Monday Morning Sentimonies: (Not So) Triumphant Return

Did you miss me?... On second thought don’t answer that. Let’s just go on assuming that the lack of regular sentimonies left you feeling alone and miserable… not that you’d notice much in our current circumstances.

But I’m back for the first time since August. Why now you ask? Well this would have been Grey Cup week in Regina under normal circumstances. A week long party that my liver and back account would surely regret. The best was able to do was weepily watch old CFL clips while sipping Wisers out the bottle. The only advantage is that I can do it in my underwear. Though the odds were decent the real Grey Cup would have seen me in my underwear at some point.

Anyway, I figured since the notoriously procrastinating CFL finally got off their ass and did something tangible that I should also mark the occasion by doing something. The CFL took a break from offering “hope” and “optimism” to release the 2021 schedule. I mean the schedule isn’t worth the paper its written on and the actual schedule (assuming football is played in 2021) will likely bear no resemblance to that (except maybe the playoffs). But its something. Lord help us, we needed something.

My main hope is that existence of a real schedule assumes the existence of real contingency plans. Let’s be honest. We have no clue what the world will be like in June. We may be starting to expand gatherings. We may be in lockdown. We may be at war with a coalition of murder hornets, former Joe Exotic tigers and zombies Sean Connery and Alex Trebek. So contingencies will be needed.

If I was leading the CFL, aside from being one of the most overtly biased commissioners in recent memory, I would start with a plan for a full 18 game season and be prepared to push the start back in 2 week increments down a 10 game season depending on public health restrictions (with set deadlines for each decision). If a 10 game season isn’t possible then you need a final contingency for a bubble scenario to salvage some form of season. I’d like to think the CFL has those kind of back up plans firmed up… but I’ve followed this league for long enough that I’m not willing to bet any money on that.

As much as the schedule gives us hope, their leading business plan seems to be assume the vaccine will be available and effective and mass gatherings will be allowed by May. Its kinda like back when Michael Bishop would just chuck it deep and hope for the best. I mean sometimes that does work out… but its not without its pitfalls.

The CFL also missed an opportunity to promote the league and the draft lottery. I am as diehard as they come and I legit did not know the draft lottery was going down until I read many hours after the fact that the Riders got the 2^nd overall pick. Yay... I guess. In a country starving for 3 down ball and rouges, they could have made a mini event out of the lottery. I mean, the odds of the Oilers winning the CFL lottery draft were as good or better than any of the 9 actual teams… so there was built in drama.

So lets hope this schedule release is just the begging of good things to come for the CFL. My liver and bank account may disagree… but we need it back.

Fixing the CFL Part 2

Welcome back to Part 2 of my look at how to fix the CFL. We have a few more ideas to go through. One of the them good and then we get into the stupid ideas.

Admin Costs

Remember that I said there are only 2 ways to improve your business model and one is reduce expenses. Well this is one area teams need to look at… particularly the Riders. There is a cap on player wages, there is a cap on coaches but back office staff? Well that’s a free for all. Last year Football Operations accounted for 35% of Rider expenses. Now a large part of the remaining 65% was pretty legit but still that is a concerning ratio. Take a look at the list of Rider Admin staff… the only list I’ve seen compare to its size in the list of players Chris Jones employed during 2016. For sure investing in things like marketing and retailing are important (you can’t take the opposite approach and spend zero in those areas without negative consequences aka the David Braley approach). But when the vast majority of your revenue is tied to games you need to be able to scale back on admin costs when attendance drops or stops all together. Were we able to afford a massively bloated back office? Sure. Do each of those people add value to the team exceeding their wage (aka a cost/benefit analysis)? Not so sure about that, particularly now.

Okay, let’s get to the stupid ideas

More Canadians

Let me state that this is the Canadian Football league and Canadian content will always be a must. I will defend the ratio and the importance of Canadian players to the day I die. But… as long as you have that base core Canadian content, there is no correlation that more Canadians makes your league anymore successful. People tune in for exciting football not Canadian players. So any thought of expanding the Canadian ratio, while very patriotic, is based in zero business sense. Ask yourself who the top 10 CFL players ever are. Now ask yourself how many of them were Canadian. 2? Maybe 3? Did people care that guys like Flutie and Moon weren't Canadian? Hell no. We just wanted to see them tear up a football field. I don’t want to see Canadian content reduced but if you think increasing it will do anything to help the league at this time then you are sorely mistaken.

QB Salary Cap

I have stated that controlling expenses is important so the general sentiment behind this one is not awful. But player costs are already fixed by the salary cap. So capping QB salaries will not reduce costs, it will just shift them around. Look, I think it’s stupid to pay one player $700K+ but if teams want to be stupid then let them. From a financial standpoint it s not hurting them. I get that huge QB salaries put upward pressure on all other salaries but as long as the cap doesn’t move then overall labour costs will not increase. I don’t understand the logic of this one.

Social Media

Social media will not save you. Social media reach is only useful to the extent that you can translate it into additional viewers and merchandise sales. 10 million people watching your stupid tik tok video actually does you no good if none of them spend their money on your product after watching. Don’t get me wrong a strong social media presence is key to engaging fans (particularly young ones) but if you think social media will magically cure all your business problems then you are stupid. Let me also take this opportunity to address people who get butt hurt when CFL team Twitter accounts don’t follow them back. Its not like they are going to read your stupid tweets anyway. Will them following you make you suddenly want to spend money on merchandise? Or will it just feed your fragile ego? Teams do not have a responsibility to follow you on social media. End rant.

50/50

I actually don’t think this is a stupid idea, its just not particularly feasible. Based on the ridiculous success of the Oilers 50/50 and the millions of dollars people are falling over themselves to throw at it, people have suggested 50/50s as a way to financially prop up the CFL. The theory is sound. People love 50/50s and it would definitely garner huge money. The problem is this little things called gaming laws. And gaming laws dictate that 50/50’s can only be run for charities… not for profit companies. Do you really think the Riders would let the Rams take the 50/50 revenue if there was a way to funnel it into operations? So decent ideally... provided the rule of law wasn’t a thing.

What other idea (be they smart or stupid) have you heard? Add them to the comments section and let’s prove once again that anonymous smartasses on the internet can solve any issue better than so called experts.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Fixing the CFL Part 1

Last Monday the CFL made official what people had been speculating for months… there will be no 2020 season. I will add that the definitive news did come within hours of my Monday post. So you are welcome for getting some closure on this for you.

So the 2020 season is a no go. It’s super sad but honestly not surprising. Now the focus is on 2021 and ensuring the CFL survives. Look, there is no guarantee fans will be allowed in the stands by June 2021 so we can’t just assume that this will be a one-year pause and life will return to normal. Given that CFL seemed to approach plans for the 2020 season with all the speed of that sloth from Zootopia at the DMV, they had better start now.

All I have been hearing about for the past week is how the CFL needs to fix its business model. Everyone has suddenly become business guru and is schilling their ideas on fixing things (some are good, some are stupid). What else is stupid is this notion that the CFL can suddenly reinvent its business model. Like people magically assume that there is a way for the league not to be dependent on ticket sales, TV money and sponsorship like every other sports league in the world. Look, there are certainly things the CFL can do to improve its viability but those expecting an overhaul of its business model will be very disappointed.

I’m going to let you in on a business secret. There is only 2 ways to improve your business model. 1 – Increase revenues. 2 – Decrease costs. That’s it. I just saved you 10s of thousands of dollars on a business degree. Any idea proposed is just a variation on one of those two things. The CFL is and (at least in the short term) will remain a gate driven league. TSN is not suddenly going to start paying gobs more money for the TV rights they already contractually own. So let’s go through ideas (both good and stupid) for how they can actually improve on things. And by improve I mean incrementally because again, a fundamental shift in business model is not going to happen.

Partnership with the Players

This should be priority one. Everyone knows that the players are what drive this league. That’s who fans pay to see and that’s whose off-field work in the community endear them to this country. Yet time and time again the owners treat them like expendable garbage. Look, management is well within their rights to run things as they so choose and treat players like easily replaceable minions who should shut up and play. It’s been working for them for years. But there are consequences to that approach. Read pretty much any study on employee engagement if you need proof of that. Engaged employees will lead to better business results.

Now I work in human resources and have been at bargaining tables. Regardless of industry management always wants less union involvement in running things and unions always want more. The sweet spot is always somewhere in the middle. And to be perfectly honest unions often times make stupid demands and management is right in not always bending to their will. But if the players are truly the lifeblood of your business then at least keeping them somewhat happy would be a good business approach. There’s no guarantee the outcome would have been any different but I guarantee the CFL’s chances with the Federal government would have gone up significantly if CFLPA present Solomon Elimimian had sat beside Ambrosie and presented jointly in the first ask. It’s proven to be an effective strategy for the owners to give the players very little and then just hold out long enough for the cash needy majority of the PA to give into the meagre offerings. But thing how much better this league could be if they treated the players with even a fraction more respect off the field.

