You don’t have to be a quarterback to engineer a rollout.
Consider the example of Seth Strankman, who is proud of his role in developing and unveiling the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ game themes for 2024.
“It has come a long way from when it was just Gainer holding up signs,” Strankman, the Canadian Football League team’s Manager of Game Entertainment and Events, says with a chuckle.
There was a time when the game-day agenda was pretty much football, football, football.
That is difficult to fathom when you consider the extent to which Strankman and many of his colleagues have immersed themselves in assigning themes to each of the 10 home dates at Mosaic Stadium.
“The theme games came into full force in the early 2000s,” Strankman notes. “I think they came out of developing marketing strategies out of not only sport, but also out of trying to think of various other ways to entertain the fans.”
That can be done by complementing the game with music, contests, nostalgia, culture, community sports and, well, you name it.
“It gives us something to talk about and something to get excited about other than the amazing football games that are happening,” says Strankman, who has been involved in game-day planning for a decade.
In April of 2014, he joined the Calgary Stampeders as a Game Day Operations and Events Intern.
He was subsequently hired by the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, which owns the Stampeders, Calgary Flames (National Hockey League), Calgary Hitmen (Western Hockey League), Calgary Roughnecks (National Lacrosse League) and Calgary Wranglers (American Hockey League).
With the CSEC, he was the Game Presentation Co-ordinator (September 2014 to February 2016) and Game Presentation Supervisor (March 2016 to March 2019).
He spent the following three years as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Director, Game Presentation and Events, before joining the Roughriders in March of 2022.
By then, the Roughriders had long embraced the concept of theme games, so it became a priority for Strankman to build on that foundation.
“Our world changed when we got a video screen (in 2005),” notes Bill Wright, who has been part of the MaxTron production team since Day 1. “That allowed the team to do so much more.
“As the team started doing well, a couple of more things evolved into a couple of more things, to the point where we have what we have now.”
And what is that?
Here, as promised, is the rollout of the Roughriders’ themes for 2024:
May 20: Community Culture Night will be held in conjunction with a pre-season game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Multi-cultural performances will be highlighted before the game, at Coors Light Party in the Park, and at halftime.
June 23: The Canadian Armed Forces will be saluted when the Roughriders welcome Hamilton for the home opener. As well, young players will be celebrated as part of this season’s first Engleheim Minor Football Showcase. At halftime, The Rock Band of the Canadian Armed Forces will perform during the Pepsi Concert Series. A Canadian citizenship ceremony will be held before the game.
July 4: Throwback Thursday returns with “ERAs (Riders Version)” when the Roughriders play host to the Toronto Argonauts. “We’ll celebrate the Roughriders’ eras,” Strankman says, “and put a fun Taylor Swift spin on it.” Also on July 4: The annual Purolator Tackle Hunger food drive, and a performance by Men Without Shame during Coors Light Party in the Park. Men Without Shame’s set list will be chosen by Rider Nation.
July 19: Winnipeg’s first of two regular-season visits will have a “Green is the Colour” theme. The Engleheim Minor Football Showcase will also be on the agenda.
Aug. 3: Family Day returns — this time, against the Edmonton Elks. The game-day attractions will include various family-friendly happenings. The Junior Rider Cheer Team will perform at halftime. Fans will be allowed on to the field after the game.
Aug. 16: The return of quarterback Cody Fajardo — now of the Montreal Alouettes — to Mosaic Stadium will take place as the Prairie Proud theme is celebrated. Country music will be spotlighted on a day that will also include mutton busting at halftime. A surprise attraction during last year’s event was an escaped sheep, which did a lap of the field. Will a rogue sheep go off-script once again? You have to be there to find out.
Sept. 1: “The Labour Day Classic transcends themes,” Strankman says of the annual late-summer, long-weekend matchup with Winnipeg. A pre-game program will include music from El Guitaro and a watermelon-eating contest. The list of attractions also includes the Engleheim Minor Football Showcase (Part 3) and FOGDOG (Pepsi Concert Series).
Sept. 28: The third annual kisiskaciwan Game will honour the Indigenous community and its culture. In observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, slated for Sept. 30, the players will wear orange jerseys before the opening kickoff. After the game, against the Ottawa REDBLACKS, fans will be invited on to the field in the spirit of inclusion and unity.
Oct. 12: The B.C. Lions pay a visit on Legends Night, when the 2024 SaskTel Plaza of Honour inductees will be honoured. Members of the Roughriders’ alumni will sign autographs during Coors Light Party in the Park. Also highlighted will be Cameco Touchdown for Dreams, which grants wishes to women who are facing a life-threatening cancer diagnosis.
Oct. 26: The regular-season home finale, against Calgary, will double as a 13th Fan Appreciation. Fans will be invited to wear Halloween costumes. At halftime, one fan will win a new vehicle. Fans will be welcomed on to the field after the game, when players will sign autographs.
Monday’s announcement was made after Strankman and Jacqueline Hurlbert — the Roughriders’ Director of Marketing and Fan Engagement — signed off on the final game-day plans after several months of preparation.
“And,” Strankman notes, “I’ve already got many of the themes planned out for 2025.”
