Sportin' the Roughriders Green

Let's see.... where you start to tell a strange little story about a colorful bit of Canadiana?

Should I start by mentioning that, like their fellow Alaskans, winter comes earlier to Canada than the rest of North America?

Or maybe this:

Fall football tournaments in Alaska usually wrap up in early October, to avoid the prospect of playing the 'big game' in the snow.

Canucks have their Superbowl -- the Grey Cup -- in November for the same reason.

How about this:

There's been a rush in the northern Mexican state of Sonora to send as many watermelons north as possible before this weekend.

Huh? you say.

Watermelons?

Ah... the fun of being a Roughriders fan.

The Roughriders, you see, are one of the two teams competing this weekend in the Grey Cup. (yeah... they spell it the English way of course)

Their opponents are the Alouettes of Montreal in the Canadian Football League big-time championship, being held this year at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta.

Roughriders fans only have a short distance to drive from all over the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan to get there, so most are going to wear their team-supporting fashion of choice:

A Watermelon Helmet.

Seriously.

Produce markets in most prairie provinces have been cutting bacak their supply of watermelons as the winter months advance ( it is snowing throughout most of Canada, after all ) so the rush was on to grab some from Mexico in time for this weekend.

Roughriders fans have been cutting helmets out of watermelons for maybe a decade or more. The origins of the tradition vary, depending on whom you talk to.

There's no denying it's popularity, though.

Watermelons have been known to freeze to the hair and scalp of devoted fans standing in sub-zero temperatures.

Hey, it's winter in Canada during part of the season, remember?

Fortunately, the weather for wearing a watermelon on your head is encouraging: it'll be above freezing.

Temperatures somewhere in the low 40's by game time.

It is an outdoor stadium, after all . . .

. . . and even watermelons grown in Mexico can still freeze to your head.

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