We all know players are more important than coaches to the success of the league as a whole but one group has things like guarantee contracts, payouts if they are fired and year round income even during a pandemic… and its not the supposedly most important group.

Make Stars Out Of the Players

Building on the above partnership, if the CFL is serious about growing their fan base they need to market their superstars better. Casual fans who know nothing about golf and would normally not watch, will tune in to watch Tiger Woods. Same with football and Brady, Brees, Mahomes etc… LeBron and basketball and so on. No one outside of CFL fans knows CFL players, so you get no casual fans. The league is full of marketable stars: Fajardo, Hughes, Jefferson, Reilly, Adams, … hell I would be that drunken, fur coat Streveler is more well-known than the actual good players in our league. Market their onfield excellence. Let them show their personality. Highlight the great work they do off the field more. Get them on talk shows. Have them endorse products (I still remember Roberto Alomar telling me to “Catch the taste”). The more notoriety your players have, the more casual fans you attract.

They also need to sell former NCAA stars more in the states. College fans are fiercely loyal and if they knew some of their alumni where still playing you may get more casual fans.

Roster Stability

In order to really market stars, you can’t have them change teams every year. If guys like Narco, Reed and Dressler were one and done, they never would have reached legendary status here. Fan connections to players drives interest and drives merchandise sales.  

For example, as a Habs fan (yeah what can I say I have poor choices in sports teams) I would love a Carey Price jersey… but as the owner of PK Subban and Mike Camelleri jersey I’m convinced that if I ever did that I would curse Price and he’d be gone within a week. A lot of people approach CFL jerseys this way.

The fix for this is 2 fold. First, the CFL needs some form of restricted free agency. This strikes a good balance of letting your young players maximize their earning potential with letting teams keep stability by matching offers. Second is guaranteed money. If I was a CFL agent I would call my client an idiot if they signed anything but a 1 year deal unless the multi-year deal gave them more cash in year 1 than the 1 year deal. You gain nothing by signing a long term deal. If you values goes down the team will cut you and year 2 and 3 of your deal will be useless. If your value stays the same you can easily renegotiate the same contract next year (so you lose nothing). If you value goes up, you are stuck making less. Owners need to incentivize players to sign longterm deals. This will put the football ops guys in conflict with the business side guys as from a football ops view the current system is ideal but if you want to grow viewership and revenue, the business side needs stars to market. Coaches get guaranteed contracts, why can’t your top end veterans?

CFL 2.0

Look I get those of you saying pause the focus on this given the whole pandemic thing, makes sense. But for goodness sake don’t give up completely on this idea! It is risky and it will take time but the potential payoff is there (if it was easy, guaranteed money, someone else would have already done it). I don’t get how the same people can scream at the league to reinvent its business model and then the berate Randy Ambrosie when he tries. The CFL needs to grow its fan base and there are limits to how much you can do that within Canada.

Here’s a completely hypothetical example to demonstrate (all numbers are purely for illustration). Let’s say the CFL has a fan base of 1 million and they want to double that. In the Canadian market (let’s assume half of Canada is potential sports fans) that would mean increasing their market share by 6 percentage points within an already saturated market. Any marketing person will tell you that would take a huge amount of effort and time. But it we expand potential market to include Europe and Mexico (again assuming half the population is a potential fan) they only need 0.23% of that market. Far more achievable. Again, not easy or quick but I think this idea has merit and needs to continue. Now just may not be the time aggressively expand it.

Hook Kids

The CFL needs to tap into what Christmas retailers inherently know: The key to getting people to spend money is making their kids want something. Most of us are fans now because we experienced CFL football as kids and got hooked. But the CFL has priced itself out of the market. For a family of 4 to go to a game its 100s of dollars in tickets plus 100s of dollars for a solitary small pop and popcorn. Particularly in a down economy that won’t work. Since no one is selling out (not even the mighty Riders) teams should all have massively discounted tickets to get bums in those empty seats. What you lose in premium ticket price you make up in food, merchandise and the beginnings of life long fans. Also, each stadium needs a cheap menu. I don’t mind having expensive options as well but at a minimum there should be an option for a cheap hot dog, drink and popcorn. Keep it affordable and families will come.

