I’ve been struggling all week with this, folks. I’m hoping that one of you can clarify something for me. As a former CFL pro turned Colour Commentator/Analyst, I’m getting the uncomfortable feeling that I’m the only one outside the locker room who feels good about the chances of the Riders going 1-0 this week in British Columbia.
The narratives flying around are weird. I literally asked myself twice this week, “Am I looking at this week through green-coloured goggles like a watermelon-wearing, Pilsner-slugging, 50yr season ticket holder? Or am I simply seeing the upcoming BC Lions battle differently because of my vantage point?
Now look, I think Rick Campbell and the players in that locker room are solid, but what is it about the Leos that has all of Saskatchewan’s fans and CFL MEDIA so scared??? #BoogeyMan
Like many of you, I watched the Lions destroy the Hamilton TiCats last week…BUT WHO HASN’T? And by the way, Hamilton made an unbelievable amount of defensive mistakes in the first half of that blowout last week.
I don’t want to take anything away from the Lions. They capitalized on a bad team making crazy mistakes. That’s what good teams do. They execute and play with great effort.
But I’m flabbergasted by some of the questions I’ve been getting this week.
“Soooo…do you think we can keep it close?”
Huh? Have we not been watching this defensive unit as of late?
“Luc…do we have a chance AT ALL?”
What? Have you not seen how this team plays in the 2nd half of games?
“I dunno Luc. I don’t feel good about this!”
Wait…THIS IS THE SAME VERNON ADAMS THAT THREW 6 INTs AGAINST A COREY MACE DEFENSE LAST YR, RIGHT??? Does nobody feel a tad comfortable that Mace may have a bit of a clue about how to defend this quarterback?
Like- we do understand that this is the Lions team that lost to the same team the Riders beat last week, right? Other than that, they’ve beaten Calgary- meh, Winnipeg- who looks a step behind, and Edmonton twice- WEELPP #ChrisJonesVoice
This isn’t a bulletin board material moment. Former players in the media shouldn’t be a distraction…I’m simply asking why everyone in Saskatchewan seems to be petrified about this game and why the media seems NOT to want to give the Green and White any type of credit.
Has Ridernation become so used to losing that we’re not comfortable winning anymore?
WAIT!!! Are we back to the days of 2007-2014, when it was cool for the whole league to hate on Saskatchewan??? That’d be kinda cool tbh!
Again, I’m not saying the Lions are junk. They are one of the top 3 teams in the CFL right now! But I’ve watched the same games you have. They’re a very disciplined football club that doesn’t make a ton of mistakes and will hurt you if you make mistakes against them.
What the Lions are not are the New England Patriots in their prime, with Belichek wearing a torn-up hoodie.
The Lions are not a team that should make everyone around here forget about all of the positive things the Riders have put on film as of late.
The Lions should not make you forget the buy-in created in the Rider locker room. Coach Mace has been Austin-Esque in his approach, and that’s not high praise. It’s how I feel, having been in an Austin locker room and being around a Mace-led club.
Again. I feel like I’m an outlier at the moment. I’m not ego-driven, but I don’t think I’ve made it a habit of giving bad takes when it comes to the on-field performance of the Riders from game to game for the last seven years. This is the first time I’ve questioned whether I’ve been watching the same film everyone else has. These two teams match up really well. This isn’t a David and Goliath moment.
I guess we’ll find out on Saturday. This has the makings of an absolute classic, but sadly, someone’s going to lose. And when one team does lose…it does not cast them into the “pretender” category.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are 4-0, playing some of the best team football we’ve seen in a while. FOUR WINS. ZERO LOSSES. That’s a good thing, guys, and being onboard is okay. You might even have some fun! I can’t imagine how terrible it would be to watch a game hoping to yell, “I TOLD YA SO. WE’RE LOSERS!”
Cheers to the fellas going 1-0 this week!
-95, OUT.