As good as it gets

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/11/2022 (1054 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The CFL couldn’t have asked for a better Western Final.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (15-3), the back-to-back champs, host the B.C. Lions (12-6), who boast the most exciting offence in the three-down game, this afternoon (3:30 p.m) with a spot in next week’s Grey Cup in Regina on the line.

Get your popcorn ready.

“I’ve been looking forward to this since the final whistle the last time we played B.C. I’m good to go and I’m fired up right now,” Bombers receiver Nic Demski told reporters Saturday at IG Field.

“I gotta contain a lot of my emotion and energy for tomorrow, but this is why we play football. Every morning when you wake up, you commit yourself to the team, the organization, this is the reason for it right here, for playoffs. I’m ready to go and it means everything to me.”

The Bombers have never won the Grey Cup three years in a row. This year’s group know how close they are to making history and that they are just two victories away from solidifying themselves as a dynasty. The Lions, on the other hand, are looking for their first championship since 2011 and feel like they’re playing with house money as the underdogs.

Despite all that, the Bombers claim to not feel any added pressure.

“We are our harshest critics and we put all the pressure on ourselves to perform. That’s the nature of this business. We don’t feel any pressure because we’ve already put it on ourselves. That pressure then goes down as soon as you put the work in,” said linebacker Adam Bighill.

“When you put in the work to go take what you want, you don’t have the nerves or antsy feelings if it’s going to work out.”

For what it’s worth, recent history is on Winnipeg’s side. The Bombers are 24-2 at IG Field since 2019. Since 2014, the West Division final host has won 12 of the 14 games. But perhaps more important is how much experience the Bombers have compared to the Lions. The Bombers have eight players with at least seven playoff games under their belts. The Lions only have three.

“I feel like it instils confidence and calmness,” said Demksi.

“When you let your emotions get the best of you, that’s when things can start to turn the wrong way, so I feel like having leaders who have all been here before, calms the storm a little bit. It’s a great help in this locker room.”

Home-field advantage and experience is huge, but Bighill said the most important thing going for them is their family-like bond.

Bighill, who started his career with the Lions, has made the postseason in all 10 of his CFL seasons. This is his fifth straight division final and seventh overall.

“This is when you lean on your family and teammates the most. This is where in the fourth quarter when you need that play, can you count on that person to be there and do it? Those are the most important moments where those things shine. We put it all on the line together for a long time and we have a lot of guys that have been in the locker room together for a long time now. We’ve built that, we’ve seen that, we’ve practised that. It’s been done again and again and again,” said Bighill.

“… There’s always going to be adversity. You never know when it’s going to strike, but everyone has to be ready to respond and all three phases have shown we can do that. That gives us confidence in our room that we know we’ve got the right people to go to war with. I’m proud of every single guy in that locker room. I look around and I’m so proud of so many of those guys. Day in and day out, I watch the way they work, how they communicate together, the way they care for each other, the things they do off the field, it’s special.”

As special as these Bombers may be, it’s been the Lions and their star Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke that have been the talk of the league since Week 1.

“You guys have a job to do. We want you guys to hype up the opposing team as much as y’all can,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson. “It’s not going to make any difference to us. We come in, put on our work boots, put on our hard hat and go to work every day — rain, sleet or snow. That’s how it is in Winnipeg. That’s how it’s going to be.”

Rourke may be the best story in the CFL, but the quarterback on the other sideline is a proven winner. Demski and the Bombers wouldn’t want anyone but No. 8 under centre for them at this time of year.

“I think confidence is everything at this level. Everybody has that physical ability and everybody knows how to be mentally in tune, but when you’re confident, and you can put both of those other things at the forefront with your confidence, nobody can really stop you,” said Demski.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

“I feel like Zach’s a big leader because he has that quiet confidence. He’s not going to be in your face about it, but at the end of the day, he knows what he does or what he can do and we know as a team what he can do as well. When everyone buys into your offensive leaders, it takes you a long way.”

Bailey listed as GTD

Blue Bombers wide receiver Rasheed Bailey (knee) will be a game time decision on Sunday. Head coach Mike O’Shea said Bailey will take the field for warmups and they’ll make a decision then. Bailey is listed on the injury report as doubtful.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor 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.