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Jon Ryan has dreamed of wearing the Green and White in the Labour Day Classic for most of his life.
The Regina-born punter will finally get a chance to do that when the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet on Sunday. Game time at Mosaic Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
Ryan recalls coming to the game as early as 1985 to cheer on former Roughriders players like Roger Aldag and Dave Ridgway.
“I’ve been coming to this game for a long time,” Ryan said after a recent practice at Mosaic Stadium. “Even as a fan of the team, (it has) been circled on the calendar as a day that you want to win. It’s that rivalry between the two provinces and it just makes for a good time.”
This is the first time Ryan will suit up for a Labour Day Classic since 2005 when he was a member of the Blue Bombers.
Ryan was also a member of the 2004 team that defeated Saskatchewan 17-4 in the annual showdown.
“I remember winning and I remember all the Winnipeg fans rushing the field after the game,” Ryan said. “Up to that point, it was one of the cooler experiences of my young football career and I still think of that fondly.”
After two seasons with the Blue Bombers, including his record-setting 2005 campaign in which he averaged 50.6 yards per punt, Ryan went south to join the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. He enjoyed a successful career in the U.S., winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. Ryan returned to the CFL this season, signing with Saskatchewan.
“Before I got (to sign in Saskatchewan), it was my most memorable CFL experience being able to play on Labour Day and I think it’s going to feel a little bit different, a little bit better being on the other side of the field this time,” Ryan said.
He said his decision to come home to play for the Roughriders has lived up to his expectations.
“After sitting out a year I didn’t know exactly where I would be and I feel like I’m hitting the ball as well, if not better than I have in my football career,” said Ryan who didn’t play in 2018 after being released by Seattle. “After a slow start to win five in a row right now, that feels pretty good.”
So far this season, Ryan has been booming punts down the field and is averaging 50.9 yards a punt. Ryan has also punted the ball four a rouge seven times in 2019, which isn’t a stat punters necessarily want to see. He’s on pace to have the most single-point punts since Hank Ilessic set the CFL record with 22 in 1986.
Ryan said he’s most excited to get a chance to experience how Rider Nation can make the game even more special.
“The fans are always passionate here but it’s always taken to another level come Labour Day,” Ryan said. “It’s going to be a pretty special day.”
The Roughriders (6-3) and Blue Bombers (8-2) are meeting for the 56th time in the Labour Day Classic. Saskatchewan has won 36 of those meetings compared to just 19 for Winnipeg. This is the first time since 1954 that Saskatchewan and Winnipeg are the top two teams in the West Division heading into the game.
Notes: Slotback Cory Watson (knee) has been placed on the six-game injured list. Head coach Craig Dickenson said Watson suffered the injury earlier in the week but the team didn’t think it was anything serious until it began to swell up. Rookie wide receiver Justin McInnis will start in his place … Defensive lineman Micah Johnson returns to the lineup after missing two games with a high ankle sprain. The Green Zone pre-game show gets underway at 11 a.m.