As you know, I am a Riders fan. After the 28-27 loss in the Grey Cup to the Montreal Alouettes, I know one thing with certainty: I am strangely thrilled to be so disappointed.
Allow me to explain. Virtually for the entire duration of my life, the Riders have been bad. BRUTAL bad. "My grandma can throw/hit/run/catch better than you" bad. We hadn't won our conference (think division in the NFL) in 33 years. Thus, there has never been a serious expectation for us that our team would contend for the championship.
In my mind, this season marked the first time my team has made it to the championship and legitimately belonged there. The fact that it is our 2nd appearance in the big game in 3 years also makes me reflect that, for the first time since those great Lancaster/Reed years - aka first time in my lifetime - we have a team that is going to regularly be counted on as contenders for the championship. When we make it again, it will be no surprise. We in Saskatchewan will no longer feel like, "hey, we made it to the game! If we win, it's bonus!" No, we will expect to win and when we do not, we will be hurt. Badly. We will feel robbed, stripped of our just destiny.
And those newfound expectations to me are the greatest legacy this team left on the field tonight.
Bravo, Riders! You played valiantly, and you deserved better. I look forward to having many more chances for Grey Cup glory in the forseeable future!
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