Bombers’ Grey Cup win is a welcomed development

Videos of the Bombers’ Grey Cup wins in 1988 and 1990.

    The Winnipeg Blue Bombers actually won the Grey Cup?

    While never can be a long time, a Bombers Grey Cup win just seemed like something that would never happen again. You almost thought the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets had better odds of winning the Stanley Cup in a 31 team league that the Bombers would have in a nine team league.

    That was exactly what happened on Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta. Playing before 35,439 spectators, the Bombers hammered the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 to become CFL champions for the first time in 29 years.

    In the win, a proud graduate of Winnipeg’s Oak Park High School Raiders football team in running back Andrew Harris picked up most outstanding player and most outstanding Canadian honours helping his hometown Bombers win the title.

    Harris ran the ball 18 times for 134 yards and one touchdown, and he caught five passes for 35 yards and one touchdown.

Andrew Harris (#33) became a Grey Cup hero for the Bombers.

    Online, emotion was pouring out from Bombers fans who couldn’t contain their joy as they were brought to tears they were so happy.
    It was weird to think that actually happened.

    Once upon a time, that wasn’t the case.

    Way back in 1990, the Bombers were guided by the tandem in general manager “Kindly” Cal Murphy and head coach “Smiling” Mike Riley. Both are still revered figures to this day in the Manitoba capital.

    Under their guidance, the Bomber topped the CFL standings that year with a 12-6 record and hammered the Edmonton Eskimos 50-11 to capture the Grey Cup at B.C. Place in Vancouver, B.C.

    It was joked the Grey Cup game that year was like a Super Bowl, as the NFL title games around that era were usually blowouts. The Bombers win in the 1990 Grey Cup goes down as one of greatest blowouts in the history of the CFL title game.

    The defense containing the likes of Greg Battle, Tyrone Jones, James West, Rod Hill and Less Browne hammered the Eskimos into submission.

A Tom Burgess player card.

    Bombers quarter back Tom Burgess, who was acquired in a trade with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before the 1990 campaign began, had an up and down season. Against the Eskimos in the 1990 Grey Cup, Burgess had one of his finest days in the league as he guided the Bombers offence like he was NFL legend Joe Montana, or Bombers icon Ken Ploen.
    The 1990 win marked the third time the Bombers won the Grey Cup over a second year period and was the 10^th CFL championship victory for the Winnipeg franchise.

    At that time, no one knew it would take 29 years for the Bombers to win their 11^th Grey Cup.

Between the 1990 and Sunday’s Grey Cup wins, the Bombers advanced to the Grey Cup game five times and came up empty handed in each of those tries.

    Their most hard luck setback arguably came in 2007, when they fell 23-19 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ont.

    Winnipeg went into that contest without star quarterback Kevin Glenn, who broke his arm in the team’s victory one week earlier in the East final.

    Over that span of time, the Bombers had sensational years like their 14-4 campaign in 2001. They had campaigns where they were dreadful going a combined 7-29 in the 1997 and 1998 seasons and 3-15 in the 2013 campaign.

A Less Browne player card.

    Winnipeg fans stayed loyal to their club, but it seemed like a Grey Cup win would be something that just wouldn’t happen. It seemed like fate was against the Bombers, when it came to winning another CFL crown.

    Bombers fans that remembered the Grey Cup wins in 1984, 1988 and 1990 were aging and did their best to pass down stories from those glory days.

    A much smaller amount of Bombers fans remember a previous run of glory years under legendary head coach Bud Grant that saw the Bombers win Grey Cup titles in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962.
    Before Sunday’s Grey Cup win, the Bombers had a whole generation of fans that had never seen their team win a CFL title.

    Murphy became a Bombers icon serving as the team’s head coach and general manager during his time with the club from 1983 to 1996. Still, he had a bitter departure from the team following the 1996 campaign.

    Some said for a handful of years after his departure the Bombers were haunted by the “Curse of Cal.”

    I was fortunate enough to become friends with Murphy, after he started residing in Regina, Sask.

    I remember a visit around 2009 where he said he didn’t like that “curse” notion. He had a fond spot in his heart for Winnipeg, and he liked getting back there to do good things in that centre.

A Bombers Grey Cup shirt from 1990.

    Murphy told me any ill feelings were buried in the past long ago, and he wanted to see the Bombers win the Grey Cup again. The Bombers have been handing out the “Cal Murphy Heart of a Legend Award” since 2002.

    While scouting for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, Murphy always took time to visit with the Bombers fans at the Labour Day Classic games between the Bombers and Roughriders in Regina.

    Murphy passed away in February of 2012 at age 79, but you can bet somewhere out there he was happy giving off his trademark cackle laugh to go along with his huge grin after the Bombers finally won it all again.

    Even this season, it appeared the Bombers jinx when it came to winning the Grey Cup would continue. They entered the campaign as favourites to make and win the Grey Cup, but you were waiting for things to unravel.
    During a 32-16 home win over the B.C. Lions, Bombers star quarterback Matt Nichols was lost for the season due to a shoulder injury, and it seemed like Winnipeg’s title hopes would go down with him.

    Before the CFL’s trade deadline on Oct. 9, the Bombers acquired veteran quarterback Zach Collaros in a trade with the Toronto Argonauts.

Late Bomber GM and HC Cal Murphy.

    Collaros actually began the campaign as the Roughriders starting quarterback. On the Roughriders fourth play of their regular season opener, he suffered a concussion injury on a cheap hit by Tiger-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence.

    The Roughriders fell in that June 13 encounter 23-17.

    With Collaros down, Cody Fajardo had a meteoric rise to the pedestal of Roughriders star starting quarterback. Deemed expendable, Collaros was traded to the Argonauts in late July.

