Conspiracy Theory

On a very dull and dreary November day in 2009 I woke up to remember...well, you know what I remembered. Today, October 21st 2017 I woke up to a very similar dreary day and as my thoughts cleared I realized that October 20th wasn't a dream and my Saskatchewan Roughriders had not only beat the Calgary Stampeders (the number one team in the league) on their own turf but had blown them out 30 - 7. Oh how sweet it is!

A few weeks ago Cameron Judge went on a twitter tirade of sorts which left many of us scratching our heads and others speculating. Then he said it was all an experiment and it had worked.  Curious, right?  Some had him on pain meds or mentally ill but I think it's possible he was testing the waters for how his story would be picked up. Let's face it, fans and media bite on any little tidbit of Roughrider news and when the news is bad they bite especially hard.

Last Monday there was a small skirmish at Roughrider practice. It was so small reporters and media in attendance didn't notice anything happened.  It wasn't until Duron Carter made the tweet "It's been fun...see y'all" that all heck seemed to break loose.  Arash Madani and Justin Dunk were spewing out articles condemning the Roughriders left and right.  There was a post saying three Riders had been released...one of which couldn't have been in the altercation because he wasn't at practice! Another story said a coach had spurred the fight on. I believe all of that was smoke and mirrors.  Let's say the Riders came up with an idea to lead the media away from what they were doing last week.  No one was talking about who the starting quarterback was going to be, that Cameron Marshall was back and Trent Richardson who?  All anyone wanted to know was what happened.  What *if* all of that was an elaborate rouse?  That would account for a coach saying it's go time, that would account for the tweet that fed into the media's hands and that would account for why no one saw how prepared the team was to take on Calgary at McCarter...um, McMahon Stadium.  Let's not forget that the Riders controlled the entire narrative by having a closed practice Tuesday but no matter what the smoke didn't clear until everyone was jaw droppingly shocked as Duron Carter picked off Bo Levi Mitchell and returned it for a touchdown in a game winning play.

I admit that's a pretty elaborate thing to pull off and my watermelon may be a little too tight on the ol' noggin' but no matter what it did unite the team whether it was to pull it off or to come together to refute the allegations...it worked.  Bo Levi Mitchell did not score a touchdown against the Roughriders in TWO games with the only TD pass being thrown to...Duron Carter who was playing as a starting CB for the first time ever in a CFL game.  He'd just come off a 200+ game the week prior which put him over 1000 yards on the season.  He'd gotten in a "fight".  He went bowling with team mates and scored 202.  He started as a DB and he got his first career interception.  Hey, Bo, next time you decide to take to twitter to taunt a player...you better make sure you can back it up.

Winning in a decisive 30 - 7 game against the number one team in the league moved the Saskatchewan Roughriders into a play off spot.  The only question is, will the team stay in the west by staying ahead then beating the Edmonton Eskimo's on November 4th OR will they be relegated to going the eastern route.  No doubt this will be debated at length by all the pundits for the next two weeks. 

But first, on October 27th the Roughriders host the lowly Montreal Alouettes who are fighting more demons than just football games.  None of that really matters because since Week One in the CFL back when the Als beat the Riders this game was circled on the schedule as Darian Durant's return to Regina and new Mosaic Stadium.  Nothing stirs up more feelings than the topic of ex-Riders QB.  I'm not going to talk about what he did for us in the past because I've beaten that horse to death.  Let's take off the green goggles and see him exactly for what he is now.  He is a man, who endured 9 seasons as a Roughrider starting Quarterback with the last 3 injury prone.  He is a man who in the end wasn't loyal to the organization or fan base and left for money.  He was a man who burnt his Bridge by shouting at the Roughriders bench and making rude gestures when he won by 1 point.  He is a man who hasn't played much football in the last month and has found himself pulled in the last game against the Hamilton TigerCats.  He is a man who is getting paid reportedly $400,000 on a team that is now 3 - 13 where his future is in question.

I wonder how Darian will feel when he see's what's left of Taylor Field.  I know it's hard on me to see it all dismantled.  I wonder how he'll feel when he visits Mosaic Stadium for the first time.  I know how I felt and it was amazing but I also suspect it could be overwhelming for him considering what's been said of how he isn't over the trade. Then again...some think he's not even going to make the trip.

If you'd like to read my past thoughts on Durant check out these posts:

D U R A N T

The Elephant in the Room

What do you think of Chris Jones now?  It's no secret that I was on board since the Riders made him GM, HC, VP & DC shortly after the 2015 Grey Cup.  Lot's of fans don't like him for how he released fan favourites and I even have seen a few fans switch alliances due to it.  I think it's very admirable that some have now come out and said they were wrong about Jones.  It takes a lot of guts to admit your impressions were wrong and I applaud those who've done it.  No matter your stance, I firmly believe 2016 had to happen in order to start the foundation for the success we are now seeing in 2017.  I've often said it takes two to three years to rebuild a CFL team and here we are nearing the end of the second year and heading to the play offs for the first time since 2014.  Imagine winning so much that we take it for granted! That's part of what's happening in Calgary with the Stampeders and their attendance.  The team isn't making news anymore because all they do is win!  I'd sure like to try that feeling out for size and maybe, just maybe, Jones is the coach to make that happen for Rider Nation.

Who made this years CFL schedule? Don't they know Rider Nation travels from near and far for all games?  Friday evening games in October on the prairies is nutso!  I've had to sell my tickets because of my teaching schedule and while I could have gotten a substitute I decided maybe someone else could enjoy my seats for me. I hope they have fun and make lots of noise! Ring that cowbell and come home hoarse.

