RIDER PRIDE

Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back Eddie Davis celebrates as the Riders defeat the Calgary Stampeders 27-17 in Sunday's CFL West Final

Photograph by: Reuters, The StarPhoenix

There were no grass stains or nasty welts decorating George Reed as he stood in the Saskatchewan Roughriders' locker-room Sunday night, quietly watching the bedlam around him.

But Reed once had the run of the place. He absorbed a lot of pain on the storied patch of field just a 30-second walk from the crowded, noisy room where he now stood -- where players less than half his age celebrated the way he and Ron Lancaster did so many decades ago.

The Roughriders, 27-17 winners over Calgary on Sunday, are off to their second Grey Cup in three years . . . and the 70-year-old Reed looked both serene and proud.

"The guys have a lot of the feeling we had back then -- playing for one another and caring for one another," Reed said. "When you have that type of feeling, you'll overcome obstacles. That's what they've done all year, and it's very close to the way our team was back in the '70s.

"It's great to see the fans coming out and all the green in the stands. The way the football team has responded . . . they were supposed to finish fourth this year, not first. This is the greatest feeling I've had since I was playing."

Saskatchewan's West Division victory gave fans that old-time religion that's lingered in memories since the glory years of the 1960s and 1970s.

There was a vintage feel to this team -- from the wheat-sheafed helmets once sported by Reed, Lancaster and Co., to Sunday's final result, to the ultimate destination.

Grey Cup appearances, a regular phenomenon in Saskatchewan during those glittery years in the 1960s and 1970s, have nudged their way back into the local culture.

Two Grey Cup showings in three years -- the last time that happened was 1966 through '69, when they appeared in three of four -- has stirred up a long-dormant atmosphere.

"It's a winning atmosphere," said veteran Roughriders' cornerback Omarr Morgan. "We expect to win every game we play now, and I don't know if we felt that way six or seven years ago. I don't know if we expected to win every game. But every time we go out there now, regardless of who we play, whatever's stacked up against us -- injuries or shuffling quarterbacks or players -- we still expect to win."

That newfound culture is still very young, but growing toward maturity. It started with 2007's stunning Grey Cup title, moved into last season's injury-riddled 12-6 campaign and continues with the team's first top-of-the-division finish since 1976, and another trek to the Grey Cup.

Fans, players and coaches are starting to expect these results, as opposed to the bad old years, when they often looked more like a cringing dog ducking blows.

"I think this franchise is kind of getting used to winning, kind of getting spoiled, which is good," Morgan said with a grin.

"You want to be the best every time you get out there, and if our fans want to us to be the best and want to get used to it, so be it. That's a good thing."

The Roughriders enter Sunday's Grey Cup in Calgary as definite underdogs to the Montreal Alouettes, but based on what they've done the last three years when things looked impossible, you can't discount their chances.

Should Montreal win? Sure. They were 15-3 in the regular season, and completely dominated the B.C. Lions during Sunday's 56-18 victory.

But there's no just-happy-to-be-here sense surrounding the Roughriders, like when they got to the 1997 Grey Cup despite an 8-10 regular season.

Fans expect more now. So do players, coaches and front-office personnel. You could sense that prodding in the third quarter Sunday. The Roughriders -- inexplicably outscored 120-51 in that frame during the regular season -- took control of the game at a point where they've stumbled so many times before. They willed themselves to win, turning a 10-10 halftime tie into a 24-11 lead heading into the final quarter. Those 15 third-quarter minutes defined these new Roughriders, who are starting to look like those old Roughriders.
Granted, Saskatchewan seldom won the Grey Cup, even when they flirted with it audaciously, but the expectation and the pride was always there.

Veteran offensive lineman Gene Makowsky, who grew up in Saskatchewan, says his earliest football memories date back to the dark days of the late 1970s.

"I only read about (the Lancaster/Reed years)," said the 36-year-old Makowsky.

"But our older fans still look back at that era; it brought them in and was the foundation for the great fan base we have now. Those guys set the standard. We had a pretty good lull for a couple of decades, but hopefully we can keep this going."

kmitchell@sp.canwest.com
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