The 30,480 on hand at Mosaic Stadium for Saturday鈥檚 Roughrider game against Ottawa certainly were having a lot of fun.
In a rematch of the 1976 Grey Cup, this game saw five different lead changes in what turned out to be a heavyweight slugfest between the CFL鈥檚 two oldest quarterbacks (Ottawa鈥檚 Henry Burris at 40 and Saskatchewan鈥檚 Kevin Glenn at 36).
The Riders actually led by quarters 10-3, 20-14 and 23-21 but Burris set an Ottawa pro football record with 477 passing yards and looked like his days a decade ago with Calgary as he rallied the visitors to victory at Canada鈥檚 football shrine on an absolutely gorgeous fall night for football.
However it was another former Roughrider who spoiled the party in this one. Kicker Chris Milo, who was cut by the Riders after going 1 for 2 in a Week 1 loss to Winnipeg, kicked a game-winning 14-yard field goal for the RedBlacks with six seconds remaining for a 30-27 victory.
Then, reality set in. The loss dropped Saskatchewan to 1-11 and they now face a scenario where they have to win all of their remaining six games just to have a chance at making the playoffs in 2015.
And another gloomy story emerged in the post-game interviews. Slotback Rob Bagg, who caught four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown on the way to being named the game鈥檚 Offensive Star, said the players aren鈥檛 looking at each other anymore. They鈥檙e starting to look over their shoulder.
鈥淭he only way you can approach it is prepare your best and play the best because you don't know how many games you have left as a player period,鈥� Bagg said, and in doing so became the first to admit this season may cost some their careers. 鈥淭here's no guarantees so it's essential that each player does their very best to put themselves in the best position for the days ahead.鈥�
Ditto for Rider running back Jerome Messam who, like Bagg, turned 31 this spring. He entered Saturday鈥檚 game as the CFL鈥檚 second-leading rusher but said collectively, this team isn鈥檛 getting it done and soon they may find targets on their backs as the franchise looks to get younger and cheaper in a rebuild.
鈥淕uys gotta do some soul searching and this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type of business and you gotta produce,鈥� Messam said solemnly in a silent locker room. 鈥淲e gotta play free, not tight. We gotta trust our technique and make plays. That's what we get paid for.鈥�
However it鈥檚 unlikely that the team will play loose as long as they know in the back of their minds one fatal mistake could cost them a win and mathematically eliminate them from post-season contention. That鈥檚 what it鈥檚 come down to.
As far as interim head coach Bob Dyce goes, he remains undeterred and will continue to press for wins no matter the playoff situation the rest of the way. He鈥檚 coaching for his job, and doesn鈥檛 seem to see it as his responsibility to look beyond this season. Why would he?
鈥淚t's funny you say I'm in a tough spot,鈥� Dyce said in his post-game interview on CKRM Radio. 鈥淎s a coach, you're always thinking about winning each week and putting the best players on the field. Jeremy and I will sit down and see what the plan is for the future. For me, my thought process doesn't change. I plan to put the best players out there next week to beat Montreal.鈥�
Dyce is referring to interim General Manager Jeremy O鈥橠ay, who also needs to put his best foot forward in the hopes of having the 鈥渋nterim鈥� tag removed from his title this off season.
What鈥檚 the answer? What is Rider President Craig Reynolds and the team鈥檚 board of directors looking for with regards to who will fill these roles into 2016?
Who knows?
For now, the week鈥檚 mantra is 鈥渂ring on the Alouettes.鈥�
