Mosaic Stadium was overflowing and the glass was half-full.
In that spirit, a question was posed to Saskatchewan Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace on Sunday after the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won a 35-33 nailbiter in the 59th Labour Day Classic.
“You’ve been in the CFL since 2010,” I began. “I realize it’s not the outcome you wanted, but how many better games have you been a part of?”
Mace, ever thoughtful, took a moment to consider the question.
“I don’t know, Rob,” he said. “I thought that game sucked.”
From a bottom-line perspective, it did.
The loss, which extended Saskatchewan’s winless streak to six games, is especially excruciating for coaches and players who aren’t paid to worry about things such as aesthetics.
“I get it,” Mace continued. “I think we lose sight sometimes that this game is about entertainment, but it’s really hard to see that when you’re in it.
“From that standpoint, I think the last few games have been like that. It’s just not how we want to end it.
“We want our fan base to be happy. We want to be happy. We are not that currently, but we’re still in it, so we’ll keep swinging.”
Just like the pendulum in a wild ride of a 2024 season for the Roughriders.
Saskatchewan rallied from a 13-point deficit to win each of its first two games of the season.
Even when the Green and White sported records of 4-0-0 and 5-1-0, the final few minutes were typically a stressful experience.
Then the delicate balance tipped, ever so slightly, and that’s all it took. Close games turned into Roughriders losses or, in one case, a tie.
One point resulting from a draw is all the Roughriders have extracted from their past four games, over which they have been outscored by a total of six points.
In each case, the game has been decided on the final play.
“It feels like it has been the same thing every week,” veteran lineman Micah Johnson said. “One or two plays here and there and it’s a different complexion to the game.”
The Roughriders made play after play — especially in the second half — en route to amassing 31 first downs.
Saskatchewan has reached or exceeded 30 first downs only 23 times in franchise history.
Until Sunday, the Roughriders had not moved the chains 30 or more times since they reached 32 in a 34-29 victory over the host Montreal Alouettes on Sept. 30, 2018.
Twenty of the Roughriders’ first downs on Sunday were recorded during a second half in which Trevor Harris threw for 243 of his 368 yards.
Saskatchewan put a touchdown on the board after Winnipeg assumed leads of 32-20 and 35-27.
The final major, on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Harris with 14 seconds remaining, put the Roughriders in position to force overtime by adding a two-point convert.
The pass was knocked down but, even then, the resilient Roughriders were not finished.
Brett Lauther’s onside kick was recovered by teammate Adam Auclair.
Suddenly, the Roughriders had a first down on their 46-yard line with 12 seconds remaining.
Winnipeg was then flagged for pass interference. The ball was placed on the Blue Bombers’ 52-yard line.
Sufficient time remained for a desperation, 60-yard field-goal attempt by Lauther. The line was perfect but the kick, into a moderate wind, fell four yards short.
It was a deflating moment for most of the 33,861 eyewitnesses. All 33,350 seats had been sold by early in the week, so standing-room tickets were made available.
On the 12 occasions when more people have watched the Roughriders in a regular-season game, temporary seating was an option with a Regina-based Grey Cup Game looming.
Those who packed Mosaic Stadium on Sunday were rewarded with a classically entertaining contest.
“Everyone kept hyping up the game, so to see it live up to the hype is what you expect,” said receiver Dohnte Meyers, whose voice broke the silence in the Roughriders’ locker room.
“Regardless, it’s 60 minutes of football. It doesn’t matter what day it is or where we’re playing at. Our job is to go out and get the win.
“It’s nice to be in an atmosphere like that, but we just hope we come out there and get the win.”
The “a” word was also accentuated by Harris.
“That was one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever played in in my life,” the 12th-year CFL pivot said. “That was fun.”
Infinitely less enjoyable was the realization that a play or two here and there — during a game in which the ball was snapped 151 times — was once again the difference.
“It’s something we were just talking about as a team in the locker room,” Harris said after the sixth-highest-scoring Labour Day Classic of all time.
“No more rah-rah speeches and all that stuff. Just prove it. Go get results but do it through the process of just doing the right thing, play after play, drive after drive.
“I know people might think I’m crazy, but I wouldn’t rather be with any group in the league than this group right here. We have the DNA of a championship team.
“I think we’re going to look back here in a month and a half and like where we’re at.”