9 - 7 sure is fun...I'll see you on the flip side.  Here's to 10 - 7!

Go Riders! 

The Elephant In The Room

There's a subject posted around social media, fan forums and Facebook groups.  Rider Nation is easy to get emotional and irrational on the subject and there are a very wide difference in opinions and views.  It's okay, that's how we are and that's what makes us one of the most passionate fan bases in the CFL.  The comments range on a scale of "Jones got rid of our favourite players" to "Jones is a genius."  This one subject though gets debated in circles every week and Week 13 in the CFL was no different.

What do you think of Darian Durant now.

Before you click away you need to know a few things about me. I LOVED Darian Durant.  I got in family arguments defending him.  I got in social media arguments defending him. I met the man several times at training camp and other engagements. I did this for his entire career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Stu Gooden had me gaze lovingly at Doubles picture in last years CTV story.  I was All In.  But let me also tell you this - It was Exhausting.

There is an idea out there that when Rider fans or CFL fans place criticism on a player that they don't respect that player.  That is simply not true.  Darian Durant was a true warrior and leader for the Roughriders through several seasons and no one else but him carried the team on his back like he did in 2013. I appreciate everything he did and bringing us that Grey Cup in our home stadium was momentous.  The fact is - Darian Durant is no longer a Saskatchewan Roughrider.  He made the decision to not be a part of this team and we can debate the how's and why's until the cows come home but it doesn't change that fact that in the end DD did not choose us.  He chose money, his own ego and other emotions over loyalty to being a Roughrider.  That's my bottom line. If anyone else did that, that player would be ridiculed and haunted by Rider Nation the rest of his career.  Instead, members of Rider Nation still have him on that pedestal and will choose to cheer for him over our entire team. I don't get it.

My comment moments after Durant was traded January 13th.

Watching Darian Durant as a Montreal Alouette is odd. First of all given what transpired in the 2009 Grey Cup one has to wonder how exactly one arrives at the desire to make that transition. I never wished ill on Durant but my opinion of him has certainly changed.  In Week 1, I saw the man who I had idolized taunt and jeer my Head Coach, the man who apparently didn't like Darian Durant because he 'wasn't his guy.'  Could it be that it was Durant himself who didn't like Jones?  Could it be that Jones didn't coddle Durant like he was used to and expected him to be able to do his job?  Could it be that Jones wanted to build a team so that our QB no matter who that was had support and protection around him instead of having an aging, injury prone, highly paid player weighing the team down and holding them back?  In that instance when Durant shouted "How do you like me now" in French I lost all respect for the person and player who I thought he was and it made me question if he ever was the person I had built him up to be in my own mind. 

Meanwhile, Kevin Glenn is on his third stint as a Roughrider. When Glenn was a Rider in 2015 I had thought prior to Durant's injury that we'd end up with a QB controversy on our hands.  That didn't happen and KG ended up being traded away.  This season KG stepped in as starting quarterback. He didn't try to carry the team.  Instead I see him as part of the team.  Kevin Glenn is always with team members, providing support, friendship, brotherhood and leading the celebration conga line.  He's been having a terrific year and even while sidelined he is being the example and mentoring Brandon Bridge, Vernon Adams Jr and Marquise Williams.  All of these quarterbacks for what Montreal is paying Darian Durant.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have evolved.  I've often asked that Riders fans get on board and learn players names because they are future legends.  How about that receiving corps? How about that secondary? How about that offensive line? How about that defense?  There are so many names to know!  It's looking more and more like the Chris Jones regime not only knows what they're doing in rebuilding/building our beloved team but always had a plan.  The team is 6-5. The team is above .500 for the first time since 2015.

The Montreal Alouettes are in disarray.  Kavis Reed is the General Manager for a reason that is not known to me since he has no experience in that area at all.  Last week the head coach Jacques Chapdelaine and defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe were fired. Kavis named himself HC.  Anthony Calvillo was added to the CFL Hall of Fame Friday but was named offensive coordinator in the Alouettes shuffle.  The play calls are baffling.  They have good players who they don't seem to implement like RB Sutton or WR Jackson.  Even Nik Lewis seems to be absent since breaking the all time reception record.  Then Darian Durant got pulled in last weekends game for back up Drew Willy.  The Montreal Alouettes are 3-9.

This week everyone is wondering what's wrong with Darian Durant.  They've brought in Ken Miller to help out and I sincerely hope he can.  It feels to me that the Alouettes have tried to recreate a previous Roughrider team and if we can learn from history you simply cannot hold on to the past.  Players change and age and become injured.  You can't go back again.  Fans and media are questioning if this is the end for Durant.  I searched his name on social media and waded through the vitriol of "retire" comments.  There's no way I'm going to shoot a man while he's down but I can't help but put the question out there...

"Darian...how do you like US now?"

Unfortunately, I cannot be at the October 27th rematch between the Roughriders and Alouettes at incredible Mosaic Stadium but I will be at this Sunday's game where we host the Calgary Stampeders.  Bo Levi Mitchell is already trying to stir things up and I wish he'd just keep his mouth closed.  Those things have a way of biting you in the butt.  This will be a huge test for our Riders who sustained 9 injuries in the win against the Hamilton TigerCats.  Can we emerge victorious? I guess that's why we play the games.

I'll be there Sunday in my section 126 seat with cowbell in hand.  I am first and foremost a fan of the team who's name is across the front of my jersey not the back. A Saskatchewan Roughriders fan I remain.

Go Riders!