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Fred Reid runs drills during practice Thursday at Canad Inns Stadium. The running back should be ready to go Saturday. (MIKE.APORIUS@FREEPRESS.MB.CA )

News item No. 1: The Saskatchewan Roughriders announce this weekend's West Division showdown with the B.C. Lions has sold out and, as a result, the TV blackout for the critical contest will be lifted.

News item No. 2: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announce the ticket total for this weekend's East Division showdown with the Montreal Alouettes has crawled to 20,012 and, as a result, the TV blackout for the critical contest will remain in place.

Now there are a ton of theories floating about -- many of them valid in one way or another -- as to why Bomber fans aren't exactly bursting through the turnstiles to watch the home side in action. The most popular:

"ö Outspoken head coach Mike Kelly has rubbed folks the wrong way;

"ö The media's coverage of the team has been predominantly negative all season;

"ö The team has undergone such a massive turnover in personnel the casual fan has lost touch;

"ö Only three games were played at Canad Inns Stadium all summer;

"ö The economy has hit some fans hard, limiting their disposable income;

"ö The amenities at the old ball yard really suck -- especially to those who are now used to the Goldeyes' spectacular park and MTS Centre and a generation weaned on high-def and only the rare blackout. And, finally;

"ö The team is 6-9 and just six weeks ago was blown out at home 55-10 in front of a capacity crowd.

We bring all this up today not only because the tracking attendance numbers are alarmingly low this close to the kickoff of a critical contest, but because the Saskatchewan-vs.-Winnipeg comparison dominated discussion at a recent meeting of the Bomber board of directors.

"You can go back decades and see that Winnipeg has been traditionally about a 21,000-23,000 market," began Bomber president and CEO Lyle Bauer. "Then there's the other 4,000-6,000 that show up depending on how we're playing, who we're playing, what the weather's like and what their own personal circumstances are. That has a bearing in everything."

Bauer said the Bombers have diversified their business by playing host to two concerts this year and announcing Thursday that Bon Jovi will be here next summer in an effort to become less dependent on the gate. He also indicated the team was tracking ahead of its budget until the 55-10 blowout loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders -- a crushing defeat that turned off so many it's like trying to get a blood stain out of the furniture.

Kelly, who has been a lightning rod for the frustration of many this year, offered his take as to the dwindling numbers:

"Probably we haven't played very well. Probably some people were upset about, maybe, my honesty," Kelly said. "But the ones that come have been fantastic... The ones that come we embrace and we hope that the people that haven't shown up understand that it's their team, it's our team and come on out here and support these guys.

"They can form any opinion they want, but the bottom line is: are they a Bomber fan or not?"

Perhaps that's the brutally honest question football fans need to answer themselves these days. The Bombers have three games left, two at home. And if they ever needed their faithful to rally it's now.

Question is: Does anybody in this town have faith in a squad that has lived through some extreme highs and lows?

"The biggest factor may be whether people believe there's opportunity for us," reasoned Doug Brown. "Right now, it's kinda faint.

"We'd have a right to complain if we were 9-6 and playing well under capacity. But we really don't have a platform to stand on right now."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca.

today's bomber report c3

Prairie football: a comparison

A look at the attendance totals here in Winnipeg and in Saskatchewan dating back to 2001:

Year Winnipeg Sask.

2009 25,866 30,509

2008 27,151 29,992 2007 27,701 28,054

2006 26,993 25,293

2005 24,317 25,454

2004 24,496 24,783 2003 27,225 29,344

2002 27,562 24,226

2001 28,089 22,097

Avg. 26,600 26,639

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 23, 2009 C1