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Rider fans come out in droves for victory parade despite the return of chilly Regina weather

Andrew Bucholtz

Regina's cold weather returned with a vengeance for Tuesday's Roughriders' victory parade, but that didn't stop masses of Saskatchewan fans from packing the streets. The parade started at 11 a.m. local time at Mosaic Stadium, site of the Riders' triumph in Sunday's 101st Grey Cup (which actually had surprisingly warm weather compared to the rest of the week), and then proceeded south down Albert Street through "The Green Mile" for a ceremony outside the provincial legislature with Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall. Tons of green-clad fans came out despite the temperatures, which ranged from -15 to -17 degrees Celsius (5 to 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) with a windchill of -23 Celsius (-9.4 Fahrenheit), as per data from the Regina airport. Here are some photos and tweets from the parade, which involved the team, fans, politicians and the Grey Cup itself:

And some comments from Premier Wall, via The Green Zone:

"So you might've heard that Sunday was my birthday. I had a few wishes but they were the same as everybody's Grey Cup wishes: I wanted the Riders to win the Grey Cup game."

Wall's voice was still ragged after a hard Sunday night of cheering (followed by partying with the team in the locker room), as it was during Question Period on Monday.

"Our team demonstrated what it's like to be a team better than any other team I have ever seen in a Grey Cup. This was a big chance...to be introduced as an indivdual so people back home could see it...and they gave all of that up, they sacrificed that. And they ran onto the field as a team and they ran into the history books."

Wall praised the players and coaches, extolling the leadership of head coach Corey Chamblin, the team's board of directors, general manager Brendan Taman, and team President and CEO Jim Hopson. He also offered his appreciation for their hard work.

"Thanks for making history. Thanks for taking us along. Thanks for keeping the Grey Cup here. Thanks for bringing the Grey Cup home."

It's good to see celebrations still running high in Rider Nation two days after the game. This was a win that was largely thanks to the intimidating atmosphere created by the fans, and the team and its players are smart to honour that with a parade like this one. Well done.