Downplaying the hype

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This article was published 12/11/2024 (571 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — It’s a word the Winnipeg Blue Bombers aren’t willing to touch with a 10-foot pole, even if they’re so close they can taste it.

With a good chance to win a third Grey Cup in five seasons — as the odds are heavily stacked in Winnipeg’s favour, as 10.5-point favourites against a Toronto Argonauts outfit without their star quarterback — we’re back to talking about the Bombers being among the best and most consistent teams in CFL history.

When you do that, the word “dynasty” will inevitably enter the conversation. Just don’t expect those chats to be happening inside Winnipeg’s locker room.

“That word has not been thrown around, it really hasn’t,” said a straight-faced Zach Collaros. “This is a different team from the other four seasons. It’s the 2024 Grey Cup and that’s how we’re approaching it.”

The matter-of-fact response by the Bombers star QB was expected. The Bombers have never been ones to look too far ahead or attach titles to their success, and perhaps no one encapsulates that more than Collaros.

Anyone who has been around this era of the Blue and Gold long enough has come to understand, even bemoan their boring but effective approach to the game. There are rarely any juicy soundbites or bulletin board material that comes out of practices or games, even after those stinging losses where you can almost see the steam coming from player’s ears.

The Bombers aren’t strangers to flashy labels. They just hate them.

It was all about completing the dynasty in 2022, after the Bombers won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2021. And much more of the same last season, when Winnipeg was supposed to rebound from a devastating loss in 2022 to the Argos, but instead were defeated in similar fashion, on a last-second drive, to the Montreal Alouettes to fall for a second straight year.

But until their impressive run comes to an end, playing down their hype will remain status quo.

“We’re not worried about all that,” Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson said. “When we went back-to-back, we weren’t worried about the title of back-to-back. That kind of stuff is for media and people on the outside. That’s the kind of stuff we don’t need to feed into as a team.”

It’s been just two days since the Bombers arrived in Vancouver for Sunday’s Grey Cup and you can already tell the strictly-business approach is only going to ramp up. Several players, including Collaros, have been border-line ornery, at times, and tight-lipped when it comes to any question, about dynasty or otherwise.

“To be honest, I’m just trying to get out of here,” Bombers receiver Kenny Lawler said when asked about the club’s current mood. “Whatever you guys want, you’re not going to get it from me.”

It’s important to note here that Lawler, at the beginning of the season, said he planned to break CFL receiving records and has called himself the best receiver in the league on several occasions. When the guy always reliable for a good quote is feeding you bland bits, you know it’s by design.

It’s a much different approach compared to last season, when the Bombers seemed to relish being in Hamilton and playing what they likely thought — but would never admit — was an inferior Alouettes team. Players were all smiles, their answers long-winded and their antics borderline childish.

Lawler wore flashy sunglasses indoors during interviews. Jefferson carried a video camera with him the entire time, as if he was part of a TV documentary team.

That’s not the case this year. Not even close.

“We’ve worked extremely hard this year, more than ever,” Bombers right guard Patrick Neufeld said. “We fought through a lot of adversity at the start of the year, cancelled out a lot of noise and just committed to being the best we possibly could every day. We’ve earned it and we’re not going to shy away from the fact that we earned it. But it’s about us in the locker room.”

Jake Thomas is the longest-tenured player on the Bombers, having started his CFL career in Winnipeg back in 2012. The veteran defensive lineman didn’t make the playoffs until his fifth season, and it wasn’t until his eight campaign that the Bombers finally broke their nearly 30-year championship curse.

That’s all to say that Thomas knows what works and what doesn’t — and this one clearly does. When asked how to describe the culture he and his teammates have instilled for years and is on full display again this week, Thomas, predictably, offered up few details.

“If you have to always explain what your culture is, you don’t really have a culture,” Thomas said. “It’s like when someone says they’re a player’s coach. If you’re out there saying I’m a player’s coach, you’re probably not a player’s coach. If I say I’m a funny guy, it’s probably not true.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton