Brock likes Bombers’ chances

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This article was published 22/11/2019 (2115 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — His home is in Alabama. But his heart is still in Winnipeg. And that’s why an old friend in Dieter Brock will be rooting for the Blue Bombers to end their 28-year Grey Cup drought on Sunday.

“I spent almost 10 years there. It is a big, big part of my career, the main part of my career. My heart’s always with the Bombers,” Brock, 68, told the Free Press in telephone interview on Friday.

If the Bombers are to win, they’ll have to take out the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — the only other CFL team Brock played for in his career. His final game north of the border was the 1984 Grey Cup in Edmonton, in which Winnipeg beat Hamilton 47-17 for their first title since 1962. He moved on to the NFL for one season before retiring.

Brock — nicknamed the Birmingham Rifle — was at quarterback that frigid night for the Tabbies, who came into that game as big underdogs but roared out to an early 17-3 lead. But the Bombers stormed back with 44 unanswered points, led by quarterback Tom Clements, whom Brock had been traded for a year earlier.

“It was like 10 degrees (Fahrenheit) and the field was frozen. The first few plays of the game I slipped and the pain shot through my foot,” Brock recalled of how aggravating an existing toe injury proved costly.

“Seventeen points against a great team is not gonna get it. You keep putting the foot to the pedal there. Unfortunately, Winnipeg settled down with the great team that they had and were able to take control of the game.”

He’ll be hoping for a similar outcome this time as the two teams play for all the glory for the first time since that game 35 years ago. This time, it’s the Tiger-Cats who come in as favourites.

Brock has been watching the Bombers closely from afar, including last week’s thrilling 20-13 victory over Saskatchewan in the West Final. He was joined by a friend who hadn’t seem much CFL action and couldn’t believe his eyes at the drama.

“There were a lot of great plays at the end of the game. It was very exciting. The Bombers made the plays they needed to make to win the game. You gotta give Winnipeg credit for hanging in there and making the plays they need at the right time,” Brock said.

Although the oddsmakers give a slight edge to Hamilton, Brock has been impressed by the play of quarterback Zach Collaros and believes he can be a difference-maker.

“I definitely think an advantage for Winnipeg is getting an experienced QB, a passer and a guy that can play well and has played well. That’s a big advantage for Winnipeg after losing Matt (Nichols),” Brock said. “He knows what to expect. He’s been in big games before.”

Brock’s advice to everyone playing in the big game is to savour the moment. You never know when, or if, you’ll get back. In his case, he spent a decade in the league, won two most outstanding player awards (1980, 1981) but never got to the very top of the mountain.

Brock was last in Winnipeg during the 2016 Banjo Bowl, in which he was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honour. He got to meet the current brass — including president Wade Miller, GM Kyle Walters and coach Mike O’Shea — and came away impressed. That’s continued to this day, especially with the Bombers retaining so much of their veteran core in a transient league where turnover is a constant.

“When you have stability like that and the same people in there, good people in there, and they start winning, it gives you an opportunity to do that because you’ve been together for a while,” Brock said.

“I know they’ve given Mike O’Shea time there and it’s paying off.”

Brock was the offensive co-ordinator for Hamilton in 1995, when O’Shea was on the team and still in the early years of his playing career. He said the current bench boss appears to be someone his troops enjoy going to battle for, an intangible that is often key to success.

“Guys playing for each other, playing together, you kind of get some comfort with the guys that you’re with,” he said.

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Brock predicts Winnipeg will have its work cut out for them — but will ultimately find a way to get it done.

“You go back, Hamilton’s been the best team in the league all year — 15-3. The team that usually has the best defence and a good passing offence to me has the best chance to win the thing,” he said.

“That being said, I like the Bombers’ chances this weekend. Because of what they’ve been able to do as a team and what their defence has been able to do. They’ve got a good running game and they make plays that way, with (Chris) Streveler in there and (Andrew) Harris.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.