Also you need to engage kids… and not just the ones in the expensive front row seats. If your “family” tickets are in the second deck then the kids up there should have equal access to time on the jumbo-tron, Gainer and giveways. Since the new stadium opened, not once has a camera or prize ever come up to our area of the second deck. That stuff is like crack to my kid and he would be hooked for life for 10 seconds on screen or a crappy t-shirt or football. Go to a Pats game and you will see K-9 all over the arena and kids love him. They get it. Engage all parts of the stadium not just the lower bowl.

Expand Merchandising

I’m not talking about the Rider approach of put a logo on literally anything you can find (though that did the team pretty well), but with traditional gate revenue at risk you need to look at new ways to suck money out of fans. The one that always comes up is a video game which seems like a no brainer. There is already a company that has developed a football game you can play with Canadian rules: Canuck Play and Spear Interactive. They even have Doug Flutie endorsing it. I bet they would like to become officially CFL licensed.

I know its pie in the sky thinking but if the CFL wants to act like the big four it needs athlete endorsed shoes, gloves, clothes etc… I know that Banks’ might not have the same allure as Curry’s or Jordan’s but you gotta try.

Lastly (and this isn’t really merchandising) but you need actual fantasy football… not that garbage pick’em stuff. Half the people tuning into NFL care nothing for the actual outcome and only if their RB gets a minimum of 70 yards and a TD. Pick’em is okay if you have nothing else but I want a real fantasy draft, weekly head to head match-ups, watching garbage time in a blowout to see if a 4^th string receiver can get me the 5 yards I need to win and mock my friends. A Canadian company made this a few years back: Fantas-Eh and even pitched it to the CFL. But the passed on it. More fantasy players = more viewers.

I’ll pause here as this post ended up being way longer than expected. Check back tomorrow for Part 2.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: The 2020 Pipedream

If you have been following this blog for any length of time you have no doubt witnessed a reoccurring phenomenon. See, time and time again the same situation repeats itself. There will be days or weeks of silence on an issue or a player so I will write a post about it. Before noon that same day you can count on a news story that renders that post completely irrelevant. Its my super power.

Well today I am going to use that super power to save the CFL.

You see fans, players, coaches… pretty much anyone associated with the CFL has been waiting for months for some kind of news, be it good or bad. But all we get is either silence or deadlines that are utterly meaningless. Recently we get words like “promising” and “optimism” but what we don’t get is a firm answer. Will there be football in 2020? 

So today’s senitimonies will be dedicated to listing all the reasons why a 2020 season simply will not happen. If history has been any indication, within 3 hours of this going live there will be a press conference announcing the season… you’re welcome. This super power is so potent that it will even over come the news late Sunday that the loan from the government was a no go.

There are 4 main reasons I don’t see a 2020 seasons happening: Money, Unity, Time and Logistics.

Money – The big divide remains, who takes the risk. The players have said they will not sign off on a deal without guaranteed money. This is a smart ask. In the CFL you can pretty much be cut in an instant without any financial compensation. So if you are going to leave your family and another job to be cooped up in freakin’ Winnipeg, you would want some assurance that you won’t quarantine for 14 days only to be cut on day 16. Also, what if you get Covid? Can you be cut then? So this is a logical ask.

The problem is that the owners at this point would rightly be crazy to sign off on that. There is a very real scenario where they get 2 weeks into the season and have to cancel due to a Covid outbreak. So then you are on the hook for 100% of the costs and a fraction of the revenue. That’s not a good gamble. Also what if a player is a dumbass (remote chance I know) and breaks the bubble rules and gets infected. You’d need a bunch of contract disclaimers to get around guaranteed wages for the aforementioned dumbasses.

Add in the fact that government has the money they need and won’t part with it. Which I think is crazy given that they’ve already given money to the arts and tourism. You can’t tell me the cost benefit analysis of funding the arts is better than funding football… but I digress.

Unity – There are reports that not all 9 teams actually want to play in 2020. So its no wonder that a plan has been slow to develop (if indeed there is a plan) when a portion of the ownership don’t want to actually get to a plan.

Time – It’s late August. At the rate this is going they will announce some time in the spring that they were able to get everything in place to play in 2020. At this pace they are also about 3 months late for submitting the 2021 plan.

