Emotions already running high Bad blood boils when Blue Bombers face Roughriders, especially with Grey Cup berth on the line By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 6:28 PM CST Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

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This article was published 05/11/2024 (624 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every good sports rivalry consists of a certain element that can be difficult to put into words.

Perhaps that’s because it’s more of a feeling than something you can physically point to. Without fail, there’s always an added punch to a game between two clubs with a rich history, with the emotions only ramped up when the stakes are at their highest.

It’s no different when it comes to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders, in what is easily the CFL’s greatest rivalry.

“(Hate) may be a strong word. It may be a strong word for the general public…” started Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea following Tuesday’s practice. “It is a real thing. It’s pretty hard to describe unless you’re in it.”

With the Western final on deck this Saturday at Princess Auto Stadium, with a trip to the Grey Cup firmly on the line, those hard-to-define feelings are predictably bubbling to the surface just days ahead of kickoff.

It’s a feeling, O’Shea noted, that is only heightened come playoffs, when coaches and players are forced to reflect on a season’s worth of effort and sacrifice. And what could be gone with a loss.

“It’s hard to say it’s not personal,” the Bombers coach added. “Each team is trying to take something away from the other team and everybody believes that they should have it. Both teams are prepared to work for it. Nobody expects it to be given to them.

“Both teams are prepared to work for it. Nobody expects it to be given to them.”–Mike O’Shea

“It would be interesting if you took out the physicality, what that would feel like? I’m sure there would be some of those same emotions.”

Sounds like a lot of fun…

It is a fun time. That’s one of the main points to take away, that it’s a great time of year,” O’Shea said. “The players, the staff, everybody works so hard to get to this point because they want that feeling. They want that emotion. I don’t know that it’s pressure; they want that responsibility to do their job well for their teammates.”

Playoffs might as well be played in December the way Chris Kolankowski’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree just talking about getting another chance to play the Riders in a high-stakes affair. The veteran centre has been with the Bombers for four seasons, long enough to build up a healthy disdain for all that is Riders green.

“There’s a mutual hate for each other on the field. They probably hate playing us; we hate playing against them. We want to make each other feel it every down,” Kolankowski said. “It’s just ramped up — the energy, the violence, the impacts, everything about it is ramped up when we play Sask. It can feel like a playoff game every single time we play.”

“Everyone’s flirting with that edge, flirting with the line of going too far, because that’s how you have to play in the playoffs,” he added. “But when you’re playing that close to the edge, s—t is going to happen. That’s what we’re expecting, that’s what we love and that’s why we play the game.”

That Winnipeg and Saskatchewan are both playing some of their best football of the season only makes the matchup more appealing to Kolankowski.

“When you’re playing that close to the edge, s—t is going to happen. That’s what we’re expecting, that’s what we love and that’s why we play the game.”–Chris Kolankowski

The Bombers enter the post-season having won nine of their final 10 games, while the Riders earned victories in five of their last six games, including a win over the B.C. Lions in the West semifinal on Saturday.

“You like going up against opponents who are at their best. You don’t look forward, necessarily, when you’re playing against a defence that’s not playing well, because it’s not as challenging,” Kolankowski said. “The reason we’re here is because we welcome a challenge. It’s more fun with that intensity and aggression.”

Speaking of straddling the line between clean and dirty play, it can be argued the Riders went over it the last two games with plays that injured quarterbacks Zach Collaros and Chris Streveler.

Collaros was on the receiving end of a helmet-to-helmet hit that knocked him out of the second half of the annual Labour Day Classic. Meanwhile, a week later, Streveler took an illegal low hit to the knee, leading to tearing his ACL and MCL and ultimately ending his season.

Both injuries were the result of hits from Riders defensive lineman Miles Wood, who was fined twice, including a maximum fine for the hit on Streveler, but was spared any form of suspension. Revenge won’t be top of mind for the Bombers, though, as they’re too focused on the task at hand to try and even any perceived score from earlier in the year.

“We’re going out there and doing our best to win a football game and put our team in position to win a football game offensively,” said offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce. “We got to play fast and play free and not worry about those things.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton