A watermelon is not a toque...

Edmonton is a buzz this weekend with the Grey Cup, Canada's version of the Superbowl, for the CFL (Canadian Football League). Friday Dayven and some coworkers took a group of customers down to the "Huddle", the big festival/pep rally-type festivities before the game weekend. The Montreal Alouettes are playing the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Since half of Albertans are originally from Saskatchewan, there are a LOT of Rough Rider fans here and let's just say they are spirited. There's more green downtown this weekend than on St. Patrick's Day. Dayven said it's not like anything you'd ever see from NFL fans, but it's interesting none the less.

The “Rider Nation,” as the team’s fan base is called has a cult-like following. The green-clad riders are serious about showing their team support and they're decked head to toe in green, singing fight songs and wearing their infamous homemade watermelon helmets.

I'm not sure the significance or how it started, but true Roughrider fans show up to games wearing a hollowed out watermelon as headgear. Apparently the trend has even been said to cause a shortage of watermelons at supermarkets in the days preceding a game. Before the football league’s Grey Cup tournament in November 2009, thousands of watermelons had to be special ordered by Calgary grocery stores to keep up with the demands of Roughrider fans. Despite all the excitement, our TV will be tuned to the Broncos on Sunday. Let's hope they have better luck than last week!