Roughriders

This arrived in my mailbox this morning…

Q. How many SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS does it take to win a GREY CUP?
A. Nobody knows and we may never find out!

Q. What do you call 47 people sitting around a TV watching the GREY CUP?
A. The SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

Given my limited access to blogger right now, I’ve been missing out on commenting on my dear boys in green.

Yes, they lost to B.C. in the western final. Again.

Aside: B.C. fans appear to need a tutorial on the game of football. Your team wears orange and black. When they have the ball, cheer like mad. The rest of the time sit down and shut up until something exciting happens, k?

The loss pretty much sealed the fate of head coach Danny Barrett. I love the guy. I really do. He’s done incredible things for the ball club and for so many players. So my hat is off to you Mr. Barrett. It was a tough season - on and off the field. And you handled it with grace, dignity and more guts than most people know.

In the final analysis it was time for a fresh start. As sad as I am to see Barrett go, I agree with Tilman on this one.

Then… what is this I hear?

Tilman is in talks with others he has worked with in the past – including but not limited to – Kent Austin!

Holy crap, Batman! Kent Austin!?

For those of you who have no idea who Kent Austin is, never fear. I shall enlighten you.

But we must back up to the beginning. To the very beginning of how I became a Roughrider fan.

Had this incident not occurred, I probably would still be a fan – I mean it’s in the water here in the province – you can’t help but become a fan. But I wouldn’t be as “rabid” as they say. This incident quite possibly also helped me pass grade eight P.E.

Back in seventh grade (at least I think it was seventh grade), I found myself at a youth retreat at a Christian college in northern Saskatchewan. I admit I wasn’t exactly an eager participant.

But my ears perked up when they announced the name of the guest speaker that day – Kent Austin. Not being into Canadian football (yet!) I had no idea who he was. Of course, all the guys in the auditorium started drooling instantly.

Kent Austin, at that time, was quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He told his testimony about how Christ had come to be the centre of his life. And he served Christ by playing football.

I might not remember all he said, but I definitely decided I needed to keep up with who he was and find out more about these Roughrider characters. Somewhere at my mom's house, I'm sure I still have Austin's autograph.

The following year I was blessed (or punished) with a very football-crazy phys. ed. teacher. He had this belief that all God’s children should play football.

And that apparently included those of us under five feet (who at this point could literally walk UNDER the volleyball net without making it move – I kid you not!). Not only was I short, I wasn’t exactly linebacker material. I was pretty petite. Further, skills in playing sports of any kind seemed to be something missing on a DNA level.

Catching an underhand toss of a baseball was a major achievement for me.

I knew the games we played to the point that I made an excellent linesman or scorekeeper. A role I relished. But playing them...? Nope.

I was able to impress this wonderful (or demented) football teacher by my meagre knowledge of the game and the fact that I had personally met Kent Austin.

Now I don’t have too many fond memories of the zillions of scrimmages we played every gym period that fall, but I do remember one amazing moment of football.

Everyone else had their patterns – post, hook, whatever. Then my teacher (who always played quarterback) turned to me and said, “you’re going to get the ball”. I was stunned. I knew how to run all the patterns, but I’d never actually been selected to actually get the ball.

Apparently, this may have been what the teacher was counting on. While all my classmates were covered, I was wide open.

He made eye contact and then fired the ball right at me.

I caught it.

I actually caught it!

It didn’t bounce out of my arms. I didn’t fumble it or let it drop.

I caught it cleanly and beautifully.

Everyone on the field that morning was stunned. No one more than I.

I don’t remember if I was over the first down marker, to be honest. But that was one glorious moment of grade eight gym class. And believe me, golden moments in PE weren’t too plentiful when you’re five foot nuttin’!

Aside: During the volleyball season, the same PE teacher expected me to spike the ball OVER the volleyball net. This would be the same net I could WALK under. Yeah… that was happening. Maybe if I stood on a chair…

Anywho, that’s who Kent Austin is. One of the major reasons Roughrider games are marked out on my calendar every spring. They are appointment TV.

I’ve lost track of Austin once in a while over the years, but he always pops back up on the radar. Last I heard he was offensive coordinator for the Argos I believe. They fired him in August, right?

While I’m sad to see an era end at Mosaic field (Taylor field for the die-hards), I trust Danny can leave knowing the legacy he left will not be forgotten. And if we’re really lucky Kent Austin can continue the work.

Grey Cup 2007: Here we come! Go Green!