Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

When it comes to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, fans will do just about anything to show they care — including skipping out on work and school.

While there were many young faces in the crowd, three students from the University of Regina said they skipped class to attend the Grey Cup parade on Tuesday to celebrate the Roughriders’ 23-19 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday.

Dressed in self-made Rider outfits, they said after missing Monday’s rally at Mosaic Stadium, there was no reason for them not to attend Tuesday’s parade.

Students weren’t the only ones playing hooky this week. Several individuals said they skipped out of work early to make it to the parade, and some said they even called in sick to work Monday. This shouldn’t come as a shock to many, as traffic was noticeably lighter on Monday morning.

“This hasn’t happened in so long,” said one man who asked not to be identified. “I had sick days left, so what better time to use them?”

Michelle Englot, SaskTel’s director of corporate affairs, said the company did not give staff any special time off to take in the parade or the rally at Mosaic Stadium. She also said there are more than 4,000 employees who work for the company, so she won’t be able to see how many absentees there were on Monday following the Grey Cup until next week.

Tim Kydd, director of communications at Farm Credit Canada, said that company, too, wasn’t letting individuals out early to catch the parade. The company does, however, work on flex hours so if employees wanted to leave early to check out the parade it was their prerogative. Employees were simply to ensure their work was finished by the end of the business day.

Kydd also said it was business as usual on Monday with regards to work attendance, but added employees are entitled to vacation days and some may have used them if they weren’t in the office.

For some who did leave work early and didn’t make it to the Legislative Building for Tuesday’s parade, they could have been quite disappointed. The convoy of players moved a little quicker than expected and some fans were left without seeing the parade at all.

Jim Hopson, president and CEO of the Riders, said it wasn’t an intentional move on their part; the trucks simply followed the police escort. He said the weather played a bigger role than expected and even once the team had reached the Legislative Building Premier Brad Wall moved everyone inside due to the -30 C windchill.

Hopson called the situation disappointing for fans, but assured there will be lots of other chances to see the Grey Cup.