Little 'stitious

I've always said I'm just a little stitious not SUPERstitious. I have to admit that as much as I'd like to say it - it doesn't matter what shirt or hat or shoes I wear - it has no bearing on if the Riders win or lose. I'm throwing a flag on myself.  Calling an audible. It totally matters to me in 2015. At oh-and-7 it has to be something I'm doing wrong, right?

Knock knock

Who's there?

Owen.....Owen Seven

* eyeroll *

I think every sports fan is a little superstitious. Some people say it’s a ritual. A procedure of doing the same things to bring about similar results as before. I watched an episode of the McCarthy's (check it out – John Ritter's son is on it) where the whole family had to wear certain things, sit in particular places & do actions just because their team won once when that happened and they HAD to reenact it every time. Guess what? Their team kept winning as long as they did it.

Didn't that just prove the theory?!

The first time I ever remember feeling this way was back in elementary school. I played clarinet in the school band and insisted upon wearing my blue and yellow striped sports socks. Yeah, I know, Bomber colours! They were great socks. At least, I thought they were. I thought they did something for me because I wore them for every performance that band gave in my grade 7 year.

I had a lucky yellow rabbits foot as well, but it was hardly lucky for the rabbit.

Fast forward to 2007 when everything changed for Rider fans. There was a surge in everything green and the CFL marketing guru's licked their lips. Any kind of Roughrider garb that you could dream up in your wildest of imaginations was stamped with the //=S=// logo and sold. Everything except make up for us girls. I bought a little compact of Maybelline eye shadow called Emerald Isle. It went with my green shirt which at that point was not an official Roughrider shirt but just the Walmart $5 variety. Gradually, I came to believe that this green eye shadow somehow held the secret to the team winning.

In subsequent years I've tried different combinations of make up and jewellery and Rider shirts and jerseys. I ditched the Emerald Isle eye shadow for a glittery brownish green shadow in 2009/10. That didn't work out so well for me. I've tried eye liners, eye shadows and outfits galore. White shirts, green shirts, beads, head bands, hair clips, and Hubby will never forget the crazy green glue on eyelashes for the year the Riders played the Lions on Halloween. Even the trick or treaters at the door wondered why I had green spiders on my face. One kid even asked if they were real!

I can’t exactly define the moment when I thought, “I know, I’ll do watermelon make up this season!” It could have had something to do with a pre-season game occurring during my work week and I needed something not so crazy. * SHRUGS * But I pulled out my Annabelle “Pinked” eye shadow and combined it with the tried and true Maybelline “Emerald Isle” …..

.....drew on black eyeliner and brushed on some black mascara and…..

That was the 2013 season.

In spring 2014, and having been to New York twice at that point, I found an eyeshadow compact by New York Color which consists of a pale green, dark green and purple. #789 West Vintage. Dressler and Getzlaf OR Dressler, Bagg and Demski. Which ever way you want to look at it. I've chosen to look at it as a sign. It seemed to do the trick since the Riders were pretty good out of the gate and right up until our starting quarterback Darian Durant was injured in that “non play” against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers I hadn't lost belief that it wasn't working.

Sigh.

Over the off season, as many people do, I cleaned out my closet and make up stash. I threw out the original Maybelline Emerald Isle eyeshadow. I just tossed it in the waste basket. Didn't even think about it.

Ugh.

I feel like I may as well admit that I in fact was the 13^th man.....woman.

It's my fault. Not Darian's. Fire me. Not Chamblin. Throw the flag. Toss me out of the game.

My name is Owen.

Maybe, just maybe the make up doesn't have anything to do with both our starting quarterbacks being injured this season. The Emerald Isle doesn't have anything to do with missed tackles or low sack numbers. #789 West Vintage isn't responsible for enormous amounts of penalties.

It just is.....what it is.

That's an eye opener, isn't it?

But hold on! Keep that flag in your pocket, Proulx. I've just realized I have failed to wear my jersey even once this season!

So, if I wear my jersey to the game on the 22^nd, The Hall of Fame game, the game against the Calgary Stampeders, MAYBE, my beloved Roughriders will manage to squeak out a win.

* fingers crossed *

 

Nope. This rabbit.....er, rabid fan is not superstitious at all. * wink *

Stay the Course

How many of you were around in 1979? I was. I was seven. At age seven I don't even recall the word Roughrider muttered in our household. No one ever mentioned them until I was what I refer to as “stupid teenager” in 1989 when my Dad professed that 'the Riders are good this year'.

That's a small snapshot of what life was like when the Riders sucked.

Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister. People played Atari. We listened to music on a Sony Walkman if you were lucky enough to have $200. We watched M*A*S*H* and wondered who shot J.R.

Social media was chatting with the cashier at the grocery store.

2 – 14

That was the how the season went and that's why no one talked about them.

There were only four recognizable names on the 1979 team roster. Ron Lancaster had forfeited his role as quarterback and became the coach. Tom Clements was the quarterback and he had huge shoes to fill on a team that had to find a new identity. It was doomed from the start.

We live in a different world now. Rider fans came out of the woodwork during the 2007 season. Something magical happened and we had to put lifters on the bandwagon to support the additional weight. Now we wear our Rider green every single day and we aren't ashamed. We put it on our cars and houses and tattoo it on bodies. It's Rider Pride and it's been easy to back our team through recent winning times.

Roughrider fans are now are young and impatient. They weren't here in 1979.....weren't even a sparkle in someone's eyes..... and don't care to learn about the past. They point fingers, ridicule and want people to lose their jobs. The worst part is they are the loudest voice on social media. Instead, of doing their homework they follow the ill words of others like sheep.

Let's face it.....weeks before Gary Lawless wrote his article talking about Coach Chamblin being fired it was being discussed everywhere. All the radio programs were talking about how changes needed to be made and even though they weren't calling for heads to roll it doesn't take much to plant that seed of doubt in a smart phone obsessed mind. Who was Lawless's source? Heck, it could have been all of Rider Nation.

I for one have greatly adjusted my attitude. So what? We (the team) may not have glorious wins this year. Every game will be a struggle that will make you want to rip of your jersey and throw items at the TV. That's okay. That's passion. That proves you care. But when it comes down to it.....isn't it wonderful that we have this team in our province, which helps define our province and community? Isn't it great that we can come together to cheer for these guys who have left family and loved ones and come from across the United States and Canada to become the 2015 Roughriders!

We are so blessed.

The 13th Man.  Other CFL teams WISH they had a fan base like ours.

So I dare you – this week, week seven, look for the good things. Look for small improvements. Look for someone doing their job well. Look for better instead of the best. Trust me, we will all be happier and more content for it. This team has faced a HUGE amount of adversity this year that not many other CFL teams could easily recover from and now is the time to stick with this Roughrider team. The payoff will be down the road but I know in my greenest of hearts it will be sweeter than you could ever imagine.

And if not, well, I'm sorry you feel that way. Just know that one bad decision could turn the time back to 1979 and as much as I enjoyed Atari, I love the 2015 version of the Roughriders far more.

Stay the course. Persevere. And Always Bleed Green.