Saturday was an emotional night.
More than likely you were watching The Tragically Hip鈥檚 possible last concert in Kingston, which was an absolute tour de force as singer Gord Downie gave everything he had out on the stage.
Or you could have been one of the people who watched the entirety of the Saskatchewan Roughriders鈥� 53-7 shellacking that they suffered at the hands of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, which may have led you to question what you had done with the last three hours of your life.
Speaking of contemplating your life choices, that鈥檚 exactly what I was doing earlier this week when I decided to listen to both Riders radio post-game shows for the purposes of this column.
Now obviously the Riders are the big team in this province and they are going to get a ton of attention and media coverage.
However, if you tell someone who鈥檚 not from Saskatchewan that there are two stations doing pre and post-game shows and that one of the stations boasts about 10 hours of game day coverage despite not being the radio rights holders, they are in disbelief.
Anyways, prior to Saturday鈥檚 game I said on Twitter that I would listen to both post-game shows and write about the experience.
So, thanks to the Tiger-Cats demolition job I did just that and strapped myself in for nearly five hours of hot takes.
I was expecting it to be a complete tire fire with vitriol being thrown at everyone and everything. That and a bunch of conspiracy theories on how the CFL is against the Riders given play-by-play announcer Rod Pedersen鈥檚 tweets during the last two games.
Instead, the atmosphere and feeling among those who called in was one of shell-shocked depression. It was as if everyone had just listened to Bruce Springsteen鈥檚 Nebraska record and needed to reflect on it.
Even though I鈥檓 a staunch supporter of the Ottawa Redblacks, I can understand where that comes from.
You鈥檇 be upset too if the team you supported was on a 6-29 skid since quarterback Darian Durant was injured in the 2014 Banjo Bowl.
However, there were some comments from The Green Zone that made up for those that were down in the dumps.
鈥淭he fun has gone out of this town (Regina) and this province,鈥� panelist Warren Woods said.
Apparently Craven was nothing more but a fantasy.
鈥淚鈥檝e missed a block party for this,鈥� panelist and former Riders offensive lineman Belton Johnson added.
I鈥檒l say this. Belton was easily the highlight of both shows. I would totally listen to him do a show based around the SEC conference in college football, seeing that played for Ole Miss.
Oh, have I mentioned that the college football season is about to start? That might be worth checking out if the Riders鈥� struggles continue.
I鈥檓 digressing here, let鈥檚 get to the callers on The Green Zone.
鈥淚鈥檓 in the Crowsnest Pass at the moment and I鈥檓 close to going out there and burning my flag,鈥� said one listener, who is apparently not prepared for the winter months.
鈥淚t sounds like you鈥檙e trying to instigate a fan revolt and get people against the Riders,鈥� added another caller.
I have no idea what that guy was on about, but the best call of the show came late in the first hour.
I give you Dave from Winnipeg. Though I鈥檓 not sure he鈥檚 actually from Winnipeg as you will see during this call.
鈥淚 want my money back,鈥� Dave said. 鈥淭his is ridiculous. Why don鈥檛 we just get the (Regina) Rams to play instead? Would they be worse? Would they?鈥�
After host Jamie Nye said that he understood where he was coming from, Dave lost his mind. While I鈥檓 writing this like a normal quote, imagine someone is yelling at you after a drunken argument at a bar.聽
鈥淣o you don鈥檛 hear where I鈥檓 coming from,鈥� Dave said. 鈥淚 paid over a thousand dollars for events at the Grey Cup. I鈥檓 a businessman in Regina. This is what we get back from this team? No, listen to me. We can get rid of these people that are playing the game. What are we doing? I want an answer.鈥�
Sadly there was no follow-up, but I鈥檓 sure Dave would have said one of the seven words that you can鈥檛 say on television.
My next stop was Sports Cage Radio Round Table on CKRM, the official radio rights holders of the team.
Surprisingly, well for me at least, there was some actual decent discussion going on between host Michael Ball and former Rider Mike McCullough about where the team goes next as the season continues and as they build towards the future.
Again, I was expecting hot takes and pure madness. I was very impressed and would like to hear more of that type of chat in the future.
Then the callers returned and more fun ensued.
鈥淚 drove to Dairy Queen at halftime and felt better about myself,鈥� one caller said, who actually dialed up both shows and compared the Riders to a sushi joint.
鈥淲hen I played junior hockey we made three game road trips in three nights to North Battleford, Flin Flon and Nipawin,鈥� another caller added. 鈥淪o don鈥檛 tell me that the Riders can鈥檛 handle a trip out East.鈥�
I鈥檒l leave the last word though to the final caller on the show, who was upset that fans want Chris Jones fired from the Riders after a 1-7 start.
鈥淐ome on fans, let鈥檚 stick with this guy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is the Canadian Football League. He鈥檚 the best thing we have.鈥�
If that鈥檚 the case, both radio programs might be must-listen radio if the Winnipeg Blue Bombers can win on Labour Day for the first time since 2004.
