Rider thoughts: Week 1

Going to cover a lot of ground today so tomorrow's post can be all pre-game fun!

(Blog note: Be aware I will be without internet for the weekend, so there will be no post-game post from yours truly til probably Tuesday. My apologies. Follow me on Twitter @saskriderschick for some shorter thoughts during and after the game.)

Regarding the controversy surrounding Coach Chamblin's decision to ban fans from Day 2 and 3 practices at Mosaic each week.

First off, I'm not totally against the idea. Teams having some control over who watches their practices just seems prudent in my mind. Football games aren't just won on the field.

My only beef with the whole deal was the way it was dealt with. They admitted several times the information posted on fan messages boards was accurate. Well, holy flying monkeys, Batman! Don't tell the opposition that! If you're so concerned with the opposing team gaining an advantage by perusing fan observations of the Riders at practice, don't tell them the information was correct!

I do hope some sort of agreement can be reached. I, for one, have always enjoyed training camp and practice observations by fans. I know members of the media are there, but their thoughts aren't always as robust as I'd like them to be. And since I live two and a half hours away from Taylor Field, this is information I can't get anywhere else. Perhaps some sort of compromise can be worked out. After all, fans have been reporting their thoughts on practices for years without incident. (Though, until recently, the reports had maintained a general understanding of not giving away specific plays in a public forum.)

A balance is needed between giving fans what they want to know and protecting the integrity of the game plan.

Now on to the stadium talk. Wow. Are we still at this? I hate that we talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk... oh my word! Just build the stupid thing already!

Today the provincial government announced they were willing to chip in $80 million (about 30 per cent of the projected cost). They did offer loans for the balance. I'm not sure what to think. Mayor Pat Fiacco seemed pleased. Indeed, he predicted we were on the verge of a major "touchdown" in terms of getting the stadium built.

I guess it's great that they're still talking about it and they haven't decided to scrap the whole idea. But still... can we stop talking and starting digging already? What will it take to get a shovel in the ground?

Ask any fan who's been to Mosaic recently and they'll tell you: our stadium is in embarrassingly bad shape. Even without the broken seats in the north endzone. The Riders, the fans, the province all deserve a first class facility. What we have now is appalling! I've seen nicer high school stadiums in the sticks of the American Midwest.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: JUST BUILD IT ALREADY!

Let's pass the hat, work a bingo, set up a car wash, have a bake sale. Whatever it takes. We need this stadium. And we need it like yesterday. So... Dear politicians: Get on it. Get it done. Period.

[UPDATE: At a Rider press conference just after posting this, the Riders announced they would chip in some cash for the new stadium, but wouldn't say how much until July. So that's helpful. Just how helpful remains to be seen.]

I'll leave the bulk of my pre-game thoughts for tomorrow, but can I just say this quickly: can we please stop talking about Andy Fantuz? He left; we were sad. We moved on and so did he. Few fans I talk to are even remotely interested in the whole Fantuz drama - playing his old team in his (almost) hometown. Blah, blah, blah... I'm far, far more concerned about how the Riders play together as a team.

Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!