Cherished championship memories will keep 2025 alive long past its imminent conclusion.
“I think back and I just want to relive Grey Cup Sunday, over and over and over again,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ President-CEO said in a year-end interview. “I probably don’t want to relive the nerves in the fourth quarter, but the aftermath was special.
“It’s not like I would do anything differently. I just want to relive it, because it was such an incredible moment.”
The celebration began on Nov. 16 at 9:46 p.m., when time expired on the scoreboard at Princess Auto Stadium at Winnipeg. Marcus Sayles’ knockdown of a desperation Montreal Alouettes pass sealed a 25-17 victory for Saskatchewan, which had led 25-7 late in the third quarter.
“It was such an incredible moment, just seeing the guys and the team celebrate,” Reynolds said. “It was a team that had so much love for one another. It was a special, special group.
“I remember going to walk-through on Saturday (Nov. 15) and watching their last huddle. I got really emotional. I teared up and thought, ‘I just want this so badly for these guys.’ I’m tearing up now, even thinking back to that.
“I also knew they had to go and earn it, too. These guys deserved it so much and then to see them deliver was just so awesome.
“Since then, it has just been a blur, but in the best kind of way.”
That extends to the retail side of the operation.
“The positive effects of a Grey Cup carry on for years — certainly on the business side,” Reynolds said. “It’s incumbent on us to build on this momentum and bottle it and get positive outcomes from a business perspective.
“It’s just great to see the fans’ response to merchandise, for example. You’re seeing it fly off the shelves. You see how much this means to our fans when they’re buying Grey Cup merchandise at a record pace.
“It’s a recognition of how much this team resonated with our fans. With season tickets and those kinds of things, we’re seeing really positive momentum and we hope we can continue to ride that.
“And we get to do a Grey Cup tour. We’re able to take the Grey Cup to all corners of Saskatchewan, because the Cup belongs to the province — just like the team belongs to the province.
“As we get into 2026, the Grey Cup will be touring around and we’ll get to see people’s response to that. Hopefully it cements fandom in some cases.”
Reynolds can relate to that, based on his experiences as a youngster in Foam Lake.
“I always think back to what the 1989 championship did for me,” he reflected. “I was 13, about to turn 14. I was a fan but, after that win, I became a diehard fan.
“The Riders were a huge part of my life from that moment on, so you hope that, in 2025, there’s are 13-year-old kids out there who have the same response and the Roughriders become a huge part of their lives, whereas before they were casual fans.
“Nowadays, we’re in the attention economy and it’s very hard to get attention, so maybe this is what cuts through all the noise and cements the fandom.”
The Roughriders’ Grey Cup win — their first since new Mosaic Stadium officially opened in 2017 — also cements the team’s presence in its state-of-the-art facility. Taylor Field was the Roughriders’ home during the previous four championship seasons, the latter of which was punctuated by a home-field Grey Cup victory on Nov. 24, 2013.
“Even with how the Western Final played out this year, you had that iconic moment,” said Reynolds, recalling a Tommy Nield touchdown catch that gave Saskatchewan a 24-21 victory over the visiting B.C. Lions on Nov. 8.
“Until then, one of the signature moments of the stadium was probably Cody (Fajardo) hitting the crossbar (on the final play of the 2019 Western Final). We were really close to getting an opportunity to go to the Grey Cup.
“There was also Brett Lauther’s game-winning field goal and his run into Pil Country in the 2019 Labour Day Classic and some other positive iconic moments, but in terms of the impact on the franchise, this year’s Western Final was a high-stakes game and Tommy Nield’s touchdown was that iconic signature play that propelled us into a Grey Cup that we ultimately won.
“Everyone who was there will never forget it. That’s what so unique about sports. Yeah, you can watch it on TV, but to be there and feel that collective energy when Tommy Nield scored and to hear that roar, you can’t replicate that.
“That’s something you can only get at the stadium with a play of that magnitude. If you think about that, if the last minute doesn’t go our way, we’re not having this discussion.”
There was, mind you, one FOMO moment for a Roughriders contingent that was in Winnipeg for Grey Cup Week.
“When we were celebrating the win at the after-party, somebody was telling me, ‘The Green Mile is going crazy.’ I remember going back to my room and looking at the videos and it was unbelievable.
“It’s just something that means so much to this province in terms of the team achieving this goal. There’s also the reality of only having done it four other times. It just means more here.
“That’s just in general. Football means more here. Winning the Grey Cup means more in Saskatchewan than anywhere else.”
The Cup was the capper to a year full of highlights:
• Saskatchewan was awarded hosting privileges for the 2027 Grey Cup Festival.
• Tailgating, to make its debut outside Mosaic Stadium in 2026, was approved by the provincial government.
• It was announced that the Roughriders’ May 23 home pre-season game, against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, will be played at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium — the well-established home of training camp.
• The Co-op Community Zone, offering tickets for only $20, was introduced as part of the team’s emphasis on affordability.
• A new Plaza of Honour cairn was unveiled during a momentous year in which several current players and coaches strengthened or cemented their cases for enshrinement.