As a team that has won only two Grey Cups in franchise history, it's safe to say that the Saskatchewan Roughriders and their fans have experienced more than their fair share of playoff head-hangers.
While the 30-14 loss to Montreal in the 2005 CFL Eastern semifinal is on the list, the most raw in recent years was the 27-25 defeat to the B.C. Lions in the 2004 Western final.
After a mediocre regular season, the 9-9 Riders beat Edmonton in the semifinal and took the first-place Lions all the way to overtime.
But kicker Paul McCallum pushed an 18-yard field goal attempt wide and Saskatchewan was sent packing without the Grey Cup berth so many had hoped for.
The team will get a chance to heal those wounds in this Sunday's Western final (4 p.m. ET CBC) against the same team, in the same building, with McCallum now on the other sideline.
``I'm almost positive that every guy that played in that game remembers it very clearly, myself included and it's just because of the way it ended,'' said all-star centre Jeremy O'Day, who is in his 10th season with the club.
``You thought about it the whole off-season and you'll never forget a game like that when you are that close and you remember the feeling and you hopefully learn from it.''
Head coach Danny Barrett remembers the game clearly, but he's diplomatic when asked about it.
``The fact that we didn't pull it off more than anything else sticks out,'' he said.
``The way it ended, it ended, and we moved on from there, but (we're) definitely looking forward to going back to make amends for that loss.''
The Roughriders earned their chance to make amends last weekend by dumping Calgary 30-21 on the Stampeders' home turf. After controlling some early jitters, Saskatchewan scored 25 unanswered points ending Calgary's season in the semifinals for the second straight year.
The third-place Roughriders can be forgiven for thinking they stack up well against the first-place Lions. While B.C. was 13-5 in the regular season, three of their losses came against the 9-9 Riders. The Lions' only victory against Saskatchewan was a 45-28 drubbing in Vancouver Week 1.
``Man for man, you look at us, it's probably an even match. There's no distinct advantage one side to the other,'' Barrett said. ``You look at personnel _ both teams will have good skill guys, good guys in the trenches and specialists.''
One of the keys for the Roughriders will be stopping the Lions' pass rush which had a league-best 59 sacks this season, eight more than second-ranked Saskatchewan.
``They have good schemes and they are really sound in what they do,'' said all-star offensive tackle Gene Makowsky, a 12-year Saskatchewan veteran.
``They don't do all kinds of stunting and try to confuse you like Calgary does. They just line up and come at you.''
Both teams will also have to keep their cool.
During their last meeting of the regular season Week 15 in Regina, the players got into a pre-game shouting and shoving match that reportedly started when receiver Jason Armstead retrieved a ball on the Lions' side of the field.
Barrett said he is going to go as far as making sure all the Lions have left B.C. Place on Saturday, before his team shows up for their pre-game walk-through.
``Our guys will be even keel throughout the game, I'll make sure of that,'' he said. ``We can't afford to lose anybody.''
If the game comes down to kicking a winning field goal again, Roughriders rookie Luca Congi _ who was good 86 per cent of the time this season _ said he will be ready.
He's not worried about any ghosts. He was still in university in 2004, kicking for the Simon Fraser Clan.
``I'm not focusing on that, don't really care,'' he said. ``If I think about a field goal, I just think it's going to go in and that's just the way it's going to be.''
© The Canadian Press, 2007
