Yeah, the Redblacks are 0-2. And yeah, they didn’t look so good in Edmonton on Friday. But most Redblacks fans are still riding the expansion team high, with all the excitement & fun of having a team back in Ottawa.
With that in mind, some off-field Redblacks stuff fit for sharing. Enjoy!
Redblacks App
Haven’t actually seen an official news release or tweet from the team yet (which is a bit odd…), but the Ottawa Redblacks Official app is now available!
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/ottawa-redblacks/id895940735?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.telus.redblacks&hl=en
Download it. Now!
Thanks to @cfl_fan for uncovering it for us.
TD Place Test Drive
Unfortunately none of us here were able to attend the open house/test rive event. However, with all the great photos & videos from #RNation, we got the next best thing.
Posting here wouldn’t do the event justice, so I’ll recommend you check out my Twitter feed from last Wednesday instead. Lots of fun stuff.
Redblacks players get the little blue check mark treatment
First off, if you aren’t already, you need to start following all the Redblacks players that are on Twitter. Some really great guys who aren’t shy about interacting with the fan base. (Love that about the CFL)
Second, looks like the Redblacks and Twitter have arranged to get the players verified with the elusive blue check mark (though some not as quickly as others).
It’s kind of a big deal.
Inaugural game gear
Also haven’t seen a tweet from @Redblacks on this, but the team is taking pre-orders on July 18th’s inaugural game t-shirts and pins. Here’s a low-res look at both:
Sutherland to handle PA duties at TD Place
Looks like former Ottawa Renegade and Ottawa radio personality Mike Sutherland will be the Redblacks public address announcer at TD Place. Sutherland, now Communication Services Manager with the Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group, seems to be the perfect choice, as he is perfectly bilingual and obviously knows the game. Looking forward to hearing him in action for the first time on Friday night.
#RNation Community
Great to see how much fan interaction we already have for Redblacks fans aka #RNation. Besides this humble blog, here are a few other places you need to be:
BleedRedblacks Podcast
Coming up on their 5th episode, these guys provide great coverage and commentary on the team. They’re also on Twitter – @bleedredblacks. Thanks again for the shoutout in episode 4, gents!
Southsiders (@southsidersRB)
The band has been put back together. The original Southsiders crew are back and will be doing their thing loud and proud on the now-fancier side of the stadium at Lansdowne.
Also, they’ve come up with some great scarves for the hardcore fans among us. Proceeds to the Ride For Dad and their fight against prostate cancer, so really no good reason not to get one. I’ll be sporting mine proudly — on the North Side. Yep, I admitted it.
Facebook – Redblack Nation (private group)
Facebook – Ottawa Redblacks Football Fans (public group)
Found another site/blog/podcast for Redblacks fans? Or starting one yourself? Let us know about it!
Redblacks fight song
Came across this on Youtube. A live version here, too. Love the Ottawa Valley!
DefendTheR.com
Oh yeah — we took off the training wheels and got a big boy domain name for our blog/website. Henceforth, come and hang out with us (in fewer keystrokes!) at DefendTheR.com.
As always, thanks so much for reading and your support! Go Redblacks!
Defend the R 
It’s hard to believe that after all these long years and months, the time arrives on Friday for our home opener! Very thankful for this site as it is a very informative, fun and supporting community here! Go RedBlacks!