The Eagle & Child

From Saturday’s Globe and Mail:

Everything’s gone green: Saskatchewan’s football cult spreads

Saskatoon sociologist Rochelle Côté puts it this way: Sport is like religion and Saskatchewan is monotheistic. “There is only one team to pray to,” she says. The Roughriders.

Which explains the name, Rider Nation, and the thousands of Saskatchewan fans flooding into Calgary for tomorrow’s Grey Cup game between the Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes.

It explains why the Roughriders produce 38 per cent of Canadian Football League merchandise sales, and why there is a store set up to sell nothing but Roughrider clothing and souvenirs in Calgary. People from Saskatchewan paint themselves and their surroundings green, dress up their dogs in green. The Rider flag flies from a pole beside the provincial legislature normally reserved for the standards of visiting royalty. Premier Brad Wall wears a green and white tie. Maybe – who knows? – football monotheism even explains the watermelons Rider fans wear on their heads. Canada Safeway has shipped 10,000 watermelons to Calgary to make sure there will be enough.

This for the nation’s favourite football team, whose popularity is unique in Canadian sport.

The Roughriders boost attendance in every city where they play an away game.

What the article doesn’t mention is that for many years Saskatchewan, as a “have-not”, was a province which people tended to leave as adults, but when these people moved away from the province, they remained ‘Rider fans.  So it’s not just people from Saskatchewan traveling to Calgary for the game–there are already thousands of ‘Rider fans living in the city. I know some ‘Rider fans who live on Vancouver Island who will be attending the game in Calgary, and I’m sure there are fans east of Manitoba who will be attending as well.

I’m not a football fanatic. I haven’t watched a CFL game in years (though I wish I watched it more).  But the Roughriders is my team, because I’m a Saskatchewanite.  If they make it to the Grey Cup, I watch. It’s a matter of provincial pride.  In 1989, not knowing any better, I was cheering for the Hamilton Tigercats when they were bested by the ‘Riders. I didn’t make that mistake again.

This afternoon we will travel about 45 minutes west of here to watch the game with some friends (fellow Saskatchewanians).  Should be fun.