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mike deal / winnipeg free press QB Alex Brink hands off to Chad Simpson Sunday morning as Blue Bomber camp kicked off at Canad Inns Stadium. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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mike deal / winnipeg free press Alexis James, 21 months, puts up a big cheer with her father Danny on Day 1. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

A crowd of about 7,500 -- including Premier Greg Selinger -- filled the lower deck of the west side grandstand.

A bake sale organized by the wives of the coaches raised $1,200. The big winner was Winnipeg Harvest, but a nice consolation prize went to anyone who got there early enough to land one of the cupcakes made by Amy Rusheleau, girlfriend of receiver Jade Etienne.

And finally, and most importantly, no one got hurt.

In a scene that was two parts carnival, one part football practice and one part, 'I thought we were supposed to be done with this dump,' the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and 7,500 fans returned to Canad Inns Stadium Sunday morning to open the club's 2012 training camp.

Fans began lining up outside the stadium's west gates at 8 a.m. -- there were free subs for the first 1,000 through the gates -- and by 8:30 a.m., an hour before practice even began, a line of hundreds snaked its way across the stadium parking lot and all the way to St. James Street.

There were balloons for the kids, vendors hawking the new Bombers lottery tickets in the stands and badly needed printed rosters to help fans make sense of the sea of 72 football players on the field below them running, throwing, catching, kicking and -- in one case involving offensive offensive lineman Justin Sorensen and linebacker Pierre-Luc Labbe -- even briefly scrapping.

And finally, there was also the poor sap dressed like a Saskatchewan Riders fan who got dunked in a tank of water more often than a shifty-looking Iraqi in American custody.

Put it together and it was a remarkable opening salvo to a season the Bombers are hoping will end this year almost exactly as last season's did -- with a berth in the Grey Cup game, only this time with a Bombers' victory to finally end this city's long nightmare of 21 years without a Canadian Football League championship.

Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice -- whose public urgings over the past few weeks led to what club officials were saying was a record turnout for a Bombers practice -- said the turnout on a drizzly Sunday morning spoke volumes about his team's place in this community.

"It just shows how much pride there is in this team and how much people care about this team," LaPolice told reporters at the conclusion of what was almost a three-and-a-half hour practice.

"I told the players they should be proud because the people believe in them."

Rookie offensive lineman Tyson Pencer -- who the Bombers drafted third overall in last month's CFL Entry Draft -- has played in front of over 100,000 spectators during his time as a college player with Washington State.

But Pencer said Sunday's crowd was easily the most people he's ever practised in front of. "This is the most people I've ever seen at a practice," Pencer said. "And for a first day? It was great seeing all these people out here and supporting us. It made the day good."

Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce -- who spent his second winter in Winnipeg -- suggested the whole atmosphere on Sunday seemed to reflect some pent up urge for football after a winter fixated on hockey. "You get the sense that football is back," said Pierce, "and not just the players have been missing it, but the whole city and the whole province.

"They're excited to see us and we're excited to see them."

There wasn't much to get too excited about on the field on Sunday. The players practised without helmets for the first hour and never did put on full equipment -- a decision LaPolice explained during a brief address to fans that was made because his observations have been that players are particularly susceptible to injuries on the first day of camp.

But while much of opening-day practice was akin to watching paint dry -- at one point, about 40 players took a knee and watched for about 10 minutes while the club went through a special teams drill that never even saw a ball put in play -- there were a few moments that got the crowd excited.

Running back Chad Simpson, an NFL veteran who ran back kicks for the Indianapolis Colts in the 2009 Super Bowl, wowed the crowd with a couple of explosive runs. And defensive back Demond Washington -- who finally arrived in camp after delays getting over the border last week -- showed some quick speed to the ball in breaking up a couple of passes.

On the downside, veteran punter Mike Renaud and his challenger in camp this year, Eric Wilbur, both struggled for distance and accuracy in windy conditions.

By the end of practice, second-year linebacker Henoc Muamba -- who is in a battle for the starting middle linebacker job with Labbe -- said he just felt grateful for what he described as a special opening day.

"It means so much," said Muamba. "It means we have the city behind us. It's a great feeling to be a professional player and to come out for the first day of training camp and see that kind of support.

"We're loving the love that the fans are showing us."

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Inside

Nobody's safe: LaPolice

Taking a kick at returning /C2

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 4, 2012 C1