Logistics – Even if you sort out the money, get every owner on board and do it all before the end of the month the logistics are nuts. Coordinating travel and quarantine for hundreds of players and coaches. Coordinating getting equipment from around the country to Winnipeg. Someone also brought up, what about refs? Most refs do it as a part time gig so they won’t be likely to leave their real jobs to live in the CFL bubble. Have they even thought about that? This would be a herculean undertaking by a well-organized and logistically proficient company. Those descriptors are rarely associated with the CFL.

So that is a lot of barriers.

Look, I want CFL football as much as anybody. It’s killing me to go without it (well actually physically the lack of whiskey and massive stress levels is probably doing the opposite of killing me) but I think the CFL is better off to finally officially give up on 2020 and focus on 2021. There is no guarantee we will be back to 30,000 fans at games by June 2021 so if the league wants to survive period they should start figuring a realistic business plan in this new reality.

HOW THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF THE XFL MIGHT IMPACT THE CFL

The recent news that former Calgary Stampeders man Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson is part of the group that has splashed $15m to take the busted flush that was the XFL from Vince McMahon's company Alpha Entertainment has raised a few eyebrows.

 Here we look at the deal that's taken place and how it could impact the CFL.

What's the deal with the new owners?

Any purchase of the XFL would have hit the headlines but the fact it comes with such a big-name heading thing up has instantly raised awareness of the league. Johnson isn't in it alone though. Also, in the group are Dany Garcia, who was married to Johnson for a decade prior their separation back in 2007 and RedBird Capital, which is a company owned by Gerry Cardinale - a former partner in Goldman Sachs.

Johnson and Garcia have entered the business world together already in the shape of Seven Bucks Productions who have been responsible for movies such as the remakes of Jumanji and Shazam!

The duo has cited their "passion" and "expertise" in the "sports and entertainment" sector as reasons they'll be a success whilst RedBird Capital have their fingers firmly in the sporting pie already.

The big question marks?

In spite of the lifeline offered by Johnson and co, there are still some gaping holes that need to be addressed before we truly understand what a new look XFL will look like. When XFL made it's comeback it did so with some subtle differences to both the NFL and CFL. Like the NFL, the XFL works on 22 players being on the field - a smaller one - at any one time with the play clock greatly shorter at just 25 seconds.

The second nagging thought is around salary because, let's face it, money talks. That also prompts the question of whether or not the number of teams will increase. At the moment, there are significantly fewer game weeks in the XFL compared to north of the border where there are 21 game weeks. That’s nine more than the maximum of 12 in the XFL.

This, of course, means the earnings are averaged at a preferential amount per game. The average salary in the CFL sits somewhere around the $65k CAD mark, which puts it on par with the lower end of the XFL structure. The XFL works based on a tiering system, the bottom end being between $50-70k USD. That doesn't immediately sound like too much of a problem but the upper tier allows salaries up to near on $800k CAD, which will turn a few heads.

Whether the new guys in town tweak any of those rules remains to be seen.

The realistic impact on the CFL

The initial reaction to the announcement has been fairly muted on the CFL front. That said, there have been a few come and get me pleas from players such as one time XFL player and now Ottawa Redblacks wide receiver Jalen Saunders suggested that the CFL needs to “stop lackin” whilst Chris Frey of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats fears a “ton of talent” could turn it’s back on the CFL.

You can understand their concern given the current coronavirus cloud looming over the CFL combined with the salaries possibly available in the XFL and the buzz that the new ownership will generate.

Many sports leagues were left on hold or postponed, such as the Kentucky Derby and that caused quite an economic impact.

Click here to know how the current odds on the Derby are, happening in September.

There is cause for optimism though because there is one thing that people universally don’t like, particularly where paychecks are concerned. That’s uncertainty. The XFL brings that in abundance.

Even so, the odds are that there are bound to be a few CFL players who jump ship and the players who emerge from the college system but miss out on the NFL will now have multiple options close to home, which could further dilute the talent pool in Canada. The reverse of this though, which cannot be completely ignored, is that the CFL rule makers increase the salary cap. If that was to occur, then there is an argument to say that the overall quality of the CFL could increase.

And how will the Roughriders be impacted?

Even in a world that sees the XFL take a fair share of CFL talent, I’d fully expect the Roughriders to come out the other side smiling. Could some of our players leave? Sure, they could.

