‘We’re not done’: Riders fans touch down in Winnipeg

There’s a job to be done this weekend, and Saskatchewan fans are more than ready to bring the Grey Cup home for the first time in more than a decade.

Decked out in team merch, fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders excitedly disembarked from flights on Friday morning, looking forward to a weekend of frivolity and team celebrations.

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Chris Bryant from Regina bought his tickets to the game back in August, before anyone knew for sure that the Riders would be playing on Grey Cup Sunday.

“For once in my life, I planned ahead … obviously knowing and hoping this would happen,” Bryant said at the Winnipeg airport.

A Riders fan as long as he can remember, Bryant has held season tickets since 2013, the last time the Riders clinched a Grey Cup title. He wasn’t at Mosaic for that championship win, though.

“We thought it would be too cold,” he lamented of his 18-year-old decision. “It was the biggest mistake of my life.”

He’s hoping to see the Riders repeat that history on Sunday, with him in the stands this time. Bryant says he “cried like a baby” from the Mosaic Stadium stands when the final whistle blew and the Riders had eked out their Western Final win last weekend.

“I think the thing about the Riders that’s so special is they push through no matter what. I think they’re a team that can push through in uncertain circumstances, and that’s what Grey Cups are,” he said.

Like most fans, Bryant is urging consistency for the team: “Just do what you know best and you’ll get there.”

Self-described Roughriders “WAGs” (wives and girlfriends) Julia Talman, Hannah soon-to-be Washington and Samantha Kimbio (left to right) in the Winnipeg airport after arriving on a Friday morning flight from Regina. (Libby Gray/980 CJME)

Also aboard Friday morning’s direct flight from Saskatoon to Regina were several significant others of Roughriders.

Self-described “WAGs” (wives and girlfriends) Julia Talman, who is engaged to the Roughriders’ Braydon Noll; Samantha Kimbio, who is dating Payton Collins; and Darius Washington’s fiancée Hannah, were thrilled to be in Winnipeg supporting their partners this weekend.

Kimbio says the Riders fan community is electric and one of the best they’ve known. They’re excited to see Princess Auto Stadium flooded in green.

“The community is awesome,” Kimbio said. “All love, all the time, and they light up the stadium.”

“It’s crazy coming here, the fans pack out the stadium,” Hannah affirmed. Originally from Florida, she said the first time she experienced Rider Nation she knew “this isn’t Florida anymore.”

The flight from Regina was full of Rider green and packed with fans, Talman noted.

The women shared that the team is “laser-focused” on this Grey Cup win, with head coach Corey Mace making sure to focus the team on the upcoming game and not resting on its laurels.

From people working on the sidelines and on the injured list to those on the starting line, every member of the franchise is locked in on Sunday’s game.

“We’re not done,” Hannah said.

“It’s a whole team effort, they all did their parts and I’m super proud of them all,” Kimbia added. “Just don’t stop. It’s really something to be proud of.”

Talman had her flights booked even before the team’s victory over the B.C. Lions, saying she just “had a feeling.”

“We see how hard they work all year, literally to get to this moment,” she shared. “Everyone’s just so excited … couldn’t be happier.”

While in Winnipeg, Bryant hopes to check out local Winnipeg hotspots like The Forks and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, as well as the customary stop in Riderville, set up with the other team pavilions at the RBC Convention Centre in downtown Winnipeg.

“Grey Cup addicts,” Jennie Aldworth and Donna McColl from Regina, are also Riderville-bound during their Winnipeg visit.

The two friends have travelled to an estimated 30 Grey Cup festivals, sometimes taking in the games, but always showing up for the celebrations.

From left: Sandra Schatz, Kelly Cruise, Lorne Schatz and Lisa Todd enjoy the Grey Cup Arrival Social at the Winnipeg airport after arriving on Friday morning. (Libby Gray/980 CJME)

The two were enjoying a 10 a.m. beverage at the airport cafe after their early-morning flight, jokingly asking if it was too early to order anything with alcohol before settling on some local brews to start their time in Winnipeg.

“There’s grey cupping and then there’s [the] Grey Cup,” Aldworth shared, describing their yearly antics as the former, always, and occasionally the latter. Comparing it to being “bonspielers,” Aldworth and McColl said their accommodations for next year’s Grey Cup in Calgary are already booked.

