Just another night at Riderville
By now you’ve probably heard the rumour – Riderville puts on one heck of a party. The rumour is true. It’s true of all the teams’ Grey Cup Festival parties though. No matter where you end up you’re going to have a great time. However, Riderville seems to exert a preternatural pull. Rider fans seemingly flock there by nature, guided by an invisible hand, free of independent thought. Meanwhile, non-Rider fans feel compelled to see what all the fuss is about. Here’s what you can expect.
You will consider checking out other parties first, as you think to yourself, “It doesn’t look very crowded in Tiger Town.” You will soldier on though, convinced that the longer you wait, the longer the lineup will be.
You will get to the Shaw Conference Centre and see fans milling about outside the building and inside the foyer, but see no immediate signs of a lineup. You’ll think to yourself, “This isn’t so bad.”
As you descend deeper into the Shaw you will see signs for two separate lines – General Admission and V.I.P.. You will wonder if any of your identification or various festival passes identify you as ‘very important.’ If you have to think about it, chances are they don’t.
You will resign yourself to the general admission line, and tell yourself, “It won’t be that bad.” You’ll be about half right.
You will soon find the end of the line and immediately begin trying to gauge how long you’ll be waiting. You’ll peer around staircases, stand on you tip-toes and talk to other people in line. You will hear a variety of wait times. Some will say, “I heard it’s over an hour.” Others will say, “My brother got here 20 minutes ago and he just texted me to say he’s inside.” The truth will lie somewhere in the middle.
You will be periodically encouraged by what seems to be rapid movement of the line. This movement is deceptive.
You will begin to calculate how long you have been in line and ponder where you would be had you invested that time elsewhere. “If we had gone to the Lions Den,” you’ll say. “I could have had a drink in both hands by now.”
You will begin to see people in the crowd, right next to you, who only minutes before you could swear were way behind you. You’ll wonder how so many other people let them by, and tell yourself “there’s no way that dude’s getting in before me.” Don’t sweat it.
As you make your way through the lineup, you will see the entrance to Touchdown Manitoba, the Winnipeg Bluebombers party also being held at the Shaw. You will note that the lineup to get into that party is much shorter than the one to get into Riderville. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be a lineup at all. The thought of a cold beer now vs a cold beer 20 minutes from now (or half an hour from now, or an hour from now, or…) will tempt you to give up your spot in line. Resist that urge.
You will eventually reach a point where you can see a sign that says ‘Riderville Entrance’ and you will tell yourself you must be close. You are. At this point the lineup seems to grind to a halt. It’s all about your perception of time. Your mind is playing tricks on you. Don’t give up.
As you enter the home stretch, you will see a blue curtain. Beyond that curtain you will see what appears to be a free-flow of flans in and out of Riderville. You will ask yourself, “Couldn’t I just pop through this curtain and walk right in?” No, you can’t.
At long last, you’ll make it to the front of the line. At this point, Riderville will be at capacity and you’ll be let in only after a group of equivalent size leaves. This will happen sooner than you think.
Someone will make a joke about the bar being out of Pilsner. You will respond incredulously. The bar is not out of Pilsner, this is Riderville.
You will finally get in. Congratulations, you made it! You will be enveloped in a sea of green. You will have fun.
*You will have fun at any Grey Cup Festival party you choose to attend. I encourage you to check out as many as you can. Pace yourself.
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