Could our college targets opt for the XFL? Indeed. The same is true for every other team in the CFL too though and with pull of Saskatchewan a big one in Canada there is no reason why the roster compared to the rest of the league shouldn’t be in a stronger position than it is now.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: The Greatest 90-99

I suppose its time for me to finish of this salute to the greatest Riders by number that started back in April. I was kinda holding out hope that I could talk about actual football instead but I have a feeling that if I wait on the CFL to figure out a plan I won’t need to wear a fake white wig and beard because I will actually be that old. Look you have the notoriously ill-planned CFL dealing with the government (known for their speedy response times)… they should honestly just submit the 2021 restart plan now if they want approval to play by next summer.

So back to the salute.

We finish off with the 90s and a look at best pass rushers in franchise history. Well technically most of the best pass rushers didn’t wear 90 so its some of the best pass rushers.

90 – If this was a self-nomination then clearly Stevie Baggs would win. Not only would he consider himself the best player to wear 90 but the best defensive player ever. Brent Hawkins had potential but a bum shoulder always limited him. So although he really only had one good season, and it was arguably due mostly to playing opposite of John Chick, DL Stevie Baggs takes this on account of a lack of competition.

91 – In the early 2000’s there wasn’t a lot of good going on. We were building to better things but the on field payoff would not be for a couple years. DL Demetrious Maxie was one of the few bright spots during that period, notching a career high 11 sacks in 2000.

92 – The winner of this number has had a very odd career as a Rider. He made the team straight out of junior and had his formative years in green and white. Then just as he was about to hit his prime, a certain GM (not known for always making the best decisions) left him inexplicably unprotected in the expansion draft and Ottawa wisely swooped him and benefited from his prime years. The we repatriated him after a 4 year hiatus. Interestingly enough only 3 of his career 24 sacks have come as a Rider. I maintain that he’s on a sharp downward trend in his career but DL Zach Evans still remains the best #92.

93 – His career didn’t end on the best of terms (there was some legal issues) but prior to all that DL Terrius George put up 32 sacks and was a member of the 2013 Grey Cup team .

94 – This was almost a default number. There are not a lot of people period to wear #94, let alone good people to wear it. Kyle Mitchell played 4 games and had 10 tackles. Dario Romero played a full season in 2011 (a fact I’d completely forgotten about). That’s pretty much the list unless you want me to look into the best player to wear 94 in training camp and get cut. So DL Dario Romero gets it, I guess.

95 – A couple solid Canadian options at 95. Mullinder was never a top end player but he was underrated rotational contributor who played an important role during his tenure. But this one has to go to DL Rickey Foley. He spent just 2 seasons in Green and white but he had 20 sacks in time period and was big part of the defense that led us to the Cup in 2013. Man I think back to that D-line… Foley, Chick, George, Hall. That’s almost not fair.

96 – There’s an obvious choice here and I am going to make it but I want to preface it with the following. In terms of top all-time personalities there is no denying this person’s greatness. But on the field I would argue that he was a decent to above average DT who benefited from playing alongside a damn near unstoppable beast. But lines like "fat, sassy pigs" and "I would make that his on Jesus himself" earn DL Scott Schultz this one.  

97 – Without question, the best pass rusher to play for the Riders in the 2000s. He’s 4^th all-time in sacks with 53 sacks (a number eclipsed only by the number of children he fathered). Twice an all-star as a Rider, Most Outstanding defensive player in 2009 and one of 3 people ever to earn 2 Grey Cup rings as a Rider player… oh and he just happened to do all that as a diabetic. DL John Chick.

98 – I’ve seen a lot of dominant defensive players for the Riders but precious few that you could say were too good for the CFL. In his prime, DL Nate Davis was one of those. He legit should have been the NFL but that didn’t work out so Shivers scooped him and instantly made our D-line a force. Through that ’03-’04 period he was a one man wrecking crew. Doubled, tripled, he commanded a ton of attention. Also his signature dreadlocks pretty much guaranteed that his helmet would come off a minimum of twice a game. He was a scary dude. 

99 – Last but not least, the final number in this salute. Shomari William wore this number but that one didn’t really pan out. Alex Hall wore it, in his brief stint with the Riders (legitimately a great player but was only really here for the 2013 playoff run and a return for the 2015 season… what a wonderful year that was sigh). So this one goes to DL AC Leonard. At first I was convinced he was a product of the Chris Jones system and playing opposite of Willie Jefferson. But he has become a consistent performer regardless of system of teammates… not bad for a converted tight end. Legitimately probably the only Chris Jones “project” that actually panned out.

