Saskatoon

Grey Cup Grannies cheer on Saskatchewan Roughriders for more than 20 years

Two Saskatchewan women who call themselves the Grey Cup Grannies have been supporting the Roughriders for decades.

The two ladies wear green pinafore aprons, white bloomers and 'granny hats'

Dena Hoyseth is one of the three original members of the Grey Cup Grannies. (Eric Anderson )

Walk past Section 24 in Mosaic Stadium during a Roughriders game and you're likely to see Dena Hoyseth and the Grey Cup Grannies cheering for their team.  

For more than 20 years, the Saskatoon woman and her friends have been dressing in green and white bloomers, leggings and "granny hats" to support the Saskatchewan team.

Hoyseth said she does it, quite simply, because she likes football. 

"Since Grade 9, my algebra teacher forced us to learn football and that's where it was started," she said. 

"We had Xs and Os all over our blackboard in algebra and that got the interest up." 

'We're just here to party' 

The Grey Cup Grannies started some time in the 1980s, when Hoyseth and her two friends realized other teams had loyal groups of supporters.

"We said 'Yeah, our Riders have got to have something,'" she said. 

"We came up with this idea and we had our outfits made." 

Those outfits are green pinafore aprons with white bloomers and green and white leggings. On their heads, the ladies wear granny hats. 

"In Vancouver they called us Aunt Jemimas and we said 'Well we don't cook, we're just here to party.'" 

The avid football fan has been to Grey Cup Festivals in every host city except Hamilton and Toronto. In the past, she also coordinated souvenir sales for the Roughriders during training camps.  

Training camp players 'very impressive' 

Now, Hoyseth and the other remaining Grey Cup Granny cheer from the sidelines in Section 24.

Last Friday, as she watched the Riders' training camp in Saskatoon, she told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning the current team was "very impressive." 

"I think they're going to have a tough time trying to cut some of these players because there is going to be a lot of good ones going to be cut," she said.  

"I think we're going to do well. At least I'm hoping for it anyways. Time will tell." 

With files from Eric Anderson