Rider Training Camp

There are no tests; there are no rules.  Anyone who moves to Saskatchewan will be welcomed and made to feel at home.  But there is a law.  A very strongly enforced law.  If you want to be accepted as a true Saskatchewanian, there is one thing you must do: you must - absolutely MUST - become a DIE HARD RIDER FAN.  I am not exaggerating.  You can cheer for whichever NHL, MLB, NFL or NBA team you want.  But Lord help you if you even so much as suggest your loyalty lies with another CFL team.  The best advice for anyone moving to Saskatchewan: stock up on watermelons (they turn them into helmets/hats - yes, seriously) and embrace all things green.  If you still don't believe me, I'll point out that our kids are taught IN SCHOOL to know the Rider Anthem as well as the National Anthem:

"Green is the colour;

Football is the game;

We're all together;

And winning is our aim.

So cheer us on;

Through the sun and rain:

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS IS OUR NAME"

Believe me yet?  If so, you're ready to grasp the magnitude of what Ethan got to do.

Recall our neighbours, the Malins, that we've become good friends with?  Geoff (the Dad) owns a Dairy Queen and their 9-year old son Josh is a huge, mega, crazy sports fanatic.  All sports.  You name a player and he can tell you stats about them that would make your head spin.  He also has the confidence to approach anyone and strike up a conversation (which was particularly beneficial for me when he took my Leafs jersey to a Memorial Cup game last month and got Tie Domi to sign it).  He played on Ethan's hockey team last year and single-handedly convinced a Rider by the name of Graham Bell to come to a tournament we were hosting.  He and Graham have since become friends and Graham invited Josh to be the water/ball boy at Rider Training Camp this year (which takes place in Saskatoon).  Huge HUGE deal!

One night last week, Geoff asked Ethan if he'd like to help him hand out Dilly Bars at Training Camp.  Ethan was a little nervous given he's not quite as outgoing as Josh, but he was pumped to meet some Riders.  Little did he know, he and Josh would be the only 2 invited into the dressing room to hand out the Dilly Bars.  They were in there for 45 minutes and Ethan's description of the experience was, "they're all really goofy Mom and I saw lots of bare bums".  Haha!!  Here is Ethan with a bunch of his new buds: