Riders get smoked, but Regina mayor Michael Fougere wins a smoker off a Montreal touchdown

The Roughriders' 40-9 loss to Montreal Monday may have left plenty of anger across Saskatchewan, but it wound up benefiting one high-profile resident of the province: Regina mayor Michael Fougere, who was selected to win a meat smoker as part of Safeway's "Touchdown To Win" contest. Funnily enough, Fougere's victory came off an Alouettes' touchdown by Duron Carter, so he probably has mixed feelings about this. He commented on Twitter that he would rather have seen a Rider win:

Fougere, who was elected in October 2012, has been a prominent supporter of the Roughriders. That probably goes without saying for anyone who's the mayor of Regina, but Fougere has done some notable things to show off his love of the team. For example, he promised to give slotback Weston Dressler a key to the city if he chose to return to Saskatchewan when coming back from the NFL. Dressler did just that, and Fougere came through on his promise earlier this week:

That's one of very few keys to Regina ever given out: The Regina Leader-Post's Natascia Lypny writes that records only list four and two of them have now gone to sports figures (Dressler and Regina Pats coach Al Ritchie in 1933). That indicates the importance of the team to the city, and it also shows how politicians have liked to be associated with their success (see the victory parade to the provincial legislature after last year's Grey Cup win).

Prominently supporting the Roughriders is often a key part of political life in Saskatchewan (just ask banjo-picking premier Brad Wall), and both the province (an $80 million grant and a $100 million loan) and the city (a $73 million contribution) will be heavily involved in funding the team's new stadium. That deal was signed in the summer of 2012 before Fougere's election as mayor (he was on council at the time), but he's been supportive of it publicly, citing it as the "beginning of a new way of investment and development." Thus, it's odd to see him benefit from a Riders' loss.

Still, if Fougere is able to claim his prize (the contest does require answering a skill-testing question, after all), he should probably take it. At least that way something good comes from a game that saw Saskatchewan's offence annihilated by the Montreal defence, one that saw the Riders' quarterback questions elevated to a new level. Things have gotten so bad that Leader-Post sports editor Rob Vanstone is advocating the team start Kerry Joseph, the 41-year-old quarterback they just brought out of retirement last week who's already the oldest player in franchise history. At least if the the mayor can get his contest reward, there will be more getting smoked in Regina than just the Riders.