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.

Is It Over Yet?

Mercifully, Sunday was the final game of the Saskatchewan Roughriders 2015 season. The Riders travelled to Montreal to take on the equally terrible Montreal Allouetes. Could we have ever imagined a season ender like this back in 2009 or '10?

I've been thinking lot's lately about how hopeful I was back in June. I took in many sessions of Training Camp here in Saskatoon. Seeing both Darian Durant and Kevin Glenn on the field was reassuring. We'd fixed the back up issues of last year. How silly was I? We forget quickly and even though the Riders issues go far beyond the lack of developing a competent back up...we forget the undeniable presence of Darian Durant any time he sets foot on the football field. He elevates everything. Thinking back to the season opener against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, hearing his voice call out for the snap...Wow. Its awe inspiring. Whatever that is – it's “it”.

There have been many questions about Darian's recovery and in last weeks press conference someone asked him if he'll be the same quarterback. I loved his response. “No. I won't be the same quarterback. I'm going to be better.” I believe him. That's the level of confidence I want to hear from the leader of my team. However, some still like to condemn the two time Grey Cup winner. Some are saying it's time for a trade. That's looney tunes to me. In spite of the Grey Cup win at home in 2013, haters are still going to hate.

Later on, when Kevin Glenn was injured we witnessed the evolution of Brett Smith. He really seemed to show promise. However, as the season continued and our offence started to stutter, it became evident that our offensive line just wasn't up to snuff and the poor backup had to scramble again and again. It seemed playing him was doing more damage than good. Sure, it's great that Brett Smith can scramble when he needs to but when he doesn't even have time to go through his reads because the Oline can't control the line of scrimmage (or takes holding penalties instead), well, he's rather doomed. I wish he could roll out instead of having to scramble. I like his heart and the team seems to play better with him but is that a personality choice or are they just more familiar with his play?

Shrugs.

Last week the Rider faithful saw third stringer Keith Price. When he took the snap and stepped back I admit I was wooed. He had pocket presence. Then when his first pass ended up being a touchdown pass to the “president” Naaman Roosevelt, well, it was jaw dropping. Since we've found out a few things about Price including that a Warren Moon scholarship paid for his schooling at the University of Washington. I think he has the poise to continue to develop.

An undoubtedly defining moment of the 2015 Rider season was the firing of head coach Corey Chamblin. I posted a Twitter pole and 80% of Ridernation who answered still stands by the decision. In my opinion, it was better to do it when it happened because the fans and organization found out just how badly the Riders had been patched together. Did you read “the interview” on Yahoo Sports? Did you listen to the interview with Ballzy on CKRM? I thought the Ballzy interview was really well done and asked the tough questions. I also thought Chamblin was honest but still maybe not far enough removed because it's going to take time to see clearly what happened. He didn't sound egotistical at all. In fact one of the biggest eye openers was how he said about 4 people had been interviewed for defensive coach and were offered jobs but they all declined and that led him to doing it himself. Mike McCullough thinks it's because he burnt bridges. I don't think that's the case. It takes a special breed of coach to withstand the microscope of Saskatchewan media and fans. Why would you say yes to constant criticism?! Even I praise my piano students before correcting them. Ridernation is harsh and sometimes the biggest problem.

The Roughrider season has divided Rider fans. The same amount of fans who stand by the firing of Chamblin have also stopped following the team and CFL because of the dismal season. That's a shame. There have been some excellent games including the REDBLACKS vs Ticats game Saturday. Even though my team isn't doing well, I still pride myself on being a fan of the league. Us rabid Rider fans are strongly opinionated and often find ourselves embroiled in disagreements. In spite of this, I've managed to make some great acquaintances with other fans of the other 8 teams in this 9 team league. Rnation is giving us a run for the money but I think it is so completely refreshing to have another team in the league who has passionate fans and don't mind shouting it from the rooftops. Good on you! And while I'm at it, how awesome has Smilin' Hank been?! I take back everything I've said about him. He is part of something really special there in Ottawa.

In the first game of the Riders 2015 season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers John Chick got an interception and scored a touchdown but like so many other instances in the season, it got taken back on a penalty. In Sundays game against our old Grey Cup foes John Chick single handily changed the outcome by scooping up a fumble and sending us to over time. It was shades of Canada Day 2010. As I saw Crapigna line up for the tying field goal, I quickly counted the players on the field. Some habits die hard. But there we were and my almost dead green heart pounded a little harder. It was a boring game. It was turnovers galore. The fourth quarter and over time were exciting and just as the Alouettes had battled back in 2009, we did the same in this game. The Riders played with their hearts on the sleeves of their jerseys. After losing pretty much everything they still wanted to win this one.

3 – 15

Ugh.

The off season is going to be interesting. We're going to say goodbye to some guys we love. It's going to be upsetting. Coaches will be hired. A GM will be named. The snow will melt and it'll be time for camp again.

Here's to building for 2016.