EVEN SANTA IS A RIDER FAN !!

Riders quarterback Darian Durant chats with fans and media at Calgary airport on Tuesday.
Photograph by: Ted Jacob, Calgary Herald

Debbie Davis bundled five-year-old daughter Imani and 11-month-old son Eddie III into the car for a trip to Southcentre Mall on Monday to visit Santa Claus.

After Santa had asked Imani what she’d be thrilled to see underneath the tree come Christmas morn, that right jolly old elf threw her a sinking curveball lefty Steve Carlton would’ve been proud of.
“Don’t you have two words to say to Santa?’’ he asked kindly.
Imani was understandably bewildered.

“Merry Christmas?’’ the little girl replied, hopefully.

Santa gave out with one of his trademark little-round-belly-that-shook-when-he-laughed-like-a-bowlful-of-jelly guffaws.

His eyes crinkled. He shook his head, no.
“Go Riders.’’

Yes, apparently even Kris Kringle, Pere Noel, Father Christmas, The Big Man armed with the sack and those boss reindeer himself will be decked out in green this weekend. Why, up at the North Pole, watching on a 60-inch LCD TV, Mrs. Claus might even be wearing a watermelon on her head.

“Isn’t that wild?’’ laughed Calgary resident Eddie Davis, Imani’s dad and the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ inspirational grand old man of the defensive backfield. “I mean, I knew we had a lot of fans here, but . . . ’’
Serenaded into the baggage area at Calgary International Airport on Tuesday by the oom-pah-pah of the Bishop Grandin Ghosts High School marching band, the Riders touched down in Calgary to begin final prep work for the 97th Grey Cup game at McMosaic (It Used to be McMahon) Stadium.

Interestingly, the invading Montreal Alouettes didn’t pull into town until around 11 o’clock Tuesday night, under the cover of darkness. The Riders, in direct contrast, basked in the attention of a 3:25 arrival, signing Fantuz jerseys, chatting with fans and making sure every media hobgoblin left satisfied.

“Our team,’’ said coach Ken Miller, “has been really good about handling distractions.’’

Hey, they’d be crazy not to play this home-field advantage to the hilt.

In most betting parlours across this country, you’d get shorter odds on chatterbox Stevie Baggs swearing a vow of silence this week than the Riders slaying the mighty Als come Sunday, but the pride of the wheat province hardly were acting the walking dead Monday, preparing to mount the inevitable steps to the gallows. They looked awfully chipper for a gang of condemned men.

“We’re the underdogs?’’ said Baggs, grinning broadly. “That’s OK. We’re fine with that. We were 10-7-1, they were 15-3. They’ve been in seven Grey Cups in how many years? They should be favoured.
“But, yes, it is going to be green on Sunday. When we play here it always looks like a Christmas tree in the stands. There might be a little Montreal red to add to the festive atmosphere, but it’s going to be predominantly green. Just the way we like it.’’

“Ooooh, Stevie, how about a picture?’’ squealed a female Rider fan, brandishing a digital camera.

As Baggs prepared to flash the chicklets for a Kodak moment, teammate Mike McCullough, having picked up his luggage, fired a sarcastic jibe while heading to the automatic airport doors.

“Sorry. Don’t you know? Stevie doesn’t like to pose for pictures.’’

Slinging an arm over the lady’s shoulders, Baggs, ever the extravagant extrovert, tossed off a playful retort.
“If you looked this good, you’d pose too, Mike.’’

In football terms, it’s the Als looking that good. By some, virtually unbeatable. They scored the most points in the league (600) and surrendered the fewest (324). They took out the Riders twice, by scores of 34-25 and 43-10 and after defiling the B.C. Lions in the East final last Sunday left the doubters babbling aimlessly.

“They’re obviously a great team,’’ repeated Davis, the five-year Stampeder. “What more can anyone say about Anthony Calvillo? He has a tremendous group of receivers to throw to, they run the ball well and that defence has shut down almost every team they’ve faced. It’s a tall order. But we’re going to be well prepared, motivated and we’ll see what happens.

“This is quite an opportunity for us, to be able to win two Grey Cups in three years. When you think of the players who’ve worn the Rider jersey, the Lancasters and George Reeds, the legends, and how passionate the people in the entire province are about the team, that’s something we as a team don’t take lightly.’’
Saskatoon boy Gene Makowsky, who doesn’t need indoctrinating into the Green-And-White lore, promised the Riders would not go quietly.

“We didn’t struggle through 18 games and a Western final just to get a trip here,’’ he said genially. “We’re going to have a lot of support this weekend. I’ll bet there aren’t too many empty seats on the flights between Regina and Calgary through the weekend.’’

“Maybe most people don’t think we have chance. But we’ll show up. We’ll come up with something.’’
From now through Sunday, Calgary has clearly become an honorary township of the province of Saskatchewan. In the absence of the Stampeders, the Riders and their ribald fans are the ones who’ll turn this

Grey Cup into a happening. They’re the story, the party, now.

Already, the newly crowned West champions have redecorated the Calgary locker-room to fit their green-hued tastes (“I had it happen to me here in 2000, when B.C. did it to us,’’ sighed Davis. “I feel a bit for those guys. It’s not a good feeling”).

Actually, the Riders quite like the sight of the place, going 1-0-1 here this year against Huff’s Horsemen.
Come Sunday, they’re aiming to parlay the unexpected, the odds and a torrent of green support into an upset for the ages.

“We’re very comfortable in this stadium,’’ agreed quarterback Darian Durant, as the players hustled out into the late afternoon to board the team bus.

“We’ve enjoyed success as a team here and there obviously are a lot of Saskatchewan fans here.’’
Including one Santa Claus.

“Having the crowd on your side, and loud, can make a huge difference.

“If the game couldn’t be played in Regina, I’d have to say this is the next best thing.’’

gjohnson@theherald.canwest.com