As soon as the Saskatchewan Roughriders won on Sunday, Susan Lang and her daughters booked tickets to support the team in Toronto.
“It will be Mardi Gras at BMO field on Sunday afternoon,” Susan said.
Her daughter Michelle Lang said she’s expecting plenty of green in the stands.
“Knowing Toronto’s fans, and knowing the amount of Rider’s fans I know that live there, I think it might as well be another home game for us,” she said.
For many of those fans, it’s an anxious wait over the next few days until kickoff on Sunday at noon.
“I’m just trying to watch the roster scores, and see if the injured players come back,” Michelle said.
“And mostly planning with mom to see what kind of sign I’ll wear, and if we can find some watermelons in Toronto.”
Lang said the team’s painful rebuilding process has finally paid off.
“The trades we’ve made, the players we’ve acquired, the fact that we know we’re a CFL force and we just want to keep the season going for two more games,” Michelle said. “And just show that the Riders are back, and we are the best team in the CFL.”
Rider fan Nelson Hackewich hopes the momentum of the last game will carry forward.
“You don’t know which Kevin Glenn’s going to come out and play, luckily, we got the wily vet that was focused in,” he said.
“Going forward, I think they need to do a lot more of the same. Kevin Glenn has to be that leader, and they have to get on Toronto early,” Hackewich said.
The Argos have seen a spike in ticket sales since the Riders’ win, Jamie Dykstra, Toronto Argonauts’ spokesman said in an email.
“It was on par with the spike in sales we saw in 2013 when our neighbours in Hamilton won the eastern semifinal,” he said.
Many Rider fans said they believe the team will make it to the Grey Cup.
“I’m just going to throw it all in there, and say we’re going all the way,” Christie Gamble said.
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