOM to hear the afternoon crowd being totally negative on multiple levels.  They don't like the locatioin.....they don't like the parking.....they don't like the absense of a roof.  Like what the heck!  The location has not been a secret.  We've known for ages there wouldn't be a roof.  These people, who admittedly do not watch football need to get educated on the subject before spouting off all their gobbly-goop which in turns gets fans all in an uproar.

We want change.  We need change.  This is very exciting.  We are going to usher in a new era with this stadium.  PERIOD.

Another time last week that I cried was when watching All In.  In case you didn't know [and every Rider fan does know], All In was the Roughrider dvd which came out last week available at the Rider stores and all Co-Op locations.  The dvd chronicals the 2013 season leading up to the 101st Grey Cup and including winning said most coveted trophy. 

Now don't get me wrong here.  I loved it.  The player and coach commentaries gave great insight into the whole season.  Seeing the prep for Grey Cup was interesting because most of us don't know what goes into getting an event ready and it also showed us how the weather affects and is part of the game.  I've seen everyone raving about the dvd but no one is saying what I'm about to.....It missed the mark.  Okay, well kind of missed the mark.  The feature began with the loss of the west final in 2012.  I feel that even though that's what spurred the planning for the 2013 season, the dvd should have began with the [Ridernation prepare yourself].....it should have began with the 09/10 Grey Cup losses.  Before you all freak out at me, my mentality for that statement is because for players like Darian Durant those losses are what created that monkey on his back that he desperately wanted to fling off.  The video also glazed over the whole Cornish/Sheets competition.  One of my most memorable parts of the 2013 West Final was when Cornish was walking off the field and Sheets was being interviewed.  They asked him what worked and he said "pretty much everything."  Another part that wasn't even mentioned was how the Roughriders refused to touch the West Final trophy.  There were many storylines which came together....Tristan Jackson working on the rigs when recalled to the team....Kent Austin being a Rider now a Ticat....Fantuz/Congi and other ex-Riders.....  But the number one thing the All In dvd should have included was the Grey Cup game itself.  If time or money was the issue, we all know Rider Nation would have gladly sat through a 3 hour documentry and paid much more for it too.  Hey, if we spend $200+ on multiple jerseys every year there is no doubt we'd fork over the dough for a monumental dvd and you all know it!

If you want to procure your own copy of All In just visit any Rider store or Co-Op store or order online at Riderville.com.

Did you miss this media announcement last week?  The Co-Op in partnership with many football teams are again coming out with Game Day products.  All moneys from these products go to charity.  I think that's a worthy cause to knock down the Co-Op doors looking for these items.  In Saskatchewan there will be Getzlaf Chris-py Dill chips and Darian's Quarterback Quench Sports drink.  There will be many other items available in Saskatchewan as well which you can read about here:  Co-Op Connections  This time around you will also see items Alberta with Stampeder players/logos and Eskimo players/logos.  Remember, it's all for a good cause.

Just today it was announced that Chris Szarka-train and Omar Morgan will be inducted into the Plaza of Honor.  They are both terrific players.  If Eddie Davis is in then Omar should be too.  Can't have one without the other.

Last thing, which may make us all cry depending.....the Players Association and CFL are set to meet on Wednesday again.  Will it be a major snafu like last week or will they actually come to terms?  I have a gut feeling it will be worked out and players will be at training camp next Monday as planned in Saskatoon.

If not.....you'll see the real  *ugly* cry from this woman.

PRE-pre-Season

All it took was a picture on Twitter of three chairs with folded quarterback jersey's and name tags on them to make my heart flutter again.

It all came flooding back.  The excitement.  The thrill.  The running around the living room yelling touchdown.

*Sigh*

It was announced that not only the 2014 Roughrider training camp will be held at Griffiths Stadium at the U of S, but the 2015 camp as well.  How exciting is that?!  I know some of those in Regina are moaning and groaning about it, but c'mon man! You get them the rest of the season!  Let us have this one thing.  Last year I could only attend twice......and then stood in the rain for over an hour on Green & White Day, which was totally worth it.  My husband thought I was a little nutty [and I am] but the Monday after Grey Cup 101 guess which memory stood out for us?  That one.  Priceless.

April Fool's, wasn't that fun?  NOT.  Our favorite Stampeder Running Back to hate, Jon Cornish, tweeted out a picture of a "Rider" jersey with his name on it [and Kory Sheets number] and said he had been traded to the Riders.  Well I knew it wasn't true because it wasn't an actual Rider jersey and was in fact a Huskie jersey which Cornish had been given for a speaking engagement.  Still, this sent everyone into a tizzy.  Oh yes, then there was the story about how the REDBLACKS had tried to draft Gainer.  I guess getting Shologan and Evans wasn't enough for them.....even though it was a joke, you can see there are still hard feelings there.  But really, it was impossible to decipher what was real news that day.

What have I learned this off season?  Gainer is an anagram for Regina.  Yeah.  It's true.  Of course it makes sense.  I don't know why I didn't know this before and maybe I did and forgot, but how cool is that?!  Is FakeGainer an anagram for anything? *blank stare*

So mini camp was held in Florida over the weekend.  It's been touted that Ryan Smith is the spitting image of Weston Dresslor.  This is a dangerous area isn't it?  I mean, no one can possibly replace these guys who won our hearts and THE 2013 GREY CUP and we shouldn't try to make them fit their shoes either.  Everyone has to be themselves and do what they can do.  If we try to make them live up to Kory Sheets or Dresslor or whoever else we will be nothing but disappointed.  Let's let them be themselves and show us what they have to offer.....they might be a completely different person.

Have you ever heard of the Rider Sisterhood?  Well if you follow me on Twitter [@smilingsandra] and Ohmygawd, if you don't, why not? You'd have seen me mention this once in a while.  The Rider Sisterhood is a group of ladies who have sort of banded together through our love of all things green and white.  We support eachother when needed and rejoice together.  The Sisterhood got me through a rough time this Spring/Winter/Sprinter as my beloved Brandy~puppy the Super Dog passed after a short battle with lymphoma.  Thanks to all the Sisters.....and some of the Brothers too.  You've brightened my days with sharing your stories, love and prayers.

Today power rankings were released with the Stampeders at number one and the Roughriders at two.  How the heck can you have power rankings in the off season?  I mean, zero games played and zero players proven.  You can't have a power ranking by what is on "paper".  It makes less sense than the Combine where zero combines are used.  Unlike the Roughrider mini camp where a John Deere tractor was the star.  *shrugs*

Meh.  Whatever.

Next up is the CFL draft.  But take it easy on me, I will be recouping from my trip to New York so if you don't hear from me again until Training Camp don't be surprised.  Spring [and I can safely say that now that Sprinter is over] is a very VERY busy time for me.  Who woulda thunk it?  For us piano teachers, we have festivals and exams and recitals.....it's like Tax Season the Musical.  So stay well.  Get that Rider gear cleaned up.  Stock up on the face paint!  We've almost made it through the off season!