Saskatchewan Roughriders' president and CEO Craig Reynolds knows what his team wants Santa to get them for Christmas.
"You know the answer; it's that shiny Grey Cup trophy -- in Winnipeg," Reynolds told The SportsCage. "2013, the last time we won. It's incredible positive momentum. Seasons are long and a lot of things have to go your way, but that would be the answer for sure."
According to one sportsbook, the Riders with the third-best odds to win the 2025 Grey Cup at +500.
The Green and White's last Grey Cup victory came on November 24, 2013, when Saskatchewan defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23. The Bombers last hosted the Grey Cup in 2015, when the Edmonton Elks defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 26-20 on November 29. In 2025, the Bombers host the Grey Cup.
"It's getting over the hump in the West Final. Three of the last five years, we've been in the West Final," Reynolds said. "When you take a step back, we had those two tough years, you forget that 2019 we had the West Final at home, 2021 we were in the West Final in Winnipeg and we haven't gotten over that hump yet. That's where the focus is, what do we need to do this off-season to allow us to get over that hump and be able to win that West Final."
During the 2019 season, the Green and White lined up against the Bombers in the West Final at home and lost 20-13 on November 17. The next two times the Riders travelled to Winnipeg for the West Final were in 2021 and this past year. During the 2021 season, Saskatchewan lost 21-17 on December 5, and this year lost 38-22 on November 9.
The two times the Riders did not make the playoffs over the last five seasons, were 2022 and 2023 when the team finished with 6-12 records both years.
"Merry Christmas to the Rider Nation," Reynolds said. "I want to thank the fans for just an outstanding year; they brought the energy and excitement all year, and good things are ahead in 2025."
