She said
Yes, yes it does.
The way I see it, there are two types of Saskatchewan people: Rider fans, and not Rider fans.
Rider fans love the team year round, spend copious amounts of time discussing plays and players, and own excessive amounts of green clothing. They idolize the Riders and if given the choice between saving Ken Miller or their grandmas from a psychotic robot monster, they'd likely take one for the team (pun intended) and save Mr. Miller from a mechanical demise.
Well, I may exaggerate a bit, but a lot of Rider fans are ridiculously hardcore. Thinking back to the Riderville competition last summer, didn't one of the communities paint an entire street green? That's intense.
Non-fans are those who simply don't care, and also bandwagon jumpers like myself. CFL (and football in general) just isn't my thing, but toward the end of playoffs I can rally a bit of support for the local team and get in on the celebrating. The Grey Cup kind of turns into St. Patrick's Day for every non-Irish person out there who wants to enjoy some green beer and throw a sick party. I'm hardly a true, loyal-to-the-end fan, though, and don't deserve to be considered among the hoard of crazies.
The division between fans and non-fans always seems to come out in social events, making it super obvious that we are a province defined by our favourite pasttime. Getting to know people during orientation/welcome week at university, one of the first questions I was asked by a student was whether or not I like football and the Riders. And I lied and faked a bit of interest, because no one wants to be written off as a non-supporter. It's practically blasphemy to suggest that the Riders may not be the top priority during the summer months.
I'm not complaining, as I can't say I've ever been discriminated against for being a Rider bandwagon jumper. We might be a province defined by our majority's crazy love for football, but we're also fairly accepting and willing to let fake fans like me enjoy the team's successes. Though if I said I was a Stamps fan, maybe I'd get a less positive reception? Eh, I'm not going to test that theory out.
He said
Having only lived in the province for nine months, and being an Argos fan-you can submit your derisive verbal hurls in the comment section on the Mercury website-I can say with absolute certainty that there is little about the Prairies that shapes the livelihoods of Saskatchewan people quite like the Roughriders.
Take this year's EBEX Awards that were hosted at Spectra Place for example. The original date had to be moved to the following day because the Riders' home opener conflicted with the planned date.
Rider pride shows Saskatchewan's commitment to what is homegrown. I've seen so many cases where people love to hate the home team.
Perhaps Canada's most well-known and successful golfer, Mike Weir, has fallen off the professional golf radar and for the first time in either of our lives, I am making more money than Weir.
I've heard people say he was never that good, he got lucky and won one tournament (The Masters), and then rode that success for the rest of his career. This is a guy who not only won The Masters but earned almost $27 million in his career so far. I'd say that's a successful career.
While the best way to describe Argos' fans is apathetic, Rider fans are nothing if not enthusiastic. There is no such thing as an inferiority complex for Rider fans. Fans do take a lot of pride in their football team.
Rider fans are an interesting breed. Lots of die-hard sports fans would do a lot for their team. Rider fans would do more. Rather than hating the home team, people in Saskatchewan love and demand a lot from their Riders. It's tough love, but it's love.
The Roughriders started the 2011 season 1-7. A receiver comes back into town to don the emerald jersey, the team goes on a two-game winning streak and Rider fans are back expecting a playoff run. Who cares that the Riders are still winless inside the division. A lot of fans would have checked out for the season. I know I have with the Argos. There's always 2012 for them.
I really do admire the dedication you Rider fans have for your team, but not so much that I'm going to jump off the Argonauts' ship. Look, I'll cheer for the Riders when they aren't playing Toronto. I just won't wear anything green.
