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Riders regroup, invade Arizona as part of push for world domination

Mar 4, 2015 | 3:30 PM

There was, by my spider sense, only one new Rider signing this past week, but on Tuesday there was an invasion of an Arizona Coyotes NHL game by Rider Nation and the reign of a new Rider president started Monday.;

Craig Reynolds started his first day Monday as the President of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Reynolds was in the Rider organization as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice-President. Reynolds said his priority was fundraising and ensuring the Riders remained the backbone of the CFL.

So far so good and then I heard an interview with Reynolds on Monday, his first day on the job, where he talked about the Riders overtaking the Toronto Maple Leafs as the second biggest selling sports brand in Canada. Last year it came out the Riders ranked third of all professional leagues in sales in Canada, trailing only the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

On Tuesday the Riders held an event in Glendale Arizona at an Arizona Coyotes NHL game where an estimated 500 Rider fans showed up, got seats for the game and had what was described as a pre-Grey Cup party at a local establishment. This was a first for the Coyotes and they were unsure of what numbers to expect, but the numbers were more than what anyone were expecting.

If you go on the Riderville web site, you may notice a section on Riderville around the world. Rider fans are asked to wear Rider colors when they go somewhere exotic and the results have been great. There have been pictures of Rider fans wearing green jerseys at events like the recent Daytona 500, the Masters Golf Tournament, and even NFL games.

I have to admit as an owner, I have fallen into this habit of wearing my jersey (green for home games, white for away) not just for game day, but occasionally for relaxing with friends and a few beverages. I have a fine collection of Rider baseball type jersey’s which are my standard Rider summer wear. I wear Rider sweats when working out, and I even have two pairs of Rider game worn pants and a pair of cleats I wear for golf purposes.

The reason for the success of this promotion is that there have been a lot of people who have moved from Saskatchewan, but they remember as kids listening or watching Rider games. I wore Rider colors in Winnipeg last year and ran into Elwin Hermanson, former leader of the Saskatchewan Party and all we could do was nod to each other and grin crazily since we had beaten Winnipeg in their own house.

And ever since 2007 and Grey Cup win number 3, Rider fans are happy to show their passion for their team in other stadiums. At the 2007 Grey Cup I wore Ken Moore’s 1989 Grey Cup jersey in the Sky dome surrounded by Grandmothers from Weyburn there with their families and other Saskatchewan people. There were a number of Toronto fans, and they were stunned when I would yell out and condemn some ref’s call as “nothing but communism”. They were not used to Rider fans heckling other players and making noise when the other team was on offense. The fact we beat the God Less Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the Cup that day just made it sweeter.

So if the Riders continue to compete, while the Maple Leafs continues to flounder, I can see the Riders reaching their next goal of being the second biggest sports brand in Canada. The Riders are also using their fans visibility to build awareness in the United States so when people mention the CFL, they will think the Saskatchewan Roughriders, or when they mention Saskatchewan, they will think of the CFL.

That’s why events like the one in Phoenix are so invaluable. Awareness of Saskatchewan takes place one person at a time and if more potential players hear about Saskatchewan and their fans, they may be more inclined to give us a try if they can’t get into the NFL. I do the occasional care packages for former members of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, sending those Rider Lego players or game worn jerseys they can wear around Winnipeg, Calgary and southern Ontario.

To reach those types of sales levels, the Riders will have to improve their on-line service and selection. I picked up a couple of items recently and had no problems, but I do cruise the Rider store once a month and take pictures of new items for friends from out of province to see if they are interested.  But to overtake the Toronto Maple Leafs would be a major step forward for the Riders because while the Leafs are popular, they treat their fans like crap and deserve to be knocked off their podium.

We own this team. This team belongs to everyone in Saskatchewan and from Saskatchewan. And the sheer epic scale of our losses versus our wins (2009 Grey Cup) is something that Shakespeare could not imagine. But that loss in 2009 was made up for in 2013 with the first home field Grey Cup win in Rider history.

There is a lesson here for teams like the Raiders. Their on-line store is OK, but you wonder if there is more available and perhaps better photographed than what meets the eye.  If there people who have moved from Saskatchewan who remain Rider fans, there are surely people from PA who have moved away who still follow the Raiders from a distance and would appreciate some distinctive duds. The Raiders on-line store is better than the Yorkton Terriers on-line store which doesn’t exist and ticks me off since I have a goal of getting a jersey from every Saskatchewan City I have lived in.

There is a market out there, and the Riders are showing the rest of the province how to tap into it. For the smallest market in the CFL to lead the league, and almost the nation in sports branding is an example teams in smaller centres can follow if they want to do everything to ensure their team remains viable.

So the Riders released Shomari Williams and Marvin Burdette, both linebackers this past week. Williams was a first round draft pick who did well apparently on special teams, but was either too slow at linebacker or undersized at defensive end. Williams had left the Riders as a free agent to sign with Hamilton for $120 k, a figure that baffled many in Riderville, especially when he came back in a trade with Hamilton.

Williams is a Canadian which means the Riders lose potential experience if Shea Emry goes down, but Williams contract, especially for a back-up and his ability to impersonate a pylon against opposing offenses made his expendable. However, if Williams doesn’t sign on with another team, he may be back with the Riders with a reduced contract. You simply don’t pay a back-up player $120 K in the CFL.

The Riders did sign Brad Nehring, former offensive lineman with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. Apparently Nehring has size and good footwork and may work himself in a back-up role this season as he learns the position better. Nehring was undrafted, and I suspect the Riders will be looking at players not drafted to determine if they have something to offer the team.

And finally, Winnipeg is suing the builders of Investors Group Field, or Dollarama Field as I like to call it, for shoddy construction. I realize it would be in poor taste to gloat before the new Rider stadium is ready but uh, Winnipeg sucks.