It’s so bleeping fun!

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/09/2011 (5398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s not quite eight o’clock on Saturday morning and a few hundred folks draped in Bombers garb are milling about the stadium parking lot.

And they’re drinking. And they won’t stop but to sleep in small bites until late today after watching their football heroes take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Field in Regina.

“Labour Day is almost as big as Canada Day for football fans on the Prairies,” said Bombers fan Mo Gosselin, before giggling and adding, “The other part I like is there’s no labour in Labour Day. Just more fun than one man can dream up.”

A caravan of buses loaded up at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg early Saturday and began a six-hour booze cruise to Regina where they’ll camp out four or more to a hotel room for the weekend and whoop it up with their Prairie neighbours.

“It’s so bleeping fun. Everything. It’s a great party. The Bombers fans are so great. So are the Riders fans. The Golden Boy is the best. Any guy that can stand completely painted in gold with a mug in the air for three hours, he’s the man,” said Abby Bajon.

The game matters, of course, but with the Riders having lost six in a row and no sign of picking things up, there’s more to the event than 60 minutes of football today.

“The beer, the drinking, the fun of it all,” said Jason Horn, on his fourth straight trip. “I’ll gamble, I’ll hit the bars. I love to hang with the Bombers fans and all of my buddies.”

Buses made stops in Brandon for merchandise booths and then in Moosomin for lunch. A fleet of police cars was parked just over the provincial border stopping cars but waving buses past.

“I’m a fan and it’s great to cheer on the Bombers. It’s a great atmosphere. I don’t have many great memories because we’ve never won (in the games he’s attended). But the game is incredible and the Riders fans do it right. We need to make the trip and hold up our end as Bombers fans,” said Mike Quirion, making his seventh visit.

Some folks wait all year for the weekend of football and late-night madness.

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“After Labour Day until the next Labour Day — we’re all different people doing different things. But we all come together. We’re all the same — just Bombers fans taking part in a Canadian tradition. It’s Labour Day and it rocks,” said Jen Botincan.

Ernie Hansch sees the weekend as part leisure and part heritage.

“Growing up I always heard about it through family and friends. This is the biggest game of the year,” said Hansch. “It’s the biggest game in Canada. Whether we make it to the Grey Cup or not — this is an event and not to be missed.”

They’ll be back next year, win or lose.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca