It's Sunday morning, and I'm sitting at Carpenter's Inn, Wawota. I'm sipping on the coffee and writing articles. Across at another table, a group of people are discussing the Rider game that took place in Regina yesterday. I heard one person say they switched off the TV when the BC Lions got too far ahead. I'm keeping out of the conversation, but I was actually at that game, and for once I am going to write a column about sport.
I am the first to admit that I am not a sportsman. When I was a young kid, my dad tried to get me into football - the real football (soccer) which is a Scottish invention. In his youth, my dad played for the town's club, he was scouted for a place in the professional league, but an injury forced him out of the game. He was passionate about football, and everyone assumed his son would be too. I hated it, and obviously disliked dad's attempts to instil a love of the game in me. Since then I have never taken to any sport in a serious way, either as a player or spectator.
However, like anyone else, when I'm offered something for free I generally take it. So when my wife won tickets to the game and didn't want to go, I stepped up to the plate to take my teenage daughter, and a lad from her class at school, to the game. So into the Mustang we went, down came the roof to reveal the blue sky, and we were off to Regina.
This was my second Rider game. We went to Mosaic Stadium a few years ago to watch them play, and that game had not left a good impression on me. On that occasion the Rider fans had loudly booed every time the opposing team had the ball. They had also thrown things onto the field, and I had been left with the impression that Rider Nation was not a friendly place to visit. I was hoping I would see something different this time. On the way to Regina, I was told they were playing BC Lions. "Great" I thought, for that was the team I had watched them play two years ago. Was it going to be a repeat performance of poor sportsmanship?
As it turned out, the Rider fans behaved well and exonerated themselves. However, I was still left with mixed feelings. Let me share them in order to give an outsider's, European perspective to a Canadian game. On the positive side, it is a fantastic experience to go to Mosaic Stadium. The atmosphere really is fun. I get a kick out of the way some of the fans are dressed. I saw one guy wearing a green dress, with large green wings on his back! My daughter threatened to paint my bald head green, but I decided to pass on that offer.
On the negative side, I just cannot understand the appeal of Canadian football. Sorry sports fans, but I can't help but compare it with soccer. Back home, each half of the game is a constant hive of activity, and the players do not let up on the action. But here, the action sometimes lasts a little over 30 seconds before everything stops. Then the players get a rest, and seem to chat about what just happened. It took a long time (real time) for the game to log two 15-minute quarters (playing time), and that was enough for my attention to wander to other things, like sending messages on facebook and watching the cheerleaders!
Aha, maybe that's the real reason for having the cheerleaders - to give people something to look at when they get bored with the slowness of the game! Yes, someone was thinking on that one. Good lord I even saw some male cheerleaders out there, just so the ladies in the crowd don't get left out. But seriously, if a sport needs distractions for the spectators (such as photos of attendees on the big screen, throwing balls into the crowd, Gainer, and... cheerleaders) perhaps it is time to revise the rules of that game.
Oh please do not get me wrong, dear Rider fans. Enjoy your game and have your passion, but the game itself is not for everyone. However, I did catch a hint of excitement when a BC player got the ball at one end of the field, and ran all the way to the other end. Nobody could catch the guy, and while Rider fans were silent, I applauded for the player's burst of athleticism. That was an exciting moment, and if the entire game was like that, perhaps I could get into watching Canadian football, but sadly it is not all like that.
Anyway, it was a fun day. The fans were great, the atmosphere was awesome, and it was well worth going to just to experience it all. Would I go again? Yes. And maybe that is the real point, it is not just the game, it is the experience. We put up with the countless pauses in the action, to enjoy the surroundings, drink the beer, watch the big screens, take in the views of the city, or even watch... the cheerleaders!
Rider Nation is about companionship, it is about belonging, it goes beyond the actual game itself. It is almost as if the actual game is only an excuse to congregate together around a common interest. Yes, I would go again, I might even wear the green, but... I am not painting my baldy bonce!
