Watching a Winter Olympics men\u2019s hockey game that set ablaze my central nervous system, I was reminded of a 1977 cinematic classic \u2014\u00a0Smokey and the Bandit.<\/p>\n
Burt Reynolds (playing the role of the Bandit in Oscar-worthy fashion) had some unanticipated company for a cross-continental car ride, in the form of a runaway bride named Carrie (Sally Field).<\/p>\n
In a moment of unease, Carrie lit a cigarette, prompting The Bandit to dispense some sound advice: \u201cYou ought to give up smoking. That\u2019s bad for your health.\u201d<\/p>\n
To which Carrie responded: \u201cBut I (cough) enjoy it (cough) so much (cough).\u201d<\/p>\n
Welcome, dear reader, to a Sunday morning in the life of the Saskatchewan Roughriders\u2019 resident Senior Journalist (translation: old) and Historian (very old).<\/p>\n
As Canada opposed the United States with a gold medal at stake, I squirmed and sighed and gasped and groaned \u2026 and ultimately lamented the Americans\u2019 2-1 overtime victory.<\/p>\n
Several hours elapsed and I could still feel the tension in my shoulders, the ache in my increasingly conspicuous forehead, the disappointment that reflected the deflation of a nation.<\/p>\n
At point, I asked myself: \u201cWhy do I watch sports when it can do this to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Because I (cough) enjoy it (cough) so much (cough).<\/p>\n
Just like that, I was reminded of Nov. 16, 2025.<\/p>\n
On that Sunday in Winnipeg, the Roughriders defeated the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 to win the fifth Grey Cup championship in franchise history.<\/p>\n
It was a spectacle to savour \u2014\u00a0beginning at 9:46 p.m.<\/p>\n
Until then, I was a nervous wreck. The fingernails were gone by the third quarter. So was most of the halftime press-box pizza, shamelessly Hoovered by yours truly at Princess Auto Stadium.<\/p>\n
The tension did not abate until the final play, when Roughriders cornerback Marcus Sayles punctuated his practically perfect post-season by knocking down the Alouettes\u2019 final, desperation pass.<\/p>\n
Absolutely spent at that stage, I couldn\u2019t do anything but exhale and check my pulse.<\/p>\n
Since then, life has been a dream. (Yes, even including Sunday morning.)<\/p>\n
Riding the Grey Cup high for nearly 100 days \u2014 for the first time as an employee of the Roughriders \u2014\u00a0is an experience like none other.<\/p>\n
The excitement is partially attributable to the recognition that the pendulum can so easily swing in the other direction.<\/p>\n
Roughriders fans do not have to be reminded, having endured heartbreaking Grey Cup losses such as those of 1972, 1976, 2009 and 2010.<\/p>\n
The combined margin of defeat in those four games: 10 points.<\/p>\n
So close.<\/p>\n
The same refrain was heard in 2025, when nine of the Roughriders\u2019 12 regular-season victories were by margins of eight points or fewer.<\/p>\n
Then came the Western Final \u2014 in which Saskatchewan defeated the visiting B.C. Lions 24-21 thanks to a last-minute, three-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Harris to Tommy Nield.<\/p>\n
The ensuing for-all-the-marbles matchup with Montreal also went down to the wire \u2026 of course.<\/p>\n
The emotional rollercoaster took me all the way back to Nov. 26, 1989, when the Roughriders defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43-40 in the most exciting of all 112 Grey Cups.<\/p>\n
Included was the unquestioned best second quarter in the history of football.<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan and Hamilton traded touchdowns over a span of five consecutive possessions.<\/p>\n
The Tiger-Cats and their devotees were still celebrating a touchdown by Derrick McAdoo when Saskatchewan began (and ended) the next series with a 75-yard touchdown bomb from Kent Austin to Jeff Fairholm.<\/p>\n
Halftime provided a much-needed respite for the players and attendees.<\/p>\n
Until intermission, it had not occurred to me that I was squeezing a protective metal bar that was in front of my seat.<\/p>\n
My knuckles were white.<\/p>\n
The first attempt at flexing my fingers was futile.<\/p>\n
The second one was painful.<\/p>\n
Circulation was restored just in time for the second half.<\/p>\n
The back-and-forth affair culminated in a 35-yard, game-winning field goal by Dave Ridgway.<\/p>\n
Only then could I sit back and enjoy a game that cost well over $1,000, factoring in the cost of flights, accommodations, meals (alas, no free pizza) and a ticket.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the thing: I have been enjoying the result ever since.<\/p>\n
Thirty-six years and counting.<\/p>\n
Rewind even further and you have Paul Henderson\u2019s Summit Series-winning goal from Sept. 28, 1972.<\/p>\n
A black-and-white photo (see again: old) of that magical moment in Canadian history appeared on the TV screen as part of the preamble to Sunday\u2019s gold-medal final.<\/p>\n
If you were alive at the time, you remember exactly where you where, and exactly what you did, when Foster Hewitt memorably exclaimed \u201cHenderson has scored for Canada!\u201d<\/p>\n
The passage of time does not alter the clarity of recollections pertaining to Henderson\u2019s heroics, Ridgway\u2019s field goal, Sidney Crosby\u2019s \u201cgolden goal\u201d (as described by Chris Cuthbert), et cetera.<\/p>\n
Decades from now, Harris-to-Nield will still be replayed. It will still produce goose bumps.<\/p>\n
So will the image, or even the slightest reminder, of that final deflection by Sayles.<\/p>\n
Yes, Sunday\u2019s outcome took the wind out of Canada\u2019s sails, and there will be a recuperation period for those of us with allegiances to the Maple Leaf.<\/p>\n
That is part of the bargain for anyone who follows sports with some ardour.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t Hollywood. A happy ending \u2014 such as the satisfying conclusion to Smokey and the Bandit \u2014\u00a0doesn\u2019t always materialize.<\/p>\n
But when your side does prevail, one is reminded of Jackie Gleason (who played Sheriff Buford T. Justice in the aforementioned motion picture) and his signature phrase.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow sweet it is!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Watching a Winter Olympics men\u2019s hockey game that set ablaze my central nervous system, I was reminded of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-494541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}