Riders’ Grey Cup celebration antics draw fan criticism

Fans voice concerns over players’ alcohol, cigar use, and Corey Mace's speech during Grey Cup parade celebrations. Damian Smith has more.

Following Sunday’s Grey Cup win, the Saskatchewan Roughriders celebrated their victory with a parade through the heart of Regina, which some fans said went a little too far at times.

“It offended people that most of the people I heard from, who had taken children or grandchildren to the event and said, ‘You know, these are our heroes, and I just really didn’t like the way that they were acting,’” said Darrell Davis, a columnist with the Regina Leader Post.

Following the parade, head coach Corey Mace ended his speech by saying; “How about them mother f****** Roughriders?”

In a season ending media availability, Mace called for a little slack as the team marked its first championship in 12 years.

“If any of us were bad people, or were horrible role models, 364 days of the year, then I’d say, ‘We should do better,’” he said. “Personally, for me, I thought that was pretty PG. The way that we feel, I mean, we want to do everything for this fanbase, and we cussed, sorry, but I hope you hope you accept our apology.”

Along with the explicit language, some say for kids to see the players and coaches drinking beer and smoking cigars in a public setting did not make the best impression.

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“We can understand that when he talks to his players, even if there’s a camera around, I think that’s fine,” said Davis. “Let them say whatever he wants. But when he’s out in public, in that respect, it’s being presented as this wonderful celebration. I think that you have to be a little bit more guarded.”

However, the Roughriders are far from the first team when it comes to parade shenanigans, with athletes from the NHL and NFL also getting into the moment.

Some quotes in recent years include:

“I’d like to apologize to absolutely f****** nobody,” Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers said after their 2025 Stanley Cup win.

“We beat Arizona in our first game, and we beat the f*** out of them,” said William Karlsson at the Vegas Golden Knights parade in 2023.

“If I don’t eat breakfast, I’m f****** pissed off,” said Travis Kelce in the Philadelphia Eagles 2018 parade after winning the NFL Superbowl.

Including those comments, Tom Brady threw the Superbowl trophy from boat to boat after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Superbowl in 2021.

Despite any controversy, most Roughrider fans are surely hoping for another championship parade sooner rather than later.