Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
WINNIPEG — Jorgen Hus has waited a decade.
Fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders have waited 12 years.
Hus — Saskatchewan’s long snapper and longest-serving member of the team having been with the group since 2015 — is set to play in his first career Grey Cup on Sunday while the Roughriders as an organization are playing in their first Grey Cup since 2013.
“To play for your home province means a lot,” Hus said this week in the lead up to Sunday’s Grey Cup game against the Montreal Alouettes at Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium. “And then to get to this game just means so much more.
“We’ve been trying for so many years, come close, but with this group, never felt better about getting to this game. Hopefully we just keep it going and hopefully Sunday’s a good day for us.”
After playing for the University of Regina Rams and Saskatoon Hilltops, Hus, 36, was drafted by Edmonton in the 2013 CFL draft. However, he spent a few years trying his luck in the NFL before making his CFL debut — not with Edmonton — but with Saskatchewan in 2015 after requesting a trade.
“It’s been a long journey,” said Hus. “When I was coming back and made the decision to come back to the CFL and give up trying down there at the time, I wanted to play here.
“This was the only team I wanted to play for. So they made a trade happen obviously from Edmonton over here. And, yeah, it’s where I’ve always wanted to be. It’s where I’m only going to be. It means a lot to play for this team.”
Cornerback Tevaughn Campbell has a similar story.
After playing for the Regina Rams, Campbell was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in 2015 and went on to spend time with the Roughriders and Alouettes before six years in the NFL.
He came back to the CFL this off-season with one goal in mind — to win a Grey Cup.
“This moment right here,” said Campbell, 32. “It’s been a decade; a drought.
“It was just this opportunity to come and win a Grey Cup … That’s why I came here. Because I felt like this team is able to go to the Grey Cup and win the Grey Cup.”
While Campbell grew up in Ontario, Regina is like his second home considering how much football he’s played here. And he knows what a Grey Cup win on Sunday would mean for Saskatchewan — not just the team, but the entire province.
“I think it would mean the world, man,” he said. “Just the fans out there that, you know, yearn for that cup to be in Saskatchewan, I think it just means the world.
“After the West final, I just stood there, I’m just like, ‘Man, like, this is coming to fruition; like this is literally what we’ve been striving for the entire time,’ I can’t even articulate how I felt or how I’m feeling at the time.
“I’ve got to wait until after the game when we’re hoisting that trophy up, and I don’t know if I’ll even have words for it then.”
While players like veteran defensive tackle Micah Johnson and linebacker Jameer Thurman won a Grey Cup with the Stampeders in 2018, they haven’t been back to the championship game since.
Along with knowing how passionate Saskatchewan’s fan base is and what it would mean to them, the two longtime CFLers know what’s on the line.
“It means a lot,” said Thurman, 30. “The last one being 2013, the fans have been waiting.
“We want to give them something to cheer for; give them something to be proud about, and going out there on Sunday and winning a championship is all it’s about.”
“It would mean everything,” added Johnson, 37, who also won the Grey Cup in 2014. “Just to think that it’s been seven years since I’ve been here is crazy, because it doesn’t feel like it’s that long, but that lets you know how fleeting it is.
“Guys can get here one time and never again for their career, or just never get here. So much has to go right and fall in place for you.”
