Grey Cup on display for Riders fans at fourth annual Winter Classic

Carter Wilson wasn’t even a year old the last time the Saskatchewan Roughriders won the Grey Cup, raised on the same passion for the Green and White as his parents Bruce and Lynn.

Fast-forward 13 years and Wilson was keenly watching on a taped broadcast as the Riders hoisted the 112th Grey Cup on Nov. 16.

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“We were ahead by I think it was seven points,” Wilson said.

“I’m like, ‘Please don’t screw this up, don’t screw this up.’ They didn’t screw up and they won, so that was the best part about it.”

The teen was one of hundreds of fans who braved freezing rain on Saturday to pack Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon for the Riders’ annual Winter Classic charity hockey game.

It was Carter’s second time posing next to the biggest prize in Canadian football for a photo, as he was taken to the Grey Cup train tour when he was just 10 months old.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen the Grey Cup that I can remember,” Wilson said.

“I don’t remember being 10 months old in that picture. To see it, to have it here and to look at it is pretty cool.

“It’s awesome, I’ve been alive for two Grey Cups.”

The fourth annual Riders Winter Classic took on a different atmosphere on Saturday, with both players and fans celebrating a championship season together for the unofficial kick-off of the team’s Grey Cup tour.

Kicker and Team Lauther captain Brett Lauther launched the fundraising game back in 2023 and said it’s taken on a life of its own since then.

“The game was just a crazy idea I had a few years ago and they were crazy enough to listen to me,” Lauther said. “Now we’re on year four and we’ve raised a lot of money, so it’s pretty special.”

Money raised from Saturday’s game will support the Roughrider Foundation’s ongoing literacy and mental health initiatives.

A lineup of green and white stretched around the concourse of Merlis Belsher Place for fans to get a glimpse of the trophy which has only been captured five times in franchise history.

It was Riders fan Carter Wilson’s second time posing next to the biggest prize in Canadian football for a photo, as he was taken to the Grey Cup train tour when he was just 10 months old. (Scott Roblin/650 CKOM)

Riders fan Jesse Evers had waited years for his moment with the Grey Cup and wanted to experience it all with his family in tow.

“I never got to do it after (2007),” Evers said. “It’s my first time ever being that close.”

While the Riders’ tour of the Grey Cup throughout the province will begin on Feb. 7 in Humboldt, the celebration with fans has been ongoing since that November night in Winnipeg.

“That’s what it means to win out here,” Lauther said. “They’re still kicking off the tour, but it’s already been on a little bit of a tour itself. To share it with the province, the fifth one ever, it’s pretty special to be a part of that.”

The weekend was also a special one for the Saskatchewan players who made the trip up including Lauther, Mitch Picton, Nick Wiebe, Noah Zerr, Sam Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Logan Ferland and Jacob Brammer.

For the first time, the group got to see their names officially inscribed on the Grey Cup as 2025 champions.

“I told my dad that my name was on the Grey Cup now and I think he got a little emotional,” Wiebe said.

“It’s been a cool experience obviously just to have the Cup and be able to have my name on it now.”

A number of Riders alumni also suited up in the game, along with the current class of players such as Chris Getzlaf, Andy Fantuz and Jason Clermont, as well as NHL alumni Mike Sillinger, Ryan Bayda and Mike Commodore.

For Commodore, it was his first time participating in the Winter Classic but not his family’s first affiliation with the Riders organization.

His father Wayne, a Saskatchewan native, once tried out for the Riders and turned down an opportunity on the diamond with the MLB’s Chicago White Sox to do so.

A Stanley Cup champion himself, Commodore was also acquainted with the Grey Cup for the first time this trip to Saskatoon.

“That was a first,” Commodore said.

“I did hold it, I didn’t want to break it … I didn’t know what the rules were. I haven’t had a drink out of it yet, I’m assuming that will probably happen later (Saturday). It was super cool.”

At the final buzzer, Team Lauther would sneak away with a 7-6 victory over Team Getzlaf at the Winter Classic in Saskatoon on Jan. 31, 2026. (Scott Roblin/650 CKOM)

At the final buzzer, Team Lauther would sneak away with a 7-6 victory over Team Getzlaf.

For lifelong fans like Ryan Booth however, the final score isn’t what will stand out years later when looking back on the game.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to see (the Grey Cup) with a fresh team win,” Booth said.

“So, it’s pretty cool. It’s great to see them bring it back home and it means everything to the province.”

Read more:

• U of R Cougars, U of S Huskies, Regina Pats postpone games due to weather
• Riders bring back veteran defensive lineman Mike Rose for 2026
• Defensive back DaMarcus Fields signs two-year extension with Sask. Roughriders