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The province, and Canada, has been buzzing about the game all week with the excitement seeming to build with each passing day, slowing reaching a boil that's going to spill over come Sunday night at Mosaic Stadium.

 The Saskatchewan Roughriders are hoping that it's a historic Sunday on Taylor Field as they get set to host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 101st Grey Cup game on their home turf.

 It can be downplayed as just another game, but the players and coaches that will be sporting green and white on Sunday know just how important this game is to the organization and Rider Nation.

“I'm looking forward to the opportunity to play a Grey Cup at home, it's a very rare opportunity,” said quarterback Darian Durant. “They say butterflies are a good thing, so got a couple butterflies and just glad the week is over and we can get down to business.”

The lead up to the biggest game in the Saskatchewan Roughriders' 103-year history has no doubt been hectic for the team with their regular schedule thrown out the window with practices times moved, players trying to get families into town and tickets lined up, and the weather, which has been less than ideal all week.

 It's been the same story for both teams though and the team that deals with the distractions that come with playing in a championship game the best will win.

“We've enjoyed (the week), the players have enjoyed it and we're ready to play the game because that's what everyone is waiting on,” said head coach Corey Chamblin on Saturday after the team's walkthrough at Mosaic Stadium.

 Both teams seemed excited to be getting closer to kickoff with some, like Durant, admitting that that there are butterflies as the time ticks away on their season.

 The Tiger-Cats, who are a much younger team than the Riders with 17 first-year CFL players, have seemed to be soaking it all in throughout the week and don't seem to be phased by everything that's going on around them.

 It's been all about the Riders this week, as is expected when Canada's team is in a Grey Cup at home, but that's also given the Ti-Cats a bit of a chip on their shoulder going into the Grey Cup game on Sunday.

“We go through your entire week and nobody even feels like you're there,” said Henry Burris, Hamilton quarterback. “We understand we're in Saskatchewan, the Riders made it, but the bottom line for us is we're here for a reason, we're here to play football and we're ready to go.”

Burris will no doubt be getting his fair share of attention once the game gets underway and it will be coming from the over 40,000 Rider fans that are expected to pack into the 44,910-capacity stadium.

 All week the Riders have been encouraging their fans to get loud and that was Durant's message to Rider Nation on Saturday.

“Make it as tough on those guys as possible,” said Durant. “If our fans are loud and make it hard for those guys, it's definitely to our advantage.”

The Riders pivot isn't even just talking to those in attendance, he wants the entire province making noise throughout the game on Sunday. “We're going to need to here everybody all the way up to Saskatoon, up to Prince Albert, where ever in the province, we hear you, so just be ready to cheer,” he said.

 Rider fans are notorious for getting on Burris throughout his games at Mosaic Stadium, but he says the “Henry” chants don't effect his play because he's focused on the game.

“Honestly when 40-some-thousand people are trying to say one name, it's hard to understand what they're saying,” said the former Riders quarterback and two-time Grey Cup champion. “For me it's just a lot of white noise because I'm so dialled in at that moment.”

Coming into the game focused and ready to play is probably the biggest aspect of the game for both teams, but there is still 60 minutes of football to be played to decide the winner. The Riders have a lot of the momentum coming into the game after their dominating win over the first place Calgary Stampeders in the West Final, but Hamilton has been the hottest team in the second half of the season and that usually spells success.

 The Ti-Cats started the season 0-5, which included a pair of losses to the Roughriders, but since then they've gone 12-3, including playoffs, and are on a four-game winning streak coming into this game.

 Lots of it has had to do with their team coming together after plenty of changes in the offseason.

“Early on we didn't get any wins and then we were struggling to get consecutive wins, but all in all, when it meant for us to become the hottest team in the league, we became that at the right time,” said Burris. “The time that you want to be peaking is right now and hopefully that will continue for us.”

Austin's offence has been ever evolving throughout the season with them employing a two-quarterback system later in the season with Dan LeFevour spelling Burris at times. There has also been the emergence of running back C.J. Gable, who finished second in the Most Outstanding Rookie voting.

“I have a big role on this team, I do a lot of pass routes, I run the ball, I block, basically whatever they want me to do I do it,” said Gable, who's no doubt ran with the opportunity.

 For the Riders, they've dealt with the pressure of being built to play in this game all year and then after getting off to a hot start had to overcome some struggles due to injuries to key players – like linebacker Rey Williams, who is on the 46-man roster for the game, but will be scratched as he's only three months removed from ACL surgery.

 The turning point for the Riders was their Week 15 win in BC that ended their four-game slide, put them on a three-game winning streak and got a home playoff game at Mosaic. They've been riding the momentum since.

“This game will be played by two teams, who are ready to play championship football and it's just going to be a great football game,” said Chamblin. “At the end of the day, it's just another football game that we've got to be ready to play and be ready to play for a full sixty minutes.”

The 101st Grey Cup game gets underway with the pre-game festivities starting at 5:00pm.