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A wild ride: Saskatchewan fans react to Riders' loss in East final

There's always next year. It's a familiar refrain for Rider Nation and it was no different on Sunday.

After pulling ahead of the Toronto Argonauts 21-18 with 2:45 left in the CFL East Division final, the Saskatchewan Roughriders would lose 25-21 after a drive from the Toronto Argonauts.

The stunning loss dashed the team's Grey Cup hopes and defeated their chance of making league history by being the first crossover team to reach the championship.

"It's always a roller coaster of emotions when you cheer for the Riders and that game just proved it," said fan Ryan Larson.

"If we could have sealed this deal it would've been one of the greatest games ever, right? You would have been talking about it for years, but it just happened to be not our night."

But fans' disappointment was overshadowed by the comeback the Riders made not only in Sunday's game, but over the 2017 season.

"They performed better than what a lot of us expected certainly, than what I expected," said Moose Jaw police chief and Rider fan, Richard Bourassa. '

"If you'd of asked me at the beginning of the year what success would be, I would have said just making the playoffs, so going to the finals I think was important."

After the game, Riders took to social media to thank fans for their support.

The unexpectedness of cheering for the Riders in a final game was shared by Cheryl Paramchuk, who left the Press Box Sports Bar on Sunday wishing the team had pulled through.

"But next year. There's always next year. I'm still a Rider fan," she said.