On Saturday I went to my second-ever CFL division final game and my eardrums are still recovering.
I have to say that Sunday’s CFL West Division final at Taylor Field was extremely loud as 30,000 raucous fans made as much noise as possible. What’s interesting is the 30,000 in Regina Sunday were louder than the 50,000 I was surrounded by at Toronto’s SkyDome for the 1991 East Division final.
However, after living here for 4 1/2 years the fact that 30,000 Roughriders fans could top 50,000 Toronto Argonauts fans inside a domed stadium doesn’t shock me.
I have to admit, before moving to Saskatchewan I had no idea just how rabid the majority of people in Saskatchewan — male, female, old, young — are in their support of the Roughriders. I figured they were just like any other fans in the CFL.
Wrong.
Now, maybe the fact the ’Riders have been really good over the past few years and gone to two Grey Cups in three years has something to do with the high level of provincewide support the team receives, but that’s certainly not the only reason.
I think one major reason this team is so loved — the ’Riders seems to be everywhere throughout Saskatchewan — is because it is the province’s only major, professional sports team. There are five WHL teams but they each are loved in one area of the province and hated in other parts.
The Roughriders are the only CFL team in this province. The fact the team is known as the Saskatchewan Roughriders, not the original name of the Regina Roughriders, probably helps because it makes people in all corners of the province feel like it is their team.
And the people here, as I’ve come to see, live and die with this franchise. If the team wins three games in a row, people are ready to plan a Grey Cup parade route. If the team loses three in a row, some people (especially those who call into sports radio shows) are ready to jump off a building.
The amazing thing about sports is how it can bring a community of disparate opinions and interests together as one. And that kind of unity is good for an area.
Except for the support Canadians show Canada’s Olympic athletes, especially hockey teams, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a community, large or small, united the way this province is united over the Roughriders.
Now, the question is will that unity be enough to carry the Roughriders over a very good Montreal Alouettes team? If there’s enough loud, green-wearing fans in Calgary for the game, it just might be.
Jason Small can be reached at 691-1255.
