Courtesy TSN

REGINA - It took Karen Vandergucht a year to make her costume for the Grey Cup - a full-length ball gown with a Saskatchewan Roughrider logo across the chest.

She painstakingly sewed each tiny green and white sequin on by hand.

So a little cold wasn’t going to keep her from donning the masterpiece, complete with a Gainer the Gopher fur hat, and welcoming her Grey Cup heroes home from Toronto.

“I wanted an outfit that was original from everyone else, that no one can copy,” Vandergucht said from her front-row seat at Mosaic Stadium on Monday afternoon.

Vandergucht was one of about 8,000 crazy Saskatchewan Roughrider fans who braved a finger-freezing winter wind to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ first Canadian Football League championship in 18 years.

The Roughriders dispatched the rival Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19 in Sunday’s Grey Cup game, sending football fans across the province into a tizzy.

Even with the temperature hovering around the -20 C mark - and a wind chill that made it feel a lot colder than that - most of the fans waited in the stands for an hour or more while their team made its way from the airport to the stadium with the cup.

“It’s a lot colder in Winnipeg today,” Joe Vickar said with a laugh, his moustache crusted with ice from his breath.

The football team is the only professional sports ticket in the province, and fans live and die with each play on the field.

Headlines in the province’s two major daily newspapers screamed about the win. The Regina Leader-Post opted for “SaskatcheWIN” in large black type over a picture of quarterback Kerry Joseph holding the cup. The Saskatoon StarPhoenix ran a full-page photo of game MVP James Johnson under the headline “Riders do it!”

There were more than a few fans who left work early to attend Monday’s rally. Given the party in Regina after the victory Sunday night, there were likely some who didn’t make it in at all.

Student Jared Wirth skipped an afternoon physics class to attend the rally. He couldn’t remember the last time the Roughriders won the cup.

“I was in my mother’s womb,” he said.

The rally was not as big as the one held after the 1989 victory. About 18,000 people attended that event which was held in the evening and when the temperature was only -10 C.

Roughrider head coach Kent Austin, who quarterbacked the team to that victory 18 years ago, could hardly comprehend the fans’ diehard devotion to the team.

“Just unbelievable,” Austin said. “Thirty below zero, are you kidding me? It’s just such a great thing to do that for the guys. For the players. It means so much to them.”

Six hours down the Trans-Canada Highway to the east, about 200 pompom-waving Blue Bomber fans showed up at the Winnipeg airport to welcome home the losing club.

“We had a close game, so I salute their efforts all the way,” said Ken Miller, who waved an oversized Blue Bomber flag as the players descended the escalator.

Head coach Doug Berry was pleasantly surprised by the reception.

“I had to pinch myself. I thought we had won the Grey Cup when I saw this reception,” Berry said. “It’s special because this football team, after last night, needed a lift.”

The loudest applause was reserved for Milt Stegall, the 36-year-old slotback who has repeatedly said this would very likely be his final year. The crowd chanted “One more year!” as Stegall waded his way through the throng to retrieve his luggage.

Stegall, who has played 13 years in Winnipeg, brushed aside reporters’ question about his future.

“I’m letting the fans do all the talking today,” Stegall said. “You’d better ask the fans.”

Berry said he didn’t try to twist Stegall’s arm on the flight from Toronto.

“Milt has his own decisions to make with his wife, his family, his business and everything. He knows the shape his body is in. He also knows the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would love to have him back if that’s what he’s willing to do.”

The celebrating is not over for the Roughriders. A parade is planned for Tuesday.

“We’ll enjoy it as we should,” Austin said. “But there is only one thing left to do, and that is to do it again.”

Tags: Celebration, Fans, Grey Cup, Regina, Roughriders