Football fans meet the 2016 Roughriders

A sea of green filled downtown Saskatoon Sunday during a street festival connecting Saskatchewan Roughrider players with fans.

Members of the club were all smiles under a hot June sun, meeting admirers at the Training Camp Street Festival.

The smiles came despite a loss the night before, in Regina, in a pre-regular season match against the B.C. Lions.

• Riders drop a 28-16 decision to the visiting BC Lions

The fan appreciation event took place from noon to 4 p.m. when the team blocked off 21st Street, from 1st to 2nd Avenue. Followers of the Green and White were able to meet the new team and test their own football skills with mini-games.

Denise Clair, originally from Radisson, Sask., and now living in Saskatoon, said events like the festival show how big Rider nation is outside of the club's Regina home base.

"I've been a rider fan for over 30 years," Clair said. "I grew up with them and it's great to see everybody connecting. We are just one big nation, so it's great to see them here rather than always in Regina."

Another fan, Raymond Roy, commented on some of the changes the team has been through since the end of the 2015 season. He said he was shocked when some of his favourite players and Rider veterans were let go. Still, he is enjoying getting to know the new team. He was at the festival to gather autographs for his new Rider football.

"I'm having trouble keeping track because there's so many new players ... most of the ones I like they're gone," he said, quickly added that he has faith in the team's new coach and he's optimistic for the upcoming season.

"I think it will be a good season," Roy said. "Change is good. I just didn't think it would be that many, that quick."

The Riders continue training camp in Saskatoon this week. The team's next pre-season game is on June 18 against the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium.