REGINA -- The Saskatchewan Roughriders say they'll get back to the Grey Cup game next year, but the question is whether coach Ken Miller will be on the sideline.
Hundreds of fans braved the cold, wind and snow to give the Riders a warm welcome home to Mosaic Stadium on Monday after a bitter Grey Cup loss to the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday. Quarterback Darian Durant said he wishes the outcome would have been different.
But Durant told the cheering crowd that the team will get back to the big game.
It was the third Grey Cup appearance for the Riders in the last four years. They won the CFL championship in 2007 but lost last year to the Alouettes.
Fans, many of whom were decked out in Rider green and white for the rally, say they haven't lost faith in the team.
"We came here to welcome our boys home. They did a great job. We're here to support them still," said Penny Nichol. "It's like they're family or friends. We stick behind them no matter what so that's what we're going to do, that's why we're out here freezing in the cold."
Fan George Labelle, who sported a foam Saskatchewan Roughriders watermelon hat, said it was important to let the players know that people are still behind them.
"They did the best they could and in the last minute things just didn't go right. But it was still a fabulous season," said Labelle.
Defensive back Lance Frazier thanked the fans for sticking by the team, despite criticism "from every angle and direction."
Frazier noted that the Riders entered the playoffs in a slump, having lost four of their final five regular-season contests. They rebounded by defeating the B.C. Lions in the West Division semifinal and upsetting the Calgary Stampeders in the West final to secure a berth in the Grey Cup.
"It's been a very roller coaster-type season and the way that we got to this point, having you guys behind us is tremendous. The ups and downs of this season were huge," Frazier told the crowd.
"You talk about the perseverance and the courage as a football team and as a province that we had to put together the playoff run that we did. Nobody gave us a chance and nobody believed in us but us."
"There's always the question at this time every year, when you go to a Grey Cup and you're fortunate enough to do that, win or lose, can you get back next year. I'm here to tell you ... we've got great veteran guys, we've got a great core group of guys, as long as we're back here, we -- without a doubt -- will be back to the Grey Cup next year," Frazier said to wild applause.
Many fans and players say they'd like Miller to lead the green and white back to the Grey Cup next year.
"Hopefully coach Miller will stick around," said veteran linebacker Barrin Simpson, who signed with the Riders in April after stints in B.C. and Winnipeg.
"He talked to me a lot this year about how much sand is left in the hour glass and I kept telling him 'You got a lot left coach Miller, you got a lot left.' I absolutely love playing for coach Miller. He loves his players."
"We feel that love from him every day and that's the one thing that normally you don't get in professional sports. Most coaches treat it like a business, but he treats us like his sons and we appreciate and love him for that," said Simpson.
There has been speculation that Miller's third season as head coach of the club could be the last for the 69-year-old.
Miller, who is also the vice-president of football operations, said Monday that he'll meet with team officials and make a decision soon.
"To be efficient and to do what's right for the club and everything, certainly within 10 days, two weeks," said Miller. "I have not sat down with Jim (Hopson, Riders CEO) and I have not sat down with Brendan (Taman, Riders GM), so it would be presumptuous for me really to say anything before I talk with them."
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
No comments:
Post a Comment