THURSDAY CAT COUNTRY COMMENTARY

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary at 9:50 am and 5:20 pm on Cat Country 98 FM)

THE CURTAIN GOT PULLED BACK WEDNESDAY NIGHT, AND THE PROVINCE WAS SHOCKED AT WHAT THEY SAW.

TOP ROUGHRIDERS OFFICIALS REVEALED PRIOR TO THE CLUB’S ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING THAT THE FRANCHISE STANDS TO LOSE 10-MILLION DOLLARS IN 2020 IF THEY DON’T PLAY. AND THE OUTLOOK IS ONLY, QUOTE, “MARGINALLY BETTER”, IF THEY PLAY A SHORTENED SEASON.

NEWS COVERAGE SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE AROUND SOCIAL MEDIA AND PEOPLE SEEMED SHOCKED THAT THE FINANCIAL PICTURE IS THIS BAD FOR CANADA’S TEAM.

I WASN’T. I FIGURED EVEN A CASUAL OBSERVER WOULD KNOW THE PERIL THE TEAM FACES IF A SEASON WAS WIPED OUT. IN FACT I’VE BEEN SAYING IT FOR MONTHS BUT WAS ACCUSED OF FEAR MONGERING AND FAKE NEWS.

BUT I CAN TAKE IT. I LEARNED LONG AGO THAT PEOPLE DON’T LIKE TO HEAR THE TRUTH. THAT HASN’T STOPPED ME FROM SPEAKING IT.

IT WAS ALSO REVEALED THAT WITHOUT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE THE ROUGHRIDERS WILL RUN OUT OF MONEY BY LATE-SEPTEMBER. THAT, TO ME, IS WHERE THINGS GET REALLY INTERESTING.

AND REALLY THERE ARE THREE OPTIONS FOR FUNDING FROM WHAT I CAN SEE: 1) ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, 2) A FUNDRAISER SIMILAR TO THE OLD RIDER TELETHONS ONLY THIS TIME LEAGUE-WIDE, AND 3) PERHAPS A GRANT FROM THE NFL.

IDEALLY, THEY’D GET MONEY FROM ALL OF THEM. BUT ALL OF THOSE ENTITIES ARE FACING HARDSHIPS OF THEIR OWN AND JUST LAST WEEK THE NFL COMMITTED 250-MILLION TO FIGHT RACIAL INJUSTICE. THE CFL DOESN’T SEEM HIGH ON THEIR PRIORITY LIST.

SO AS WE’VE SAID HERE IN WEEKS PAST, EMPTY BARRELS MAKE THE MOST NOISE AND THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE.

TODAY I HAVE TO ASK YOU – WHO’S MAKING THE NOISE FOR THE CFL? 100-PLUS DAYS INTO THE PANDEMIC, THE “SAVE THE CFL” CAMPAIGN HAS YET TO GET OFF THE GROUND.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY ON CAT COUNTRY 98.