REMEMBERING THE ROUGHRIDERS GREY CUP WINS

It’s fair to say the last few years haven’t quite gone to plan with a combination of play-off failures and failure to even make the play-offs giving us Roughriders supporters a rough ride of things. We’re not here for moping around though so we’re going to look on the brighter side of life by taking a walk down memory lane as we look back on the four Grey Cup successes we’ve had over the years.

1989

The 1989 season looked like being bang average for so long that the fact it now ranks amongst the best in Roughriders history is almost hard to believe. Throughout the regular season the most consistent run of form the team showed was a streak of four losses. With regards to recording victories the most they mustered back to back was two giving them an overall record of 9-9. 

Thankfully, that form improved in the post season as the Roughriders bounced back from a final day 49-17 thrashing at the hands of the Edmonton Eskimos to put three wins together ironically with the West Final coming in the form of a 32-21 victory over the Eskimos. The Grey Cup match got off to a sticky start with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats easing into a first quarter lead, but Kent Austin and Dave Ridgeway starred to bring home the second Grey Cup in Roughriders history with a narrow win.

2007

The 2007 campaign was all about Kerry Joseph as he was named Most Outstanding Player. Rightly so too with a contribution of over 4,000 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. Of course, there was a team game to be considered too and it just so happened the Roughriders turned in one of their best years for a couple of decades as they ended the regular season with just six defeats to their name. It meant they finished second behind the BC Lions. 

A standout moment came in game week five. The Roughriders welcomes Edmonton to Taylor Field and turned them over a whopping 54-14 making it their sixth best offensive points return in history (it’s now ninth in that list). It was also the start of a five-game winning run. 

Come the post season, a West final against the Lions had the odds stacked against the Saskatchewan side but what transpired was four quarters where the Lions failed to dominate any. In the Grey Cup match, the Roughriders ended their drought with a hard earned 23-19 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who to this day blame their defeat on the absence of quarterback Kevin Glenn. We don’t care one bit.

2013

The 2013 offseason was a busy one with a host of staff changes; most notably the arrival of former Hamilton Tiger-Cats coach George Cortez, who had been part of the Roughriders staff years earlier. Any question marks over the new setup were soon put to bed as the Roughriders lost just one of their opening nine fixtures with a shutout win over the Tiger-Cats a display of the team’s defensive capability alongside what was a relentless offence. A mid-season wobble did knock fan confidence though as the team suffered four defeats on the bounce to lose their grip on top spot in the division. 

Three wins from the last five saw the Roughriders through to the post season though but after overcoming the BC Lions 29-25 a faceoff with the Calgary Stampeders didn’t leave the support with much expectation after they’d emerged victorious twice in the regular season. Not this time though with Darian Durant the man of the moment with three touchdown passes to his name in a 35-13 win. The big match pitted the Roughriders against Cortez’s former side in Saskatchewan. The Tiger-Cats were made to look like fluffy kittens in a comfortable 45-23 win.

Then there was 1966...

The 1966 team picks itself as the greatest of all time with relative ease in our minds. Yes, the team wasn’t flawless as the Roughriders gave away a fair few points throughout the season but the offence, which included All-Stars George Reed and Hugh Campbell, was a force to be reckoned with. 

Seven wins from the first nine matches gave Eagle Keys’ men a tremendous start but the form became inconsistent in the second half of the season as they only won two of their last seven with one tied. Even so, the Roughriders had done enough to scoop the regular season win. 

What came next was a two-game showdown with the Blue Bombers to decide who would be crowned Western champions and head into the Grey Cup season finale. The Roughriders prevailed 2-0 with a 24-7 and 21-19 triumph. 

It all boiled down to one match, the Roughriders showdown. Could the team from Saskatchewan defeat the Ottawa based team of the same name? Damn right they could. A blistering first quarter saw a 14-6 lead established and although a 0-8 second restored parity before a scoreless third, victory was never in doubt. The final quarter came, and Ottawa were sent packing 15-0. It brought the final score to 29-14 meaning the first - and only - clean sweep in Roughriders history was secured.

There you have it, four Grey Cup wins. Here’s to many more moments like those. And if you enjoy football check out the latest odds from the NFL here: https://extra.betamerica.com/nfl/odds/