2013: Grey Cup

[Ron]

Well ... it was far better to watch the Cats get killed than to watch the Argos get killed. And yes the Argos team we saw the last 6 games would have got destroyed by this Rider team on this day.

You get your butts kicked on GC day ... it's always remembered. You lost in a division final? Pretty much forgotten.

[Ron]

Winning breeds envy, which leads to hatred. That is the path to the dark side.

Fixed ...........

[Mulder]

I asked on Twitter when was it that the Roughriders went from "everyone's second favourite team" to the most hated team in the league. I think that the turning point may have been the '04 manure incident but different people gave me different answers including the '97 Grey Cup and the '07 Grey Cup. One individual said that this has happened since the explosion of the Internet with Roughriders fans being particularly ubiquitous.

Regardless, Roughriders fans have to be feeling on top of the world tonight and their team was full value for their win on Sunday night. Normally, signing other teams' free agents isn't the route to success in the CFL but Brendan Taman identified the gaps in his team after least season and went about filling them. The best off-season move that he made though was bringing in George Cortez as his offensive co-ordinator. I can't wait to see what next year will bring.

By the way, welcome to the Ottawa RedBlacks who are now full-fledged members of the Canadian Football League and finally able to sign players as of ten minutes ago.

I was very annoyed at pre-game and announcers, They made it sound as if winning a Grey Cup at home never happens ever in the CFL.

I would also agree the explosion of the Internet is the catalyst for lots of it. Rider fans voting for a 52-0 labour day match vs 3 other great labour day games last season? Yeah.
Every online pole should have a pre-poll to get the real results. What's your favorite team?
Oh yeah. And starting an Esks Suck chat at Spirit of Edmonton? That's totally not in the spirit of the CFL

IMO, Fans of the other 8 CFL teams have the ability to be more impartial and I would argue that Rider Fans are only really passionate about the Roughriders.

When we stopped being the lovable losers. Winning breeds envy, which leads to hatred. I used to hate the EE but now I just pity them.

No offense, this seems to be the excuse Rider Fans give. And it's totally not the case. Or else most of the CFL would hate the Als, BC, and Calgary. All which have been successful and winning the last 5 years.

[paulwoods13]

I'm just amazed that more wasn't said on the broadcast or in the written reports I've seen so far about what the hell was wrong with Burris. That one unexpected snap where he stood there and pointed to his centre quizzically instead of chasing after the ball told me he should have been pulled immediately from the game -- it was like he was dealing with the after-effects of a concussion or something. Yet the broadcasters basically just moved on, and the early report from Drew Edwards in the Spec simply called it a mixup on the o-line and didn't even mention Burris's bizarre reaction.

[Mulder]

I'm just amazed that more wasn't said on the broadcast or in the written reports I've seen so far about what the hell was wrong with Burris. That one unexpected snap where he stood there and pointed to his centre quizzically instead of chasing after the ball told me he should have been pulled immediately from the game -- it was like he was dealing with the after-effects of a concussion or something. Yet the broadcasters basically just moved on, and the early report from Drew Edwards in the Spec simply called it a mixup on the o-line and didn't even mention Burris's bizarre reaction.

It was mentioned on the broadcast that he may have thought the ball wasn't whistled in.

[paulwoods13]

It was mentioned on the broadcast that he may have thought the ball wasn't whistled in.

I didn't hear that, but even if that really was what he thought, do you just stand there when the ball is loose and everyone else is chasing it? It was a massive brain cramp.

[Mulder]

I didn't hear that, but even if that really was what he thought, do you just stand there when the ball is loose and everyone else is chasing it? It was a massive brain cramp.

If the Riders scored it probably would have been mentioned more. But Hamilton got the ball back.

You could tell how the way the game was going to go early on when Durant got drilled and fumbled the ball into Sheets hands.

IMO, The Riders are going to be in trouble next season if/when he goes to the NFL. He easily won them 7-8 games, including west final and Grey Cup.

[VANRIDERFAN]

No offense, this seems to be the excuse Rider Fans give. And it's totally not the case. Or else most of the CFL would hate the Als, BC, and Calgary. All which have been successful and winning the last 5 years.

