{"id":517560,"date":"2026-03-06T06:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T06:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/517560\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T06:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T06:12:14","slug":"saskatchewan-roughriders-seek-someone-who-is-energetic-keen-to-dress-like-rodent-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/517560\/","title":{"rendered":"Saskatchewan Roughriders seek someone who is energetic, keen to dress like rodent \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are young, energetic and willing to dress like a football-obsessed rodent, there may be a job for you with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.<\/p>\n

The defending CFL champions are hosting auditions for the next person to embody their beloved, furry mascot Gainer the Gopher.<\/p>\n

\u201cGainer the Gopher is a critical part of our game day experience,\u201d the job ad reads.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Gainer
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGainer the Gopher greets the crowd during first half CFL action between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Calgary Stampeders in Regina on Saturday, July 6, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Matt Smith<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s game day at Mosaic Stadium or a community appearance throughout our province, Gainer represents the heart, spirit and fun of Rider Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s online job posting says they\u2019re looking for someone who can dance, hug, give high fives and also improvise \u2014 all while staying in character in the sweltering summer heat.<\/p>\n

It says applicants submitting video auditions must be at least 18 years-old and hold a valid driver\u2019s licence. Videos should showcase an applicant\u2019s enthusiastic personality, performance style and how they would portray the iconic mascot.<\/p>\n

The team declined an interview request, saying it doesn\u2019t discuss job postings and hiring processes.<\/p>\n

Those willing to put their name forward have big paws to fill.<\/p>\n

It all began in 1977, when local TV reporter Don Hewitt \u2014 at the request of former Roughriders president Gord Staseson \u2014 slid himself into a primitive gopher getup and scampered his way onto the green of the Roughriders\u2019 gridiron.<\/p>\n

As he remembers it, fans weren\u2019t too sure of this new mascot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ran out to absolute silence,\u201d he told The Canadian Press in November. \u201cNobody responded, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans eventually grew to love Gainer, but Hewitt said there was a downside to the sweet smell of success. \u201cThey\u2019d wash the (gopher) suit once at the end of the season,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just stunk so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the years since his debut, the Richardson\u2019s ground squirrel from Parkbeg, Sask., has done everything from commercials to promotional appearances with Premier Scott Moe.<\/p>\n

Gainer has been the face of pleasure \u2014 and occasional pain.<\/p>\n

During one game, he flattened into a pancake the trademark straw fedora of former Regina mayor Henry Baker. In another, he got into a tussle with Bonhomme, the snowy-smiling ambassador of the Quebec Winter Carnival.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Sign<\/p>\n

In 2006, the Calgary Stampeders barred Gainer from the field because they felt he would distract from their own mascot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than 10 years later, a new, slimmer Gainer with bright green eyes drew criticism from fans. Within a week, the club tweaked the look back to the traditional rodential visage.<\/p>\n

Hewitt said he has not spoken to most of the mascot actors who came after him, but that anyone donning the costume should love and embrace the team.<\/p>\n

He also said they should remember that Gainer\u2019s autograph is a paw print because \u201cgophers can\u2019t read or write.\u201d<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you are young, energetic and willing to dress like a football-obsessed rodent, there may be a job…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-517560","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\/517560","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=517560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}