Riders unveil statues honouring Lancaster, Reed

If you ever wanted to take a hand off from Ron Lancaster or run alongside George Reed, two new statues at Mosaic Stadium will let you make believe you are.

The statues of the two Roughrider legends were unveiled Saturday afternoon to the delight not only of the fans who were there, but also to Lancaster’s family and Reed himself.

Made by the same firm who created the 13th man statue, the two new statues are incredibly detailed, but also allow people to get up close and personal with the statues.

The short ceremony was emotional at times for both Reed, and for Lancaster’s daughter Lana Mueller who said her dad – who died in 2008 – would be honoured and humbled to see his likeness at the new stadium and that it would have meant a lot to him to be there beside Reed.

“To us, it means two teammates and friends will be side by side forever,” she said through tears.

Mueller said the duo were more than just teammates. She remembers how both families would spend time and vacation together.

Countdown and unveiling of the Lancaster and Reed statues. pic.twitter.com/hUFdT84DID

— Arielle Zerr (@arielle_zerr) September 2, 2017

Those memories and that meaningful relationship came flooding back to Reed Saturday too.

“He was the quarterback and I was the running back but off the football field our families were very close,” Reed said. “I couldn’t think of anything better than to be sitting here right beside his statue also and having him look down on us. I think he would approve.”

Of course, he also never thought that being immortalized in a sculpture at Mosaic would be something that happened to him.

“I never thought about that, you never even think about those type of things. I didn’t think the hall of fame was possible or some of the other honours I’ve received. To see something like this here, it just kind of blows you completely away. I’m very humbled and I’m very thankful.”

Reed and the Lancaster family didn’t get a chance to see the statues before they were unveiled, so it was a surprise for both of them when the coverings came off.

Both Mueller and Reed were very overwhelmed and teary eyed.

“It’s emotional because you don’t know what to expect, you know that they’ve done the statue but the fact that it looked so much like him kind of caught me off guard,” Mueller said.

Saying goodbye to the old stadium last year was hard, Mueller added, but having this lasting legacy at the Riders new home brings a new sense of comfort.

“We get to come here and bring some of those memories back with us and now attach all of our new ones here.”