Have to respectfully disagree Mulder.
Small market, years and years of losing badly. Free space on the bingo card. I know the Argos had years of futility, but it is not the same. Toronto is hogtown, the big smoke, the place where ALL the decisions (good and bad) for the country were being made. Saskatchewan was the plucky little guy who tried hard but rarely could make the grade. The perpetual Rudy.
Now that Saskatchewan has a bit of swagger, the people who liked the plucky little guy doesn't like him when he starts to hit his stride. And with the internet, the Sask diaspora and that the Roughriders are the only pro team in the province there is the explosion of Rider Nation.

But in the end I won't try to sway you from your opinion. Just giving you an alternative view. Which is sorely lacking in many internet forums (including Riderfans.com) where the echo chambers trump all.

Have a great off-season and lets hope that your stadium situation is sorted out for the benefit of the Argos and the CFL.

[VANRIDERFAN]

If the Riders scored it probably would have been mentioned more. But Hamilton got the ball back.

You could tell how the way the game was going to go early on when Durant got drilled and fumbled the ball into Sheets hands.

IMO, The Riders are going to be in trouble next season if/when he goes to the NFL. He easily won them 7-8 games, including west final and Grey Cup.

It would be a great loss if Sheets were to try the NFL. But he is 29 and there are a new crop of young, cheap NCAA running backs to feed the mill. Also I don't think his running style fits the NFL, bouncing to the outside is great but he will run out of room down south.

[Mulder]

It would be a great loss if Sheets were to try the NFL. But he is 29 and there are a new crop of young, cheap NCAA running backs to feed the mill. Also I don't think his running style fits the NFL, bouncing to the outside is great but he will run out of room down south.

Yeah, but even still I think he will give NFL a shot. And won't be back until after Labour Day

[Will]

A friend of the family from Vancouver was in Toronto on business and came over to our house yesterday to watch the game. He is a Lion season ticket holder and he says that he thinks the problem isn't necessarily with the fans who live in Regina themselves, but it is with the diaspora. I still contend it is the fans that seemingly came out of the woodwork after the 2007 Grey Cup that caused this massive shift from "second favorite team" to "most hated." If you look at attendance at Taylor Field pre-2007 it was still pretty good, but a little more fluctuating and hardly at the 100% rate it is at now. Looking at Rider fans every now and then it also annoys me to see threads talking about every other team's attendance problems. Every CFL team (except the Eskies) have had some sort of attendance problems at one point or the other. I have a tweet I think succinctly describes the feelings of many, but I am waiting for permission of author to post it here.

[VANRIDERFAN]

A friend of the family from Vancouver was in Toronto on business and came over to our house yesterday to watch the game. He is a Lion season ticket holder and he says that he thinks the problem isn't necessarily with the fans who live in Regina themselves, but it is with the diaspora. I still contend it is the fans that seemingly came out of the woodwork after the 2007 Grey Cup that caused this massive shift from "second favorite team" to "most hated." If you look at attendance at Taylor Field pre-2007 it was still pretty good, but a little more fluctuating and hardly at the 100% rate it is at now. Looking at Rider fans every now and then it also annoys me to see threads talking about every other team's attendance problems. Every CFL team (except the Eskies) have had some sort of attendance problems at one point or the other. I have a tweet I think succinctly describes the feelings of many, but I am waiting for permission of author to post it here.

Have to agree with you regarding SK fans decrying other teams attendance problems. Most if not all of the Rider fans who beak are fairly young and only know the good times. Older fans who know of the 12,000 people who showed up during the 80's and 90's realize that team support ebb and flow.

[1argoholic]

Your bang on with that VanRiderFan. The younger Rider fans seem to be the ones who are all hopped on on Pil swill and run their yaps bigtime. I've heard plenty of crap from not so young fans as well. In 95 we Argoholics were treated like gold in Regina up until game time when two guys in their 50's yelled the N word a few times which was the first crap we heard directed at players. In 97 it all went south with Rider bandwagon jumpers treating us like crap in Edmonton. When the Riders start falling down the standings again as each team goes through it we'll see if folks make the long drives that many do.

[Will]

Thrilled for the real rider fans I know. The ones who remember al ford and Jeff fairholm and Joe Adams and telethons to save their team.

— Cameron HayGlass (@chayglass) November 25, 2013

I think this tweet above properly summarizes the feelings of many. I do not think knowing who Al Ford, Jeff Fairholm or Joe Adams is a pre-requisite for being a "real" fan, but the sentiments about the telethon are well taken.

