It was Nov. 26, 2013.
Large trucks paraded through the streets of Regina carrying members of the 2013 Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders. Two days prior, the Roughriders had defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 to clinch the franchise’s fourth championship.
When the flatbed truck carrying quarterback Darian Durant reached its destination at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, Durant walked toward the middle of the bed and looked out at the crowd of people.
He spread his arms, revealing a hoodie that read “Beast Mode.”
A fan handed Durant a giant Rider flag. He waved it over his head like a conquering hero.
More fans surged toward the truck and Durant reached down to his adoring public. The people were eager to touch the man who had cemented himself as Rider royalty.
Flash forward to now, more than a decade later, and the Riders haven’t been able to replicate that success or that level of sustained devotion for a quarterback.
Since Durant was traded to Montreal following the 2016 season, the Riders have cycled through many quarterbacks: Kevin Glenn, Zach Collaros, Brandon Bridge and Cody Fajardo.
Two names in particular stand out on that list: Collaros and Fajardo.
After frequent injuries, Collaros was dealt to the Toronto Argonauts in July 2019 and replaced by Fajardo.
While Fajardo used “Sprinkles of Jesus” to lead the Riders to a first-place finish in the west in 2019, Collaros found his way to Winnipeg and helped lead the rival Blue Bombers on a resurgence.
In a cruel twist of fate, the two teams would meet in the west final in consecutive seasons.
Unfortunately for Rider Nation, Collaros was victorious both times and went to lead the Bombers to back-to-back Grey Cup wins.
Fajardo would take a similar path. After the second playoff loss to Winnipeg, Fajardo ran out of “Sprinkles of Jesus.” The Riders would go on to miss the playoffs for two straight seasons, leading to Fajardo’s ousting as the next Rider saviour.
Both quarterbacks faced pressure and scrutiny from a fan base that tends to expect too much, too soon.
Fajardo seemingly struggled to handle the attention and expectations placed upon him as the Riders’ starting quarterback. Some fans also felt that the Riders gave up on Fajardo too early and made him a scapegoat for the poor team performance.
Fajardo moved to Montreal and, in a repeat of the Collaros story, found immediate success with the Alouettes while the Riders continued to struggle.
Rider fans watched in amazement as Fajardo lifted the Grey Cup over his head while wearing the jersey of the Montreal Alouettes.
Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan’s newest starting quarterback Trevor Harris was at home, out of the playoffs and recovering from a serious leg injury that cut his 2023 season short.
The Riders and Alouettes are set to meet up at Mosaic Stadium on Friday night.
Fajardo has yet to play against his former club, having been injured both times the teams have matched up. It looks like that will be true again for this next match.
Harris has also missed the last six games with the Riders due to a leg injury. The team has managed in his absence, with its record of 5-3-1 enough to hold the top spot in the CFL’s west division.
Fortunately, Harris has returned to the practice field this week and looks poised to start for the Riders on Friday.
The outstanding question remains: can he follow the same trend as Durant to lead the team to a championship? After all, both men have shared similar career arcs.
Both won Grey Cups as backup quarterbacks. Durant did it in 2007, Harris in 2012 and 2016.
Durant fell short as a starter at first, losing the Grey Cup games in 2009 and 2010 to the Montreal Alouettes before the eventual triumph in 2013.
Harris came up on the losing end of his only Grey Cup as a starter, losing in 2018 to the Calgary Stampeders as a member of the Ottawa Redblacks.
Durant turned his Grey Cup failures into motivation. Fans could see it happen before their eyes as he became the unquestioned leader of the team. The setbacks he faced were the catalyst for him to ignite a championship run.
Only four QBs have been able to take the Riders all the way to the promised land, achieving legendary status in the process: Ron Lancaster, Kent Austin, Kerry Joseph and Durant.
Fans are pinning their hopes on Harris to be the fifth.
Source Agencies
