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The Rider Store at Mosaic Stadium was wall-to-wall with green and white Friday, as fans of all ages stocked up on gear ahead of the annual Labour Day Classic.
For many, it’s as much a tradition as the game itself. Chuck Anderson, who made the nine-hour drive from Whitecourt, Alta., said he couldn’t leave without filling a bag.
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Rider fan Chuck Anderson, left, and family leave the Rider Store at Mosaic Stadium with bags of green and white ahead of the Labour Day Classic. (Jacob Bamhour 980 CJME)
“Hats, shirts, squishy melons, I guess, jerseys, jerseys,” Anderson laughed, holding up his haul. A Rider fan “since birth,” he’s been coming to Labour Day games for decades and says the atmosphere is unmatched.
While Anderson represents the old guard of Rider Nation, others were experiencing their first taste of the sea of green. Joel Dunning travelled from Calgary with his mom and extended family to finally watch his team in person.
First-time fan Joel Dunning from Calgary sports a new Rider hoodie and hat outside the Rider Store. (Jacob Bamhour 980 CJME)
“I got a hooded blanket. Yeah, it was really cozy. I got a new hat. I got a lot of other stuff,” he said, clutching his new gear.
Dunning admitted he’s most excited to join the tradition of putting a watermelon on his head in the stands.
The Rider store lineup reflected just how many different kinds of fans were converging on Mosaic Stadium. Some have been season ticket holders for years, while others are newcomers who grew up in Rider households from afar.
Rider fan Brian Gammon shows off his new loud cup and jersey outside the Rider Store at Mosaic Stadium. (Jacob Bamhour 980 CJME)
Brian Gammon, originally from Nova Scotia, became a die-hard fan after moving to Saskatchewan in 2017. He hasn’t missed a Labour Day Classic since.
“This year I got a new jersey… and I got a loud cup with a horn,” Gammon said, adding that he plans to get the jersey customized with AJ Ouellett’s name once the game is over. Gammon said he’s eager to see the Riders “kick Bomber butts,” and then carry that momentum into the Banjo Bowl next weekend.
For all three fans, Friday’s stop at the Rider Store wasn’t just about shopping; it was about preparing for one of the biggest football weekends of the year in Saskatchewan.
The annual showdown against Winnipeg has sold out again, drawing tens of thousands to Mosaic Stadium and countless more to televisions across the Prairies. The Classic is a fixture on the CFL calendar, and Rider Nation’s loyalty shows up in everything from watermelon helmets to long drives across provincial borders.
As Anderson put it best, the game is about more than football; its about community tradition and a love for Green and White that never fades.
Kickoff between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers goes Sunday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina at 5 p.m.
Bushwakker Brewpub bar and marketing manager Grant Frew enjoys the friendly battle of burgers during the Labour Day Classic. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)
Buskwakker serving up rivalry
One Regina restaurant is grilling up hundreds of burgers leading up to the Labour Day Classic.
For over 30 years, Bushwakker Brewpub hosts a friendly battle of burgers — one Riders themed and the other Bombers themed.
“What we found was that the best selling burger quite often was lining up with which team won the Labour Day Classic,” said Grant Frew, the bar and marketing manager at the restaurant. “That’s just a fun little superstition.”
The chefs at the restaurant each create a new burger for each team every year.
For the three days leading up to the big game, Frew said the restaurant posts on social media how many burgers from each team are eaten.
The Bomber burger, pictured, has bison and chuck beef topped with bacon and chunky blue cheese. Customer (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)
This year’s Green and White burger has wild boar, Italian sausage and chuck beef in its patty, topped with charred green chili relish.
The Bomber burger has bison and chuck beef topped with bacon and chunky blue cheese.
“I’m a Rider fan,” said Frew. “No doubt about it, but I do like my blue cheese. It’s divided loyalty.”
– with files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie
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