Rod Pedersen
CFL.ca
We have an issue within the Rider Nation. It’s not a problem… yet. But it definitely is an issue.
Just about anybody connected with the Saskatchewan Roughriders — be it employees, players or fans — have been astounded by the coverage devoted to the incidents which occurred on Ron Lancaster Night at Mosaic Stadium last Saturday.
I’ve certainly been outspoken with regards to the reasons behind Rider fans pelting the B.C. Lions’ bench with beer cans and debris and there’s been plenty of opposition to my views. But we can all agree on one thing; that display was utterly unacceptable.
I brought to light the catalyst for the melee, the Lions’ antagonism of the crowd by launching a football into the stands after a fumble recovery, for one precise reason. It’s because of comments like the one from Sportsnet’s Jim Lang in his weekly CFL power rankings at www.sportsnet.ca:
“In honour of the sad passing of the legendary “Little General” – Ron Lancaster – the Riders wore their vintage throwback jerseys Saturday night. With the spirit of Ron Lancaster smiling down on Mosaic Stadium in this one, I really thought the Riders were going to find a way to win. I am thinking Lancaster would have been more than a little disgusted to see Rider fans pelting the Lions bench with beer cans and garbage in the third quarter after a disputed call by the officials. I always thought Rider fans had way more class than that.”
That was like a dagger through the heart for anyone who passionately follows the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and admires the love our fans have for the team. I maintain this incident wouldn’t have occurred if not for the Lions’ actions, but the national media has the wrong idea about what went on, as evidenced by Jim’s writings. By the way, Jim Lang is a former Voice of the Argonauts and he and I have discussed at length the magic of Rider games at Mosaic Stadium. I respect him greatly.
Rest assured Roughrider staffers have spent the majority of the week trying to sort out the mess, and deciding which direction to go from here. Should they ban the sale of beer in cans? This policy was instituted for two reasons; one, to turn proceeds from recycling back into the community and two, to vastly speed up the process of serving thirsty patrons. I know for a fact Molson has doubled its sales the past two seasons because of this method and it would be difficult to go back.
Pouring drinks from a keg is impossible. You may say that NHL and MLB teams can do it, so why can’t we? Well that’s because those teams play every second day or in baseball’s case, everyday. In the CFL, we have home games once every two weeks and once a keg is tapped, it can’t sit idle for two weeks or else it’ll spoil.
However this isn’t the issue to which I’m referring.
To put it bluntly, the east side stands at Mosaic Stadium are rank. Some have said to me this week, “it’s not that bad over there”. But when I counter with, “would you take your kid to sit over there” they look at you wide-eyed and say “not a chance”.
The Riders would be disappointed to think that their games aren’t family-friendly. However it’s clear that to a lot of citizens of Rider Nation, their obsession over the home team blinds them to the point they don’t know right from wrong. As Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco said this week, people get caught up in the emotion of sporting events and sometimes get carried away.
This is not however, indigenous to us. My good friend, U of R Rams coach Frank McCrystal, said the only time he’s feared for his life at a sporting event was in The Black Hole, home of the Oakland Raiders. Regina Pats owner Russ Parker said the same thing about a trip to the outfield bleachers at Yankee Stadium. Winnipeg Sun writer Paul Friesen wrote years ago that the New York Yankees send their fans to Taylor Field for training!
This fact is inescapable; Mosaic Stadium is an intimidating place for visiting CFL teams and that’ll never change. However the Riders are poised to play before their fifteenth consecutive sellout next Friday when they host the Calgary Stampeders. A good portion of that crowd will be the new generation of Rider Priders, the twenty-somethings, whom I’m told were the ones launching beer cans at the Lions. The Riders’ marketing department’s efforts to attract a younger fan base have worked perfectly, but with that comes some of these other problems.
The Roughriders will eventually come up with the correct methods of beer sales and security but if I may, I’d like to pose a suggestion…
Team President Jim Hopson came up with this idea first and I’d like to second the motion. If anyone is seen or caught throwing anything onto the field, they should be subject to removal from the stadium and subsequently barred for life. This can be done, as the culprits who terrorized the Paul McCallum family in 2004 have incurred the same punishment.
What better way to punish these people than by denying them the opportunity to watch their beloved football team? It would take a concerted effort by Rider fans to help identify these people, but it would be worth it.
Now having said all of this, I received an email from a family from Newfoundland who attended their very first CFL game Saturday night. They were stupefied by the splendor of all the good things we have going on at Rider games. They were blown away by all that’s right with going to Mosaic Stadium to watch Canada’s Team.
All has not been lost, however the wonderful reputation of the Rider Nation took a serious blow on the weekend. We must also remember that although the Riders have the “World’s Best Fans”, that doesn’t empower you to denigrate anything that’s anti-Rider. There’s room in the CFL, and Mosaic Stadium, for fans of all teams and you shouldn’t be afraid for your personal safety if you happen to be wearing black and orange in Regina. Or green and gold, or red and white, etc.
Let’s get it right, and keep it that way.
Rod Pedersen is the Voice of the Roughriders on 620 CKRM Radio in Regina.
