Michigan and the Saskatchewan Roughriders
I live in a small town in Canada. Estevan, Saskatchewan to be exact. This is Canadian Football Country. So growing up a lifelong Michigan fan was always a little different in this area. Yesterday was the Grey Cup (the superbowl for the Canadian Football League) Our home team the Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing the Montreal Aluotees in the Grey Cup. The whole province of Saskatchewan was excited for this game and everyone was having a party to watch the game except for me. I was watching Michigan against Alabama, and getting ripped for it. I am still in a bad mood from the last 2 Michigan Football seasons and I was getting sick of these excited Saskatchewan Football fans. I hate the CFL, but I just had to watch this game in hope Saskatchewan would lose. I figured I have been crushed by Michigan losses the last few years, that it would make me feel better if other teams fans got crushed by their teams loss. It was the 4th quarter and Saskatchewan was up 27-11 with 10 minutes to go. Everyone was cheering and I was just getting more pissed off every minute. Then it happened. Saskatchewan turned into bad luck Michigan. With 5 seconds left Montreal had a chance to win the game with a field goal. It was 27-25 Saskatchewan as the Montreal kicker missed the field goal attempt.......Saskatchewan wins.......just wait.....flag flag flag......Too many men on the field against Saskatchewan. Montreal got another attempt and drilled it to win the game 28-27. Everyone was crushed. It felt so good to see other fans feel the way I have felt almost every Michigan game the last 2 years. It felt almost as good as when Michigan State got crushed by the Tar Heels last year at Ford Field....Almost.
Go Blue
November 30th, 2009 at 5:40 PM ^
I'd plus-1 you if I could.
By the way, of all the names that a CFL team could choose, why did two teams both go with the name "roughriders". Seems odd to me.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:33 PM ^
One is the Roughriders. The other the Rough Riders. Does that qualify as two different names? Apparently in Canada. Also, while on the subject, what is an Alouette? Seems like it ought to be a small finger pastry.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:38 PM ^
that a small finger pastry is NOT a good mascot for a football team?
November 30th, 2009 at 6:48 PM ^
Alouette is French for "lark." A famous old French-Canadian song discusses plucking the feathers off all the alouette's body parts.
December 1st, 2009 at 8:01 AM ^
and I will +1 you for knowing that. Very impressive sir, I wouldn't expect anyone that isn't Canadian to know that.
December 1st, 2009 at 8:13 AM ^
I actually learned the song in French class (here in the U.S.) when I was kid. It's a good song for learning body parts.
December 4th, 2009 at 1:11 AM ^
sunuvabitch - i think i learned it too. couldn't tell you more than the allueté "joggin everyday-ay" (at least how it sounds) but i remember the gestures and crap. ohhhhh wasted education i would probably happily use. how i miss you.
i can however tell you how to finish 30 of your favorite video games. ugh. such a waste.
December 1st, 2009 at 8:23 AM ^
and I am Canadian.. Do I have to revoke my citizenship??
November 30th, 2009 at 5:41 PM ^
That last play was the only play that I watched, the CFL blows
November 30th, 2009 at 5:53 PM ^
Boubacar Cissoko
November 30th, 2009 at 8:37 PM ^
Boubacar would need to up his game substantially to play in the Great White North...those Tiger Cats and Alouettes got their eye on RichRod's micron slots, however
December 1st, 2009 at 8:05 AM ^
and I couldn't agree more. I have never watched a complete game of CFL football. I can barely watch one play without wondering how a sport that shares its name with the NFL could be so different. Blasphemy!
November 30th, 2009 at 5:50 PM ^
Reminds me of the Grey Cup episode from Corner Gas.
December 4th, 2009 at 1:27 AM ^
Too bad they took it off WGN here in the states. I miss that show.
November 30th, 2009 at 5:54 PM ^
If a team is going to get penalized for something involving too many men, it would probably be the Roughriders.
I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that listening to the play-by-play of Roughrider games is basically a 3-hour-long "That's what she said."
November 30th, 2009 at 5:56 PM ^
Wow, thats a brutal way to lose a game. Talk about total collapse. CFL is a great league to watch though if you don't mind the rule changes. Its a much different style of football though thats for sure.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:16 PM ^
i cant imagine ANYTHING like that happening in Div 1, or even the Big Ten, let alone in the second game of the season against someone in the MAC
November 30th, 2009 at 5:59 PM ^
is that the majority of the people in canada claim that they love the CFL but they only watch one game a year and thats the grey cup. i remember when the rocket was playing for toronto and me and all of my friends were out playing road hockey instead of watching him win the grey cup by himself.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:18 PM ^
In the the CFL they play with 12 men on the field. And the Roughrider fans are really loud and intense and call themselves the 13th man. And it was the 13th man that cost them the Grey Cup.
Go Blue
November 30th, 2009 at 6:54 PM ^
The Ottawa Rough Riders folded in 1996, then in 2002 were remade as the Renegades, then folded again in 2006. Apparently they are supposed to make another comeback in 2012, nickname pending.
November 30th, 2009 at 7:14 PM ^
..is that it was too rough of a ride as the Rough Riders, and they reneged as the Renegades. Maybe they should call themselves the Champions next time.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:27 PM ^
I made my first visit to Regina, Saskatchewan a few weeks ago, and picked up a sweet Riders jacket. Also saw the stadium, which is basically a huge set of stands on one side and a smaller set of stands on the other; max capacity is about 35k.
I watched the game on ESPN360.com, corresponding with an acquaintance who is a diehard Rider fan. Midway through the 4th, after the Riders score to go up 16, she texts me "Are you watching the game? Go Riders!". I immediately text back "Don't jinx a good thing." A couple minutes later Montreal scores and gets the conversion. She writes "Ugh, they just scored. Gulp."
Then, after the horrific collapse and the unimaginable redo of the missed field goal, I text simply "I'm very very very sorry". She writes back "Thanks. This freakin' sucks."
Just remember, for every schadenfreude moment, there's some real pain. The game was played in Calgary and had about 95% Rider fans in attendance. I have never seen mass jubilation turn to mass silence so quickly -- except, perhaps, U-M/Colorado in 1994. Ow, it hurts.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:25 PM ^
dude
Go blue!
November 30th, 2009 at 11:19 PM ^
Coner would kill in the CFL.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:11 AM ^
like it does here.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:42 AM ^
Conehead couldn't excel in France . I have , however seen him consume mass quantities .
December 1st, 2009 at 12:48 AM ^
One of my family friends, Chuck Klingbeil, played for the Roughriders for a few years before moving on to the Dolphins. Always will be a small place in my heart for that team north of the border. He led their defense to a Grey Cup in... 89 I want to say?
December 1st, 2009 at 8:13 AM ^
Saskatchewan beat The Halmiton Tiger-Cats in the 1989 cup final. Sask also won in 2007. Im trying to think of some Michigan Wolverines who have played in the CFL?
Go Blue
December 1st, 2009 at 6:52 PM ^
Wally Gabler , Don Moorhead , John Partchenko . Alain Kashema . Chuck Winters , James Whitley .
December 4th, 2009 at 1:28 AM ^
Dude was throwing 90+ heat in high school.
December 4th, 2009 at 1:08 AM ^
Ed Shuttlesworth ,Ante Scorput , Felman Malveaux