    He never took a single snap in Toronto. It seemed like his football days might be over, because he had a history of concussion injuries.

    Unexpectedly, Collaros became the savour of the Bombers season. He was inserted as the starting quarterback in their final regular season game, when they slipped past the Calgary Stampeders 29-28 at I.G. Field in Winnipeg on Oct. 25.

    That allowed the Bombers to finish the regular season with an 11-7 record. Collaros played well in all three of the Bombers post-season victories, which included downing the Roughriders 20-13 in the West final in Regina on Nov. 17.

    Inconceivably, he became a Grey Cup champion with the Bombers completing 17-of-23 passes for 170 yards in Sunday’s CFL championship game. In the process, Collaros prevented the Tiger-Cats, who topped the CFL regular season standings with a 15-3 mark, from winning their first Grey Cup since 1999.

Bombers fans like “The Golden Boy” can soak in their Grey Cup win.

    Overall, the 29 year drought between Grey Cup titles for Bombers fans just wasn’t fair for the support they have shown their club.

    The Bombers and their supporters very much deserved this long awaited Grey Cup title win.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Bomber fans help make Labour Day Classic go round

Bomber fans gather at “Wayne's World” in 2012.

    While it might seem strange to say, the annual Labour Day Classic in Regina isn’t under the soul ownership of Rider Nation.

    The fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders are the heart of the CFL, but every year on Labour Day weekend their ranks at Mosaic Stadium/Taylor Field get infiltrated by a healthy contingent wearing blue and gold. At one time, it seemed to the locals like a group of aliens dropped into “the Queen City,” when supporters of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers – the Roughriders forever prairie rivals – drop into town.

    Bomber fans have descended on Regina for decades for the annual clash with the host Roughriders. The fact that the Winnipeg side hasn’t won this game since 2004 doesn’t seem to matter for the Bombers faithful.
    Back in 2004, Jon Ryan, who is now special teams captain for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, was coffin cornering punts out at the opposition’s one yard line as a rookie pro for the Bombers, when they took the Labour Day Classic 17-4.

    The Winnipeg fans are in town to have a good time. You can also bet the good times this weekend will start way before Sunday’s 1 p.m. local time kickoff. Bomber fans will no doubt start filtering into Regina on Friday night and begin frequenting the various lounges and nightclubs.

Bomber fans tailgate before the 2009 Labour Day Classic.

    Roughriders fans have long has a reputation for being wild, crazy and loyal, which often includes arriving at games in various types of team attire.

    If you had the chance to talk to the late Cal Murphy, who was a legendary head coach and general manager of the Bombers, or former Bombers star running back Willard Reaves, they will tell you Bomber fans can be just as wild, crazy and loyal as Roughriders fans are. They would suggest checking out the crowd shots of the Bombers 47-17 Grey Cup win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1984 in Edmonton to support that point.

    You wouldn’t have to look at old footage to see that is true this weekend. All you have to do is checkout the sizable pockets of blue and gold mixed in among the green and white in Regina.

Bomber fans get pumped up outside of “Wayne's World” in 2008.

    During game day, Bomber fans often rally pre-game at “Wayne’s World,” which is the back yard of a house that is across an alley neighbouring the west side of Mosaic Stadium. This will often mark the largest gathering for the visiting fans.

    The presence of the Winnipeg fans has been a long accepted fact at the Labour Day Classic. The influx of Bombers supporters usually includes a healthy group of regulars that make their way to Regina year after year. A few even bring their own barbecues for the pre-game tailgate party.

    The interaction between the fan bases is traditionally quite friendly. Both sides get in good-natured jibes towards each other, but they also enjoy partying together in the two days leading up to the game and the night after the game.

Bombers and Riders fans can get along at the Labour Day Classic.

    Those that are at the Labour Day Classic on an annual basis begin to know the regulars at least by face. A mutual respect is shown towards the passion each side displays for their teams.

    Sometimes, even relationships that include benefits develop for the weekend between fans from the opposite sides, which can add another layer of interesting memories for the Labour Day Classic weekend. Along the way, that also gives new meaning to the phrase, “Make love, not war.”

    The Bomber fans that trek to Regina are ardent ones. You can see that by the different Bombers jerseys that come out. There is a good dose of Milt Stegall jerseys with Stegall having built his legend playing in Winnipeg from 1995 to 2008.

    Young fans in their late teens and early 20s will often sport jerseys of Bombers stars from their Grey Cup wins in 1984, 88 and 90. Former receiver Joe Poplawski is a common one along with former league MVP quarterback Tom Clements and Reaves. In recent years, more Bombers fans have been spotted wearing the uniform of the club’s late linebacking great in Tyrone Jones.

A Bomber fan dresses up as “The Golden Boy.”

    When Cal Murphy was scouting for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts in the 2000s, Bomber fans often recognized him outside Mosaic Stadium and said, “Do you know who that is? That’s Cal Murphy. When he coached and ran the Bombers, we were great.”

    Murphy often chatted with Bombers supporters, which included posing in a picture with them while giving his gleeful trademark cackle.

    After Murphy passed away at age 79 on Feb. 18, 2012, you will usually find some Bombers fans holding a toast in his honour during the Labour Day Classic weekend.

    The atmosphere at the Labour Day Classic in Regina wouldn’t be complete without the presence of the Winnipeg fans. This one will have a little special extra meaning, because it will be the last one held at the Roughriders long-time home park.

    When the annual clash moves to New Mosaic Stadium next year, you can be sure the healthy loyal contingent of Bombers fans will be back to help keep the party going.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.