Saskatchewan Roughriders fans will be attempting to throw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers off their game on Sunday at Mosaic Stadium.
Photograph by: Todd Korol, Reuters files
REGINA — Saskatchewan Roughriders guard Marc Parenteau is well aware that abusing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is a big part of the Labour Day Classic for fans who sit in the east-side stands at Mosaic Stadium.
In fact, he'd tell you it's the name of the game.
"You're talking about young kids using special words that would be rated R in a movie theatre behind you and they incorporate that into your name," recalls Parenteau, who played for Winnipeg in the 2006 Classic. "Let's just say that 'Parent' was hyphenated with another word and then 'eau.' It was classy."
The 2010 edition of the Blue Bombers no doubt will hear some colourful language Sunday when it visits Mosaic Stadium. Former Bombers who now toil for the Roughriders are happy to be on the other side of the matchup — and the other side of the field.
"On that side of the field, the fans are all green; there's not a lot of blue and gold," says Saskatchewan backup quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie, who first experienced Labour Day as a Bomber in 2006. "There's definitely some heckling.
"You'll hear some random things that make you laugh a little bit, but there are some things that might hurt some guys' feelings. It's all in good fun."
"There's a lot of jibberish," adds Parenteau. "People seem to be intoxicated. I'm pretty sure that day we lost, so it wasn't that bad. It seems like if you're winning, they take it out on you. If you're losing, they give you a break."
But not much of one.
Luckily for Doug Berry, he got to use a headset as a buffer. Besides, the former Winnipeg head coach noted, he has the ability to tune out the fans who try to throw him off his game.
"I'd hear something every now and then, but it was like, 'Forget about it. You can't get involved with it,' " says Berry, who's now the Roughriders' offensive co-ordinator.
"I'd hear something every now and then, but it was like, 'Forget about it. You can't get involved with it,' " says Berry, who's now the Roughriders' offensive co-ordinator.
"For the fans, they're just looking for somebody who will bite. It's like throwing the bait out for the fish: Which one is going to bite? If you can find a player or a coach who will bite, you've got'em. They're out of the game."
Dan Goodspeed was forewarned about the fans before making his first trip to Regina in 2005, so the former NFLer felt prepared.
He wasn't.
"People said, 'Get ready for this. You're going to see some things that you've never seen before: People with watermelons on their heads, guys with spikes and shoulder pads,' " recalls the Roughriders' right tackle, who played four seasons with Winnipeg. "I said, 'Like the fans of the (Oakland) Raiders do?' They said, 'Yeah, but worse.'
"It was more than what I was led to believe was going to happen. That bench is definitely a bad place to be."
The city as a whole can be rather, uh, unpleasant for the Bombers and their fans during the weekend. For many years, the anti-Winnipeg sentiment — along with the prevalent party atmosphere — prompted the Bombers to stay in Moose Jaw until game day.
"When I got to Moose Jaw, I thought it was Regina, to be honest," Parenteau says. "I had never been to Regina. I was like, 'This is Regina? It's tiny!' Someone said, 'No, we're in Moose Jaw.' I said, 'Where's Moose Jaw?' They said, 'It's about a half-hour away because it's too crazy to go in town and sleep there.' "
"When we got in here the next day, it was just a zoo. That's the best way to describe it. There were barbecues everywhere, there was more tailgating than usual and I think people were spiking their beverages for some reason. It was crazy in here."
But the zany goings-on also help make Labour Day a true football experience.
Goodspeed says the intensity of the Bombers-Roughriders rivalry reminds him of the annual disagreements his college team, the Kent State Golden Flashes, had with the Akron Zips. That kind of hatred, he says, was missing during his time in the NFL.
For Dinwiddie, the Classic helped create an internal tug of war for him.
"You're supposed to hate Saskatchewan, but being a 'Pegger, you kind of respect them for the crowd and the way the crowd gets involved," Dinwiddie says. "The way the players feed off the emotion, you can tell it's a special place here — even though you're on the other side. I'm just glad to be here and glad to be a part of it."
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