Bomber Nation isn’t angry, it has simply grown weary

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This article was published 08/09/2015 (3900 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As news flashes go, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers falling to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Labour Day Classic hardly provides any shock value.

It’s been 11 straight losses for the visitors in this affair, dating back to 2004 after all, and Sunday’s 37-19 setback to the Riders — who entered the game at 0-9 and had sacked their GM and head coach six days earlier — barely moves the needle.

But it’s here where things look, smell and feel different.

It’s not just that the fans, the Bombers’ most important stakeholders, are angry and demanding change — that happens whenever this club drops a critical contest to their Prairie rivals. It’s more than that now. It’s the sense of malaise that has settled in among Bomber Nation, especially from many of those poor souls who braved the trip west to Regina.

It was palpable during the last home game, a 36-8 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, and it has only grown since.

Many fans, even those faithful diehards, are now simply shrugging their shoulders at the latest collapse. And the common refrain, to paraphrase, goes like this: “Oh well, the NFL starts this week and it’s less than a month to hockey season.”

That, simply put, has to be absolutely frightening for an organization not only playing host to the Grey Cup this year, but now facing a much more competitive market for the local sporting fans’ attention and dollars.

It’s not just about winning consistently — something this franchise has failed to deliver by missing the playoffs for three straight seasons and five of the last six years — it’s also now about being competitive and entertaining.

Consider since the six-week chunk to start last year — a 5-1 run that looks like a mirage now — the Bombers are 5-17. What’s worse is this: eight of the last 11 losses have been by double-digit margins. Every team has had to deal with injuries this season, like the Bombers, and those with quarterbacks on the disabled list have still won with their replacements. The Bombers, meanwhile, are now 0-3 without Drew Willy.

The question then becomes not only how the Bombers react this week leading up to the Banjo Bowl, but whether the poor results and pressure from the fan base force any kind of change to the staff or, at the very least, to the play-calling responsibilities. Head coach Mike O’Shea also has a discipline problem to address after his troops took six unnecessary roughness penalties Sunday, four of them coming after the whistle.

There will be a push to start new quarterback Matt Nichols, and the usual howling about the special teams and the work of offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille. But no one is Teflon-coated during a four-game losing streak and a five-losses-in-six-games stretch that has killed a 2-1 start to the season and has the Bombers in a free fall.

“It’s not a good feeling, that’s for sure,” said cornerback Matt Bucknor after Sunday’s loss. “We had a good first quarter and just couldn’t finish.

“I still believe we’re a good team. We have a lot of talent across the board. But, as individuals, we have to be accountable. Mistakes are going to happen, it’s how we rebound. It’s about coming to work and doing your job. There’s eight games left. The season isn’t over. It’s not desperation, but there has to be a sense of urgency.

“We have to win. That’s the nature of this game, the nature of this business.”

Change is also the nature of this business, especially when the wins come so infrequently.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca twitter: @WFPEdTait