Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

This forum is normally apolitical, but one can only marvel at the Saskatchewan party. Or the green party. Pick one.

The Rider Nation — 28,800 strong — was a factor for the entirety of Sunday’s CFL West Division semifinal, in which the Saskatchewan Roughriders outlasted the Calgary Stampeders 26-24 on Taylor Field.

The unrelenting crowd repeatedly bellowed “MVP!” to salute Roughriders quarterback Kerry Joseph, who has been deservedly honoured as the West’s most outstanding player for 2007. (At one point, the chant sounded suspiciously like “NDP!” — but, no, it hasn’t been their week.)

In adherence to today’s electoral theme, it should be noted that Saskatchewan went to the right on its biggest play. The Roughriders opened the scoring on the first play from scrimmage, when Joseph found D.J. Flick for a 62-yard major.

Just when you thought it could not get any crazier at Piffles Taylor’s park …

“For 29,000 people, they were loud as hell,” said Joseph, who played before significantly larger gatherings while in the NFL. “We wanted to reward the fans. The city deserves it. People have been in an uproar all week long.

“Twenty-nine thousand sounded like 60,000.”

A considerable percentage of the spectators — virtually any patron under 40 — witnessed a Saskatchewan home playoff victory for the first time. Until Sunday, the Roughriders had not accomplished that feat since they defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 23-13 in the West final of 31 years ago.

The date: Nov. 20, 1976.

Corey Holmes was born the previous day.

“I was one day old?” the Roughriders’ tailback-returner said when advised of this factoid. “Man, I’ve got to call my mom about that!

“It has been a lifetime.”

The final few minutes must have felt like a lifetime for the Rider Priders, who watched Calgary make matters interesting with a late touchdown.

It also appeared that Calgary recovered the ensuing onside kickoff with 53 seconds left, but the Stampeders’ Sadrick Williams was flagged for offside. The Stampeders’ subsequent onside-kick attempt was recovered by an unlikely hero, Kahlil Hill. Only then could Roughriders fans rest easily.

They deserved some relief from the tension, having performed so admirably in support of their team.

“It was electric,” said the classy Tom Higgins who, as of this writing, is still the Stampeders’ head coach.

“There are some very intelligent Saskatchewan fans. They didn’t need to be prompted. They knew when to make noise. The 13th man was an advantage.”

As it turned out, the Roughriders needed every advantage they could find.

Honestly, the game should have been over in the first half. It appeared that Saskatchewan had signed a lease inside Calgary territory, but the host team was unable to hit paydirt after Flick’s major. Luca Congi was repeatedly summoned for field goals, connecting six times in eight attempts.

Less-resilient teams would have imploded — as anyone who followed previous editions of the Roughriders can attest — but Saskatchewan never relinquished the lead that was produced by the Joseph-Flick collaboration.

“I think the crowd might have made the difference in the end,” 13th-year Roughriders offensive tackle Gene Makowsky said after the first home playoff victory of his distinguished career.

To a man, the Roughriders applauded the people who applauded them.

“I can’t say enough about the fans,” slotback Andy Fantuz said after a six-catch, 127-yard gem that evoked reminiscences of Ray Elgaard. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“We came out for warmups and the stadium was half-full, but it was loud,” coach-of-the-year designate Kent Austin said as his players rejoiced. “The crowd was unbelievable. That’s the way football should be played.”

“We love the fans here and we know they love us as players,” Joseph said after throwing for 391 yards and rushing for another 109. “All we can say is ‘thank you.’ ”

The long-awaited victory was thanks enough.