As I sit in my hotel room and write this, my stomach still feels empty, and my heart aches. It aches for the men in green that poured everything into a game that like last night can be cruel and unfair. I’m left to stare into nothingness, replaying a game that is still a blur, and hopefully remains that way.

As the party at centre field erupted with the crowning of the Alouettes, a stunned Roughriders’ head coach, Ken Miller, did his due diligence in answering questions at the time he just could not answer. His tear-filled eyes and bumbling words would have chocked-up anyone… I stood there and watched a 68-year old, who gave everything
to this team and province try and filter through the game’s last play. Too many men? Too many men?

Miller tried to explain that they put an extra guy on the line to block the kick. There are rumours today that Jason Armstead should have never been on the field because if the kick missed, it wouldn’t have mattered. Rumours will continue to circulate on who is to blame for this but judging by what Kavis Reed, our special teams coach said, it’s 100 percent his fault.

But should it have come down to a kick? What about the missed field goal early in the game. Or the decision to kick a field goal instead of go for a touchdown before half? Darian Durant also picked a very bad time to throw a costly interception late in the game.

The reality of the situation is that football is a progression of one thing leading to another. And on a day when the Rider Nation, football pundits and even those who don’t really care about the game will question the most beloved team in sports, I say congratulations to the Roughriders. They put themselves in a position to beat one of the best teams in CFL history, and did so with Canadian talent, and a group of men who love to play the game.

It still hurts though.

While I was milling about the stadium in disarray after the game, Eddie Davis did the same. With his family close by, Eddie could barely look anyone in the eyes, and couldn’t bear to watch the Als still celebrating on the field.

What did I learn? That despite me saying earlier in the year that football players have an uncanny ability to move on after a loss, they too have difficulty fathoming a loss when they know they should have won, especially for a Championship.

That’s all I’ve got for today. It’s going to take a couple of days to fully realize how incredible this season was, but for now, the heartbreak is taking over.