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One of the joys of being a Saskatchewan resident who cheers for a team other than this province’s beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders is watching the way in which many Rider fans overreact to the team’s game-by-game results.

Granted, the football season is relatively short compared to other sports. A bad stretch can mean the difference between playing playoff games at home or on the road, or making the playoffs versus missing the postseason.

But when I see fans get overly excited after a win, or overly disappointed with a loss, during the summer months, I want to remind them their season isn’t on the line until the fall.

The last month has been a perfect illustration of the premature evaluation experienced by many Rider fans.

Start with the game on July 28 against the Toronto Argonauts. It was an impressive 11-point victory in which the Riders rallied from an early 10-point deficit and dominated much of the fourth quarter.

They looked good, although one has to remember they were playing against a team from the East Division, which is nowhere near as strong as the West Division.

The following week, they went into Vancouver and were plastered 30-14 by the B.C. Lions. The Riders trailed 30-0 late in the fourth quarter, and if not for a couple of late touchdown drives engineered by backup Brandon Bridge, they would have been shut out.

It was a drubbing in which the Lions offence easily moved the ball, and the Riders couldn’t muster yardage outside of a couple early possessions. The Lions’ 30-point lead in the fourth quarter flattered the Riders.

The fans who were thrilled with the game against the Argos were now claiming this game reflected the true Rider team this year. They seemed to forget how well the Riders played in four of their first five games. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Riders could have been 4-1 to start the year.

Eight days later, Rider fans were again a cheery bunch after a 41-8 win over the same Lions team at Mosaic Stadium. It was arguably the most impressive victory for the organization since the 2013 Grey Cup victory, since they routed a team that is considered one of the best in the league.

This wasn’t the Hamilton Tiger-Cats that the Riders throttled; it was the B.C. Lions.

Ed Gainey had four interceptions, the first four-pick game in franchise history and the first in the CFL since 1986. The rest of the defence was terrific. The offence looked great.

Checking social media after the game, you could see the excitement in the posts by the Rider faithful. The people who were calling for Chris Jones and others to be fired following the loss against the Lions, were now saying the Riders were back on the right path.

So which is the real Rider team? The one that was shellacked by the Lions two weeks ago, or the one that dominated the Leos the following week?

The answer is likely somewhere in between. No doubt Rider fans should be excited that their team is much-improved from the squad that has languished at the bottom of the standings for the past two seasons. 

If they can win a couple more games in this five-game stretch against West Division opponents, then they will give themselves a chance of making the playoffs. Five of their last eight games against foes from the East Division.

They might not be a Grey Cup contender this year, but making the playoffs (or coming within a game or two in the West Division) would be a real boost for a team that won all of 10 of 44 games from September 2014 through the end of last season.

Regardless of where they finish this season, I’ll get to enjoy the product on the field, and the zany reactions of the fans after the games are done.

Will they be calling for the firing of Jones, the release of Kevin Glenn and other changes following the next game on Aug. 25 in Edmonton? Or will they be calling for a parade route to be planned through Regina in November?