[jerrym]

After reading all these e-mails, I guess I may be the only guy left for whom Saskatchewan is their second favourite team. With the Argos out, I was able to enjoy the game thoroughly. The biggest difference I saw with the Riders was their complete professional focus on getting the job done, something not always present in earlier attempts to win the Grey Cup.

[argolio]

The turning point, if there was one, was when Durant fumbled and the Riders still gained 20 yards. The exclamation point as when they converted a 2nd and 19 with a draw play.

I think the big problem with Burris in this game was that the Rider crowd, as they always do, psyched him out. He just can't control his emotions there. Maybe it would have been helped if LeFevour had a couple of drives early to ease Henry into the game.

If John Chick wasn't the best defensive player in the game, then Brandon Boudreaux was. Evan McCollough may have been the worst. Diamond Ferri and Dwight Anderson easily had the least class.

They mentioned on the broadcast that the Riders had 8 new defensive starters this year. That means the '08 Stamps, '12 Argos, and '13 Riders have all won the Cup with hugely revamped defenses.

[Double Dare]

Everything was geared for Regina and their Grey Cup love in. Very few fans from other teams like normal Grey Cups. Mark Cohon is Green and White with his nose all Brown. Sickening display from TSN covering everything about Sask with very limited stories about Hamilton. At one point Randorf said "oh there's some fans from Ottawa, I mean Ontario" when they showed Hamilton fans. WTF! This will do no good for the overall good of our league. Sask has been pumped up way too much by the league and they just won their forth friggin cup.

Exactly. 1Argoholic is one smart man.

Other team's fans were not really given a chance to show up in their scum-hole city ... but then again who would want to spend more than an hour in the dump!

[Mowich]

im still going to be glued to my tv starting at noon...im pissed we arent in it, and of course they way we didnt make it, but im still a cfl fan, and love the grey cup

I hoped you enjoyed it, matchuk though we could have hoped for a more entertaining CFL game. I was hoping that Hamilton would really make us work for the win, unfortunately Smilin' Hank had his troubles and for some reason they never really got their running game going - was hoping to see more body-leaping by old CJ.

Being of a slightly mystical bent, when the sun dawned on Grey Cup day in clear skies and the highest temps all week, I had a feeling that more was at work for this game then just the fervor of our fans and the determination of our team. (wink) There has been much talk of the turning point in the game but for me that came when our team defied tradition and entered the field en masse. I knew then that no matter the score, our guys were finally, finally going to come out on top. I'm happy for Rider Nation but my truest and deepest joy belongs to my team especially those guys who have slugged it out for so many losing years.

[Argo57]

I hoped you enjoyed it, matchuk though we could have hoped for a more entertaining CFL game. I was hoping that Hamilton would really make us work for the win, unfortunately Smilin' Hank had his troubles and for some reason they never really got their running game going - was hoping to see more body-leaping by old CJ.

Being of a slightly mystical bent, when the sun dawned on Grey Cup day in clear skies and the highest temps all week, I had a feeling that more was at work for this game then just the fervor of our fans and the determination of our team. (wink) There has been much talk of the turning point in the game but for me that came when our team defied tradition and entered the field en masse. I knew then that no matter the score, our guys were finally, finally going to come out on top. I'm happy for Rider Nation but my truest and deepest joy belongs to my team especially those guys who have slugged it out for so many losing years.

Congrats Mowich!!
Sure makes for a much more enjoyable off season, Riders were deserving in every way!!!

[AngeloV]

I think the big problem with Burris in this game was that the Rider crowd, as they always do, psyched him out. He just can't control his emotions there. Maybe it would have been helped if LeFevour had a couple of drives early to ease Henry into the game.

I still can't understand why LeFevour didn't go in at all. Though I'm not a fan of bringing him in on first down and then going to Burris if there is no success on first down (2nd and long is a crappy situation to have to come in on), I think they should have put him in to change the pace of the game. They needed to possess the ball more than they did, and it may have actually lit a fire under Burris when it was his turn to go back in.

I really don't think Burris will be back in the Hammer in 2014. It was as if Austin gave him the game to see where to go with the future at QB, and sadly for him, he failed.