Bombers need to remind Riders who is boss of the Prairies

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/06/2023 (847 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — The popular Winnipeg product walked on to the field at beautiful Mosaic Stadium on Thursday afternoon and gazed at the empty green seats as he got set to meet the media during the proverbial calm before storm. He quickly broke into laughter when it was suggested by one scribe this was “the house that Nic Demski built.”

“I haven’t heard that one, but I’ll take it,” Demski smiled.

No, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver doesn’t have a stake in the property. There’s no question his current team has absolutely owned his former one, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, in recent years.

Seven straight victories that count in the standings by a combined score of 202-98 is about as one-sided as it gets. They include the 2019 West Final here in the Queen City, the 2021 West Final at IG Field, the 2021 and 2022 Labour Day Classics in Regina, the 2021 and 2022 Banjo Bowls in Winnipeg, and one more regular-season beatdown last September for good measure.

One gets the feeling the Bombers would also have beaten the Roughriders in any and all arm-wrestling contests, Tiddlywinks games and belly-flop competitions held during that span as well.

Now, a chance for Goliath to make it eight straight against David on Friday night. Both clubs are coming off season-opening victories, but there’s no question the visitors will be the heavy favourites once again.

You get the sense the Roughriders are sick and tired of playing second fiddle to the Blue & Gold bullies, who keep stealing their lunch money and giving them swirlies and wedgies. There’s no question many of their frustrated fans are, which explains why some were doing a social media victory lap two weeks ago when Saskatchewan beat Winnipeg 28-16 in the final preseason action for both clubs. The Bombers, it should be noted, rested most of their star players.

Me? I’m all for stirring the pot and getting the competitive juices flowing. That’s the beauty of sports. Unfortunately, this heated rivalry has gone ice cold thanks to its one-sided nature. Sure, beating Saskatchewan will never get old for Winnipeg and its fans. But you really do need two to tango, and lately the Bombers have been dancing all over the Roughriders.

Could everyone be singing a different tune this season? You know the team that keeps coming up short is going to do everything in its power to make sure that’s the case as they get set for the first of three head-to-head regular-season meetings.

“There’s always a lot of excitement. It has been a big rivalry dating way back,” Demski said. “Any time you get to play each other, I know there’s a lot of emotions in the air. This is going to be a physical game, a fast-paced game.”

To hear coach Mike O’Shea describe it, we might be in for more of a bar-room brawl than a football game, considering how things have gone in recent meetings. He bristled when I suggested it must be a “special” feeling every time you get set to face your Prairie neighbours.

“Special? That’s an interesting word,” he told me. “I’m sure it’s going to be heated. They always are. It’s great competition, the fans are into it. The players really appreciate how excited the fans are, how rabid they are. It makes them feel good to play in front of a crowd like that.”

Especially when, as the Bombers have done so many times, you can completely take that crowd out of the game and feed them a great big serving of humble pie.

It’s worth noting things didn’t go so well the last time the Bombers were in this facility. That would be last November, when the Toronto Argonauts escaped with a 24-23 victory to thwart the Grey Cup three-peat.

“My last memory obviously wasn’t the best one in this stadium,” said Demski. “Hopefully we can make some good new ones.”

That sound you hear is Saskatchewan fans screaming into their watermelon helmets. The last thing they need these days is for Winnipeg to be coming to town feeling like they have something to prove. Where’s a cocky, over-confident club when you really need it?

Just as the Bombers are currently living the good life near the top of the three-down football food chain, the Roughriders are in the unusual position of being near the bottom. They’re coming off a miserable year in which they went 6-12, and season tickets have apparently taken a considerable dip as well. A few days ago, there were still an estimated 10,000 seats available for what, in the past, would have been close to an automatic sell-out.

That’s a bit of a canary in the coal mine, just as Calgary barely drawing 17,000 fans for its home opener was. The box office around here started to buzz as this week has progressed, no doubt helped by the fact Saskatchewan went into Edmonton last week and came away with a hard-fought 17-13 win. A second straight victory would no doubt have them pointed in the right direction, especially considering who their opponent is.

The numbers alone would suggest the Roughriders are long overdue to come out on top. But O’Shea insisted the past has absolutely no impact on the present, or the future.

“Not at all. I don’t think we’re ever flipping the pages backwards,” he said. “It’s always what does this version of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have to do to win a game in a very hostile environment.”

The answer to that is relatively simple: Keep doing what they’ve been doing, especially in the first quarter of their home opener last week against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during which quarterback Zach Collaros connected with Demski and two other receivers for touchdowns in what was ultimately a dominant 42-31 victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated.

A not-so-subtle message to the entire CFL that while they may have come up two points short last season of winning a third straight Grey Cup, the road to championship this year is very likely going to come through Winnipeg once again.

“We definitely wanted to make a statement,” said Demski. “Not just as an offence, but as a whole team. I definitely think we did that.”

They sure did. Now, an opportunity to make another and remind their long-time rivals of who runs the show around here.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg