Rider Pride

I grew up in a small town (a hamlet actually, population 47 people last time i checked) in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada.  I love telling people from outside of Canada that I'm from Saskatchewan.  Most people don't know what I have just said, if I am kidding or not, or how to repeat it to ask the questions to find out, so they just give you a head tilt, furrowed brow and/or one closed eye and say "Whaaaaat?"  It just gets more fun from there.  They will ask more questions trying to figure out how to place this strange sounding land in the map on their heads.  "Where's that near?"  Manitoba, I say, because Alberta has a little more fame and I don't want to make it easy.  "Okay, well, when you fly home, where do you fly to?"  Regina, I tell them (which is pronounced with a hard i, not the soft vowel like Gina, it's Rej-eye-na).  This usually prompts a quick "What did you say?" and is quickly followed by a twitch of their lips, a big smile, or an outright giggle.  "Seriously, what's the name of the airport?"  Regina International.  "So where did you go to school?"  Kincaid.  "Did you say 'Kinkay'?"  Close.

Saskatchewan is a special place, we call it the Land of the Living Skies, and it does have the most beautiful skies I have ever seen, hosting gorgeous multi hued sunrises and sunsets, northern lights, and incredible summer thunderstorms.  Saskatchewan is 251,700 square miles (a bit bigger than Bermuda) holds only 1.08 million people.  There are a lot of small towns, with a lot of funny names, and in my part little of Saskatchewan, you farm, or...wander around trying to figure out what else to do until you find yourself living on a rock in the middle of the Atlantic blogging about Saskatchewan.  In all of that land mass, for all of those one million souls, there is precisely one pro sports team...the Saskatchewan Roughriders (and yes, they are based out of Regina).  Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of hockey going on as well, but not quite professional level.

For those of you who haven't heard of the Saskatchewan Roughriders (which likely means you also haven't heard of Saskatchewan), they are a football team in the CFL (Canadian Football League), and for my international friends, yes I mean the funny shaped kinda football that you don't kick with your foot very much in the game.  It's very much like American Football, except the field is bigger and the game is faster having fewer downs.  For my Canadian and American friends, what I am referring to for the other friends is that they call soccer football and get really upset when you mash the terms.  Riders Fans are dedicated hardcore fans.  There was a season in the 1980's where the team was losing so badly that the fans were embarrassed to be seen on TV in the stands, so they wore paper bags over their heads...because they still didn't want to miss the game just in case.  And when they are winning, the fans are exuberant.  We call it Rider Pride.  You don't really need to be a football fan, but if you are from Saskatchewan, you still feel that calling to root for your home team, be part of the green machine, and cheer on your Riders.

I myself cannot proclaim to be a football fan, I would say I am more of a Grey Cup fan (that would be like the Superbowl for you international people).  Grey Cup is the CFL Championship and this year was the 101st Grey Cup.  Grey Cup celebrations are a big deal on game day every November, and growing up in Saskatchewan you learn to set aside Grey Cup Sunday like a quasi holiday, and pack around a TV with a group of friends, munchies and beverages, and get into the game.  In fact, I started seeing the posts come up early in the morning of Grey Cup Sunday...green cakes and green beer were being prepared...decorations going up, faces being painted, and for those going to the game, toques and mittens being adorned.  On a similar front, Canadians in Bermuda were getting ready as well.

Saskatchewan Flag on the left

Even while living in Bermuda, I still have watched every Grey Cup game.  This year, the Association of Canadians in Bermuda hosted an event at the Hog Penny.  They flew in some Canadian Beer (Moosehead, of course, and Labatt's Blue), and added chicken wings and poutine (french fries, cheese curds, and gravy) to the menu.  I realized that most of my friends on the island are not Canadian, most of that crew moved back home, and so it was hard to find anyone to go out on a cold, rainy November night to watch Canadian Football.  So, I went by myself.  One of the other cool things about Saskatchewan is that Saskatchewanese people (also called Saskachewanian or a Saskatchewaner -- these are official terms according to Wikipedia) can be found wandering all over the place.  So not surprisingly, I wandered into a tiny bar on a tiny rock in the big old Atlantic on my own, and within 5 minutes had met a lovely couple...with Saskatchewan roots.  Not very often someone asks you if you know where Woodrow is, in fact, I can honestly say that's a first.  Turns out me and my people know some of their people.  Also roaming around the same small place was the daughter of one of the 1960's Roughrider running backs.

And so, in Bermuda, I cozied in on a chilly night, with a group of my countrymen, the food and beverage comforts of home (available for one night only), against the glow of my home team on the tv's, and in sight of the Canadian, Saskatchewan, Ontario flags.  Game on.  After a flyby by the famous Snowbirds, the game began, with the Rider's scoring first in one of the oddest plays I have ever seen (probably due to frozen fingers...November in Saskatchewan is pretty cold).  At the half time show there was a Canadian boy band Hedley...and snowmobiles jumping in the background.  The Riders took the Cup easily, I got a Moosehead, met some new people, and for a couple of hours forgot that I wasn't in Saskatchewan anymore.

The Action

The Rider Pride prevailed.  It can safely be tucked away for the winter now, until next season.  Congratulations Riders!