Hosts say weather nothing to worry about

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/11/2011 (5262 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Bombers enjoyed a nice, warm practice at the Winnipeg Indoor Soccer Complex at the University of Manitoba Wednesday.

Today will be a little different.

With a high of -8 C and some strong wind expected, the players working out at Canad Inns Stadium are going to experience what everyone says is Winnipeg’s signature football advantage at this time of year. Part of this notion is based on truth; part of it is based on a collective sense of superiority regarding the wintery extremes and our ability to adapt in them.

For some veterans, like Doug Brown and Terrence Edwards, the four-day forecast headed into the East final against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats won’t be a concern.

That doesn’t mean it won’t suck, though.

“What are you going to do? It’s not going to be a surprise for anybody — it’s going to be cold,” Edwards said Wednesday, psyching himself up for the coming November chill. “No matter what it’s like out there (today), we’ll have to get our work done.”

Receiver Greg Carr, who went to Florida State and lives in the Sunshine State, acted cool when asked about the somewhat frightful football conditions. Some of the younger Bombers haven’t even experienced snow let alone the bone-numbing temperatures.

“That doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I’ll play wherever. I’ll play in a swimming pool if I had to. I’m just focused on having a great game Sunday. Doesn’t matter what the conditions are.”

If everyone says the Bombers have a cold advantage over the Ticats for this game (a complete fallacy when you recall how members of the Winnipeg defence huddled around the sideline heater during the last regular -season home game versus Toronto three weeks ago), then why did the team choose not to, as former Bomber Tony Norman is believed to have once quipped, “get acclimatized to the climate?”

“We felt that game plan day, when we put the pads of, we were going to fly around and set the tempo on how fast we are going to be,” head coach Paul LaPolice said. “They certainly did that (Wednesday), now we’re going to take that outdoors for the next two days.”

The forecast for Sunday’s East final is for sunny skies and a daytime high of -6 C.

— BACK IN THE BACK: Any worries on the physical condition of safety Ian Logan can be laid to rest after Wednesday’s workout.

The all-star Canadian made a tough, athletic play on a pass intended for Terence Jeffers-Harris along the sidelines, tracking down the route and leaping in the air to break up the attempt.