Derek Mortensen/CFL.ca
Slotback Geroy Simon has been a Saskatchewan Roughrider one year while running back Neal Hughes has worn the green and white for a decade.
Winning the Grey Cup Sunday night was an emotional experience for both men, but for different reasons.
For Simon it was vindication for his decision to leave the B.C. Lions. For Hughes it was a reward for his perseverance and dedication to the Riders.
“This is a dream come true,” Hughes said as confetti rained on Mosaic Field moments after the Riders defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 to win the fourth CFL championship in franchise history.
“To be playing for the Riders, and actually win the Grey Cup here, it’s something I will remember for ever.”
Sometime this week Simon stepped into a telephone and emerged as Superman again. All season Simon had heard age had sapped his talents and slowed his feet.
Against the Tiger-Cats the 38-year-old had three receptions for 67 yards and hauled in two touchdown catches. Not only did Simon earn a place in the hearts of Saskatchewan fans, he also wrote his name into team history by being the first Rider to score two touchdowns in a Grey Cup game.
| Age is just a number |
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“It shows I can make plays when I have the opportunity. Age means nothing. “I can still play football. I’m still one of the best receivers out there. They can talk about that age stuff all they want, but when it comes down to it I still make plays.” – Riders slotback Geroy Simon |
“This is an amazing feeling,” Simon croaked in a voice hoarse from shouting. “It’s impossible to put into words.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, leaving the situation I left to come here, and to win at home. They (the Riders) gave me an opportunity and I took advantage of the opportunity.”
For Hughes it was a typical game. He had two catches for seven yards.
Built like a rock at five-foot-10 and 210-pounds, he was brought in to block on many plays. Late in the fourth quarter, when the Riders wanted to run time off the clock, Hughes ground out 32 yards on three carries.
“I knew we had to get a couple of first downs,” said the 33-year-old Regina native. “I put everything I could into it.
“All I could think about was get a first down so we can run the clock out.”
As a kid growing up Hughes went to Rider games with his father. During his career he has 761 total yards and 14 touchdowns. Hughes has felt the elation of Saskatchewan’s 2007 Grey Cup victory and suffered the pain of the back-to-back loses against Montreal in 2009 and 2010.
“Tonight erases all those bad times,” said Hughes. “This is the icing on the cake. It’s a dream come true for me and a lot of the guys from here. This something I will remember for ever.”
Hughes laughed when asked about Simon winning a Grey Cup in his first year with the Riders.
“The pieces were all in place this year for us,” he said. “We came out tonight and played a great team football game. We are champs.”
Hughes always understood his role with the Riders. For Simon, this year was a learning experience.
The former CFL most outstanding player went from being The Man during his 12 years with the Lions to being the guy quarterback Darian Durant might throw to. It wasn’t always an easy transition for the CFL’s all-time leader with 1,029 receptions for 16,352 yards.
Simon, who previously won Grey Cups in 2006 and 2011 with B.C., finished the season with 40 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns. It was his least productive year in a decade.
Any bad taste Simon had in his mouth was washed away by the taste of victory champagne.
“It shows I can make plays when I have the opportunity,” Simon said. “Age means nothing.
“I can still play football. I’m still one of the best receivers out there. They can talk about that age stuff all they want, but when it comes down to it I still make plays.”
