Well fellow Roughrider fans our team not only broke Cinderella’s glass slipper on Sunday, they jumped up and down on it until it was little more than glass dust.
Now, I readily admit that had someone said in June the Roughriders would host the western finals but lose, I would have at first disbelieved and then happily have agreed that would be a great 2019 season.
However, expectations change over the course of a season.
The ‘Riders went into the season with questions at quarterback and that meant low expectations.
Cody Fajardo emerging as one of the league’s best pivots changed those expectations, to something far greater. When they topped the west earning the home playoff game for the Western Final I admit I was dreaming of a Grey Cup berth.
To be fair, I don’t think the Winnipeg Blue Bombers or Saskatchewan would have had a sniff of a chance against Hamilton unless it’s minus-30 to take the combo of Bralon Addison and Brandon Banks out of the equation.
Still, I wanted, and had grown to expect the Roughriders to be there.
Of course, our green and white are infamous for finding dramatic ways to lose big games.
There was Tony Gabriel hobbling off the line to catch a touchdown from Tom Clements on Nov. 28, 1976, to give the Ottawa Rough Riders a 23-20 victory over the Roughriders at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
Then there was kicker Paul McCallum missing a field goal attempt in overtime during the Western Final with the BC Lions in Vancouver in 2004. The Lions won on a field goal.
And, of course there was the 13th man fiasco when the ‘Riders met the Montreal Alouettes in the 2009 Grey Cup. The penalty giving the Al’s a second chance to kick a missed field goal, which they of course did to beat us.
Now we can add the 2019 Western Final woes to the list. I’m not sure which will be most remembered as abject failure this time; the general inability to score a touchdown, the botched third and two hand-off from Bryan Bennett to apparently the ghost of the 13th man since no one else was ready for it, or the desperation third down pass off the goal crossbar as time ran out. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, the ‘Riders had chances and couldn’t get it done.
We could credit Winnipeg’s defence but no true ‘Rider fan can say anything good about our nemesis.
We could remind that Fajardo was hurt but that never cuts it. If he plays he should be able to make the plays. And, for much of the game he did make plays tossing for 366 yards. He just couldn’t get the team in the end zone.
So, it comes down to poor execution, and questionable play calling. The first half of that is on the players, the play calling squarely on the coaches.
It was a memorable game, but as is too often the case, for the wrong reasons. The ‘Riders lose in epic ways.
As for the Grey Cup, the TiCats get their first one since 1999.
On a more positive note for Saskatchewan sports fans the Rush start the 2019-20 National Lacrosse League season Nov. 29, in Colorado.
