REGINA — Of all the owners in the Canadian Football League, she is both the newest and, by far, the least concerned.
The owner of the B.C. Lions is talking about a national backlash against Rogers Communications if the media giant ends up bringing a National Football League team to Toronto.
The president of the Edmonton Eskimos defiantly says if the Buffalo Bills do end up moving to Toronto, "there will always be Canadian football in Edmonton," even if the CFL dies in Toronto.
But owner Laine Cosh of the Saskatchewan Roughriders hasn't given it a single thought.
She's never even heard of the Buffalo Bills - which, presumably, could become the "Toronto Loonies" if they relocate to Canada.
The eight-year-old owner's only concern, this brisk sunny-and-sleety Sunday afternoon in Regina, is her brand new Gainer the Gopher doll - purchased, of course, at the "owner's discount" - as she heads into Mosaic Stadium to watch her beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Cosh family of Macklin, Sask., is eccentric even by the outrageous standards of true 'Riders fanatics.
They drive five hours each way from their town near the Alberta border to attend every Roughriders home game. They have season's tickets for six - Robin and Lori and their four children, 12-year-old Taylor, nine-year-old Keifer, Laine and six-year-old Connor - and treat becoming an "owner" the way other families regard First Communion or bar and bat mitzvahs.
Sunday afternoon was the day Laine came to pick up her share - an official document declaring her one more owner of this community-owned team.
Her parents have their shares, her big sister and brother have theirs - leaving only the youngest, Connor, to sulk and dream of the day he, too, becomes a CFL owner.
It is difficult to say exactly what value the shares carry beyond the $250 they cost. They come with voting privileges and a small discount in the souvenir shop, where a well-heeled shareholder can pick up a $900 leather jacket with "owner" stitched over the heart and "Canada's Team" on the right arm.
But really, it is not about money here - just ask Kerry Joseph, who took a $125,000 pay reduction this year and is currently leading the league in quarterback touchdowns - and far more about something else.
"Pride Lives Here," says the huge sign over the stadium. And it certainly does this year, with Joseph's 'Riders having already guaranteed their first home playoff game since 1988.
The Roughriders have not won a Grey Cup since Dave Ridgway kicked that final-minute field goal back in 1989 that gave Saskatchewan a 43-40 victory over an earlier version of these same Tiger-Cats.
It is a drought that, to no surprise in Canada's most agricultural province, has become a bit of a political issue. With the 'Riders resurgent in the midst of a Nov. 7 provincial election, opposition parties rarely miss an opportunity to point out that the beloveds have not won a Grey Cup for as long as the New Democrats have held power, a political run that has reached an impressive 16 years.
"We can be a permanently 'have' province," Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall likes to tell supporters, "and the 'Riders can win a Grey Cup."
It is perhaps not by coincidence that the Saskatchewan Party signs are in 'Riders colours.
On game day, however, the nasty campaign is all but forgotten, the entire province for the moment all on the same side.
"We've only got the one professional sports team here in this province," says Robin Cosh. "Saskatchewan fans just aren't split up by other teams to cheer for."
The Coshes, who have become as well known as some of the players, are so dedicated they even sell tickets and 'Riders souvenirs in their lumber and hardware store back in Macklin.
"When our playoff tickets arrived in the mail this week," Lori Cosh says, "I almost started to cry."
The $1,400 they spend a year on regular season's tickets, they believe, is the best bargain available in pro sports.
"We're only three hours from Edmonton," says Lori Cosh, "and we'd probably spend close to that going to one Oilers game."
They dress the part: all four kids with 'Riders green, Robin in a homemade 'Riders "kilt" made from stitched-together team flags, and Lori dressed as "Sister Saskatchewan" in a full green nun's outfit.
"I'm praying in the stands anyway," she says, "so I may as well be in costume."
On a day like this, no prayers are required, with the home team romping to a 38-11 victory over a very weak Hamilton team in front of a fifth straight sellout crowd.
People here say let the eastern teams worry about an American football invasion with its four downs instead of three and its massive television audience.
In 'Riders country, there is only one game in town, one game in province.
"We consider the NFL an inferior league to the CFL," Lori Cosh says.
"For heaven's sake, my grandmother can run 10 yards in four tries."
