REGINA … to WINNIPEG — The Saskatchewan Roughriders are off to the Grey Cup. Won’t you join me for the Trip(p)?
Monday, 3:11 p.m.: The elevator door opens and, suddenly, I see a throng of people standing outside Mosaic Stadium’s Elevator Lobby 2. This promises to be the most emotional sendoff since 12:43 p.m., when my wife cooed: “Take out the garbage before you leave.”
3:53 p.m.: Shortly after popular pass-catcher Kian Schaffer-Baker engages with representatives of Rider Nation, I realize that it might be wise for this scribbler to snag one of the few remaining seats on the third and final bus. I have job skills.
3:59 p.m.: Defensive tackle Micah Johnson walks down the aisle, dispensing cookies. “Lemon pistachio,” we are cheerfully informed. Delicious!
4 p.m.: The third and final bus leaves for the airport. Fans wave and cheer. They hold up flags and signs. As we make a turn, I notice that the bus is being led by a vehicle with flashing lights. My first police escort! At age 61, I finally feel like a somebody. This, I am certain, will pass.
4:09 p.m.: We are at the airport. A chartered WestJet aircraft sits on the tarmac. No security. No hassles. No jetway, but that’s no problem. I can make it up the stairs … I think.
4:11 p.m.: In-house reporter begins to ascend the stairs.
4:15 p.m.: Made it! A gruelling climb! Can someone activate one of the oxygen masks? I am really struggling here. Fortunately, the team doctor (Martin Heroux) is on-board, just in case.)
4:17 p.m.: Seated to my left, across the aisle, is the amazing Jenn Senger. Jenn, the Roughriders’ Director of Ticket Operations and Sales, should trademark the word “nice.” Our cordial conversation somehow strays to stories about meeting our heroes. She met Guy Lafleur. I met Jenn Senger … and the best jazz pianist ever, Oscar Peterson. I win the Battle of Heroes We Have Met, 2-1.
4:25 p.m.: “This is Captain Dale. Welcome to your flight to the Grey Cup championship.” Goose bumps. This is really happening. I wish Mom (1934-2019) could have been at the sendoff. She would have been the first person to arrive at Mosaic Stadium, along with her great friends Patti and Barb.
4:37 p.m.: “To fasten your seatbelt, insert the flat end into the buckle.” Hold on. Holllllld on. Too fast. Too complicated. Can you repeat that? Can anyone assist me? (Confidential inter-office memo to Arielle Zerr, Director of Communications: HELP!”)
4:48 p.m.: We are airborne, commencing what is announced as a 53-minute flight to Winnipeg.
5:16 p.m.: Ever attuned to the times, I am typing this sentence at 5:16 p.m. (See again: Job skills.)
5:17 p.m.: Now it’s 5:17 p.m. How does that seat belt thingie work again? Insert the flat end of the fuselage into the buckle? Insert the tray table into the aileron? (This is just too overwhelming. Captain Dale, can you help me? Arielle? Anyone?)
5:20 p.m.: “Flight attendants prepare for arrival.” Already?
5:36 p.m.: Yup, already. The flight lasted 48 minutes, runway to runway.
5:39 p.m.: Our plane is momentarily delayed getting to the gate because we have to defer to a flight that has just arrived from Montreal. Hopefully, this is the last time we’ll take a backseat to Montreal all week.
5:47 p.m.: Jenn, the always-friendly WestJet flight attendant, offers me a Team Canada hat. I instantly and gratefully accept the kind gift. “This is much cheaper than a toupee,” I inform one of the pilots as I leave the aircraft. (The flight attendants, by the way, decorated the cabin to give it a Roughriders flair. Outstanding.)
5:52 p.m.: We reach the arrivals area at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. In a word: Wow. The Roughriders are welcomed by fans, many of whom stand by a fence and hold items that will soon be autographed. Situated not far away, perched on a stand, is the gleaming Grey Cup trophy.
6:08 p.m.: The Roughriders meet the media. Head Coach Corey Mace begins, followed by Harris and receiver Samuel Emilus. The Montreal-born Emilus answers the final three questions, posed by a reporter from Radio-Canada, en français.
6:34 p.m.: Media obligations having been met, the final team bus leaves for the hotel. The bus seems to be full at first glance, but linebacker Aubrey Miller Jr. offers me a spot beside him. A typically nice gesture by No. 47.
6:35 p.m.: I tell Aubrey all about my dog, Candy. I discover that his dog — a Cane Corso — is back home in Memphis. It has been six months since Aubrey has seen his 140-pound growler, Nado.
6:40 p.m.: Quarterback Tommy Stevens, seated directly behind me, starts talking about his dogs. It seems I started something.
6:57 p.m.: The bus arrives at the team hotel. Three of us — yours truly, Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder — are staying at the media hotel. We retrieve our luggage from the bus and prepare to Uber our way to different lodgings.
7:07 p.m.: Dave, CKRM’s voice of the Roughriders, feeds me a delicious nugget. Before the Western Final, the ceremonial coin flip was performed by Georgette Reed — wearing a No. 34 jersey that pays tribute to her iconic father. On what yard line did the Roughriders begin their game-winning drive? The 34! And how long was the first play of that possession? 23 yards, on a completion from Harris to Emilus. I love the link between 34 (George Reed) and 23 (Ron Lancaster). Lancaster’s grandson, Marc Mueller, is the Roughriders’ Offensive Co-ordinator. This is all so perfect.
7:09 p.m.: Our Uber driver arrives. And — you will never, ever, ever, ever believe this — I actually figured out the seat belt. Even a modicum of progress is something to be celebrated and, better yet, documented for all to consume with reverence and awe.
7:17 p.m.: More fun with numbers! Our WestJet flight number was 9527. Well, that covers the CKRM broadcast team quite thoroughly. Luc wore No. 95 when he was a defensive lineman with the Roughriders. Dave proudly donned No. 27 (for Glen Suitor) as an interception specialist with the Weyburn Eagles high school football team.
7:28 p.m.: We arrive at the hotel. Very soon, I am splattered all over a bed in a fifth-floor room. There is writing to be done, but relaxation is also in order. There won’t be much time to unwind after Monday evening. So fasten your seat belts, friends, because this will be a fast-paced week!