“We are not oddities,” McColl chuckled, describing the strong community and frequent familiar faces the two see at the Grey Cup festivities, year after year.

Jennie Aldworth (left) and Donna McColl enjoy a morning beverage at Stella’s at the Winnipeg airport, gearing up for a day of festivities. (Libby Gray/980 CJME)

Highlights of each year include attending Riderville, and this year they hope to see the Riders hoist the cup.

“It’s been a few years since we [Saskatchewan] celebrated, so it’s time again,” Aldworth said, noting how much this event brings people in the province together, even across provincial borders.

With the added bonus of the Riders in the big game this year, the two friends are excited to also be going to the game on Sunday.

“Go Riders, play your game!” McColl cheered.

Fan Sheldon Jones came to Winnipeg extra early for the big game, arriving in the city on Wednesday.

This is his third year in a row going to the game, first starting in 2023. It’s a tradition he plans to keep up for years to come, “regardless of what teams are in.”

His commitment is thanks to the friendships he’s made, with Jones considering he and his wife to be part of the “CFL family.”

“It’s just a group of fans who just love the game. I think, maybe even a little bit more than the teams that they root for themselves,” he said while describing that football family.

Jones has been a Riders fan since he was born, going to his first game when he was aged six months. He estimates that in his whole life he’s only missed a handful of games.

His dedication to Canadian football, and the team, runs so deep that Jones is even a co-host on the 2 and Out CFL Podcast.

When asked why he’s remained such a loyal fan, Jones said that Saskatchewan’s team, is “a community-owned team. So it just feels like you’re more a party of the family, I guess, as opposed to some of the other teams,” which he said can feel “more corporate.”

Even with all the years of Riders fandom under his belt, Jones hasn’t developed too many superstitions along the way.

He works as the manager at the Dairy Queen across from Mosaic Stadium, so when he’s not in Winnipeg, he makes sure to put out the “green cutting boards and green knives. Aside from that, and the occasional unwashed jersey, he said that’s pretty much the extent of it.

Reflecting on this weekend’s Grey Cup game, what Jones said he’s most looking forward to is just getting to see the Riders play.

Some Grey Cup tickets still available

For Riders fans still wanting to get to the Grey Cup, there’s plenty of tickets available — so long as you’re willing to befriend a Blue Bombers fan.

Eric Pederson is a diehard supporter of the Winnipeg team and while on the CKOM Morning Show, he joked with Mark Loshack that of the 32,500 seats in the Princess Auto Stadium, 31,500 are on sale.

“I would say everybody I know is selling their tickets,” he said.

That includes Pederson, who said having to watch the game as a Blue Bombers fan would be like having your wife leave you for another man.

“You have to live with it, but it doesn’t mean you want to pay $300 to watch them consummate the marriage. And that’s what this is coming down to for a lot of Bomber fans,” he said.

Unfortunately for Pederson, with so many tickets up for grabs, there’s a chance he won’t be able to sell his. If that’s the case he’ll be in the stadium, “hate-watching the game” and rooting for the Montreal Alouettes.

“I’ve got a shrine going right now for (Alouettes quarterback) Davis Alexander’s hamstring. So yes, I will absolutely be cheering for Montreal,” he said.

But, with the potential of having to watch his “arch enemy” play on home turf, Pederson said he’ll need a little help to get through the weekend.

“This will probably be the last time I’m sober till at least Monday afternoon. I’m gonna hit the bar like I’m Cody Fajardo in the West Final,” he told Loshack.

Jokes and “sour grapes” aside, Pederson said Winnipeg will be “hospitable” to Riders fans.

He wished the team luck, adding that he hopes everyone comes to the game, has fun, “and (someone) buys my tickets.”

— with files from 650 CKOM’s Marija Robinson

Read more: 

• Rider fans set for smooth drive to Grey Cup in Winnipeg with ideal weather conditions
• Former Grey Cup champ Kerry Joseph offers words of wisdom for Trevor Harris and team
• Missouri-based Rider fan plans to drive to Winnipeg for his 29th Grey Cup