'We're back': Saskatchewan Roughriders react to CFL return to play
Rider Nation could be returning to Mosaic Stadium in August after the CFL announced the 2021 season is slated to start on Aug. 5.
The CFL’s board of governors approved the start date and 14-game schedule Monday.
In a letter to fans posted on the team’s website, Saskatchewan Roughriders’ president and CEO Craig Reynolds declared that the “football drought is finally over.”
Reynolds said he anticipates the return to the field will be emotional for everyone.
“It’s just going to mean so much to our fans and I’ve just thought about them constantly,” said Reynolds during a press conference.
“I’m just looking forward to being back in the stadium with them and celebrating with them.”
Reynolds said the Riders have some unfinished business to attend to this season after failing to book their ticket to the Grey Cup in November 2019.
Players will arrive in the province in a few weeks and training camp will start in Regina on July 10 after a quarantine and testing period, said Reynolds.
Wide receiver Shaq Evans shared his excitement on Twitter. Evans said it’s been a tough year, but the league’s return is a blessing.
In an interview with CTV News, Evans said the unknown has been one of the hardest parts of the year-and-a-half-long off-season, so having a date to get back on the field is an exciting development.
“The main feeling would just be thankfulness. I’d just be thankful that I’m back out there and able to do what I love in front of some of the best fans in the world,” said Evans.
In the off-season, Evans used his Twitter to encourage fans to go get their COVID-19 vaccine, tweeting he had talks with teammates, staff and medical professionals about the safety and effectiveness of the shot.
Reynolds also encouraged fans to get their vaccine in his letter Monday. He said the club is in regular communication with the province about what a return to play at Mosaic Stadium will look like.
“We want you back in the stadium. It’s you, Rider Nation, that makes when we do so very special,” wrote Reynolds.
Capacity restrictions will be lifted once the province enters phase three of its reopening plan, which will be triggered when 70 per cent of people age 18 and older receive their first dose of the vaccine.
The 14-game schedule is expected to be released Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.