Former Rider reacts to weather-shortened game

Former Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Matt Dominguez isn’t a stranger to extreme weather when it comes to playing for the Green and White.

During a game at Taylor Field between the Roughriders and Edmonton Eskimos on Aug. 18, 2007, a storm forced play to a halt in the fourth quarter.

“The teams went into the locker rooms and the field got flooded. The power went out in the stadium and surrounding areas,” Dominguez recalled Monday. “The power came back on two hours later and we went out to play and there was still 15,000 people there. We won and it was actually one of my best games ever.”

Dominguez caught seven passes for 171 yards in the Roughriders’ 39-32 victory. He spent six years with the Roughriders during his CFL career.

That game was one of the reasons he was surprised to see how quickly the CFL called off Friday’s game between the Roughriders and host Montreal Alouettes.

Saskatchewan was named the winner of the game after lightning caused a delay with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter, with the Roughriders leading 17-10.

According to a new rule added into the new collective bargaining agreement, the league can call off a game if weather delays a game for more than an hour after the midway point of the third quarter if one team is in the lead.

“You see that kind of thing (in 2007) that I know they can work through and to see how quickly they closed down this other game, it’s just a big contrast,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez pointed out that earlier in the season, on July 1 against the Toronto Argonauts, the Roughriders faced a lengthy delay before coming back out to finish the game.

“(The decision Friday) seemed to be very quick,” Dominguez said.

Fans across the CFL weren’t happy by the decision to end the game.

“You’re never going to make everybody happy,” he said. “This has to do with the new rules they’ve implemented and so they’re following it, so that’s the professional thing. They’re doing the thing that’s correct by using the appropriate rules.

“You never want to give anything for people to point to and say that’s another thing that the CFL is not getting right.”

Dominguez said he feels the league needs to do what it can to ensure the fans get the product they expect to see in full.

“Some people are adjusting their schedules, family, work and stuff to go see a product. You want to hold out as long as possible for that,” Dominguez said. “Especially with so much being said this year about attendance and things like that.”

Dominguez said he understands the league needs to err on the side of overcautiousness when it comes to safety, especially when it comes to the fans. He feels the league needs to have a more open-ended rule that can be determined on a game-by-game basis.

“At some point it makes more sense to move it to a different day or something,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re only talking about three, maybe four games a year. It’s something that doesn’t have to be so overly specific that we’re in a situation that we were just in.”

The Roughriders (5-3) are on a bye week. Their next action is set for Aug. 24 against the Ottawa Redblacks at Mosaic Stadium.