{"id":532108,"date":"2026-03-12T20:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T20:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/532108\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T20:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T20:00:10","slug":"ever-dreamt-of-being-a-dancing-prairie-gopher-saskatchewan-roughriders-has-the-job-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/532108\/","title":{"rendered":"Ever dreamt of being a dancing prairie gopher? Saskatchewan Roughriders has the job for you"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

LISTEN | Saskatchewan Roughriders seeking the next Gainer the Gopher:<\/p>\n

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have a new job opening \u2014 one that involves oversized shoes, sideline antics and breaking down the barriers between man and rodent.<\/p>\n

The reigning Canadian Football League (CFL) champions are hosting auditions for the next person to step into the suit of its beloved mascot Gainer the Gopher.<\/p>\n

The job description says the team is looking for someone who can \u201clearn, embody and adapt the Gainer persona,\u201d as well as improvise and engage with fans.<\/p>\n

Before stepping into the mind \u2014 or paws \u2014 of the mascot, Don Hewitt, the first-ever Gainer, says aspiring mascots should understand one important thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number one quality would be love \u2026 the Roughriders team,\u201d Hewitt told As It Happens host Nil K\u00f6ksal. \u201cShow the love of the team through your actions on the field and at the stadium and understand how important the team is to the people here in this province.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GopherGainer the Gopher greets the crowd during the first half of CFL action between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Calgary Stampeders, in Regina on Saturday, July 6, 2019. (Matt Smith\/Canadian Press)Lacklustre premiere\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Hewitt first ran onto the Roughriders\u2019 gridiron as Gainer in 1977, he remembers fans didn\u2019t quite know what to make of the team\u2019s new mascot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was absolute silence,\u201d Hewitt said. \u201cNobody knew what was going on with this gopher.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hewitt, then a local TV reporter, says he didn\u2019t have much of a choice. Former Roughriders president Gord Staseson, whom Hewitt was assigned to do projects for, told him he\u2019d be wearing the suit the very next night.<\/p>\n

He says he didn\u2019t even have time to figure out what he was going to do. And the crowd didn\u2019t make it easy on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was pretty much silent for the rest of the game,\u201d said Hewitt.<\/p>\n

\"GopherA spectator and Saskatchewan Roughriders mascot Gainer the Gopher stand for a photograph during a spring training scrimmage in Saskatoon, Sask., on Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Heywood Yu\/Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

Eventually, with plenty of practice \u2014 and some help from Doug Jacques, who wore the Calgary Stampeders mascot suit at the time \u2014 Hewitt says he learned how to work the crowd. Before long, fans fell in love with him \u2014 or rather, with Gainer.<\/p>\n

Hewitt says whoever puts their name forward to play Gainer should remember, \u201cit\u2019s bigger than you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought of myself in the suit, that\u2019s one thing Doug Jacques taught me,\u201d said Hewitt. \u201c\u2018Don\u2019t tell anybody it\u2019s you. You keep it a secret. It\u2019s \u2018Gainer the Gopher.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

WATCH | Son pays tribute to father who served as Gopher for 30 years:\"\"<\/p>\n

The son of CFL’s most beloved gopher says his dad was a legend both on and off the field<\/p>\n

A key member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders organization has retired. The man who served as Gainer the Gopher for 30 years has hung up his fur and while someone else is taking over \u2014 Gainer’s son says no one can replace his dad in his heart.
\nThis is Adam Ennis’ tribute to his father.<\/p>\n

Hewitt says he managed to keep his role as Gainer under wraps until some eagle-eyed friends in the stands figured it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cGainer [would] throw footballs into the crowd,\u201d said Hewitt. \u201cI was left-handed, I had a certain way of throwing a football, and \u2026 some of my friends sort of figured out, that\u2019s got to be you in the suit.\u201d<\/p>\n

His success in the costume came with a pungent aroma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those days, they didn\u2019t have the fabrics that they do now. It was basically like [wearing] a thick carpet,\u201d said Hewitt. \u201cThe suit stunk to high heaven \u2026 people didn\u2019t really want to hang around Gainer the Gopher very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GopherGainer the Gopher interacts with fans during the second half of CFL football action between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders in Regina on Saturday, October 9, 2021. (Kayle Neis\/Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

Still, he says it was a small price to pay for the joy the mascot brought \u2014 even during difficult seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team was losing in those days,\u201d said Hewitt. \u201cSo it brought a smile to somebody\u2019s face as [the team] was racking up losses. And\u2026that was the best part.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says the fact Gainer embodies the underdog may be a part of his enduring appeal. He is a \u201cprairie dog,\u201d after all, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe essence of Gainer the Gopher is the pride that the province of Saskatchewan has in their football team and it\u2019s unique in Canada.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-532108","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\/532108","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=532108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}