Milt bids old field adios

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This article was published 29/10/2011 (5149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Milt STEGALL got one final look Friday night at the dilapidated football stadium that changed his life.

Stegall, who had a 14-year hall of fame career as a receiver for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1995-2008, was one of dozens of Bombers alumni who took the field for a tribute at halftime in Friday night’s final regular-season CFL game at Canad Inns Stadium, played between the Bombers and Toronto Argonauts.

“Don’t get me wrong — I have some great memories on the field. Breaking the touchdown record, four catches for four touchdowns,” Stegall reflected before the game. “But my greatest memory comes from when I ran on the field and saw those fans sitting in the stands with my jersey on, screaming my name. I’m still looking for that high. I can’t find it on TSN, I can’t find it anywhere else. There’s nothing else like it and hopefully it comes one more time this evening…

“There’s nothing in the world that can top that. You could give me a billion dollars, but there’s nothing else like seeing those fans wearing my jersey and screaming my name.”

Although there will still be one more game played at Canad Inns Stadium this season when the Bombers host a playoff game next month, Friday night’s contest was the one Bombers management chose to formally say goodbye to a field that has been their home since 1953. The Bombers are moving next year to a new stadium currently under construction on the University of Manitoba campus.

Fans were presented with commemorative tickets upon entry last night and the alumni took centre field at halftime to watch a video tribute to the stadium on the big screen.

“It’s a bittersweet thing. It’s definitely long overdue, a new stadium,” Stegall said. “But my career was made in this stadium. My life was changed because of the things I was able to do in this stadium.”

He did not always regard the Polo Park football field so fondly, recalling his reaction when, after a three-year career with the NFL’s Cincinnatti Bengals, he arrived in Winnipeg in 1995 for the first of what turned out to be 14 seasons with the Bombers and got his first look at his new football home.

“It was a little shocking,” Stegall recalled. “I think we had two showers when I first got up here. I think I might have been sharing a locker with three other guys.”

On a day that was about honouring the past, he had a bold prediction for the Bombers’ future. Saying the Bombers currently have the best defence he’s seen in Winnipeg since he joined the franchise, he believes Winnipeg’s path to the Grey Cup couldn’t be simpler.

“If they can win the East,” he predicted, “they’re in the Grey Cup. If they only have to play one playoff game to get to the Grey Cup, they’re in the Grey Cup…

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“And if they go to the Grey Cup,” Stegall joked, “I’m planning on playing the opening kickoff. I’ll run down there and be the safety so I can get my Grey Cup ring.”

Stegall said weather conditions make playing in November in Winnipeg a big advantage for a home team that has a chance to get acclimatized.

“It’s big. I used to tell people I don’t even want to play here, so I know other teams don’t want to play here. It’s a big advantage.

“The first thing (opponents) say when they step on the field is, ‘Oh, it’s cold. I’m going to have to wear some extra clothing.’ As soon as you hear them say that, it’s pretty much over with. They’re looking forward to going home.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca