Ah, there’s something romantic about drinking from the same Cup

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This article was published 19/11/2022 (1023 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — It’s hard not to be romantic about Grey Cup Sunday.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea makes it clear that he agrees.

“When you see the pictures of the previous champions hoisting the cup and it’s got a base on it that’s only this big, and they’re drinking out of that same cup that if you’re good enough that day, you’ll get a chance to drink out of it. There’s something about that, sharing that same passion, vision, desire, goal as guys did 109 years ago. I can’t escape that feeling,” O’Shea told reporters after Saturday’s final walk-through at Mosaic Stadium.

“I don’t know if everybody gets it or not, but I can’t possibly escape that. It’s pretty powerful.”

The 109th Grey Cup is officially here, and O’Shea’s Bombers have a chance to make history and become the first team to win three straight since Warren Moon and Edmonton’s football team won five in a row from 1978-82.

The only thing left standing in the way are the Toronto Argonauts.

But the Bombers aren’t spending any time thinking about achieving dynasty status.

“We have a head coach who walks, talks, and presents being humble. We don’t talk about that kind of stuff. I always talk about when you’re a champion, you don’t have to talk. When you’re a champion, you don’t really have to do too much to say what you are. I feel like when you start doing those things, you’re not living in the moment, and we’re a team that lives in the moment,” said receiver Rasheed Bailey.

“If anyone outside of this group wants to talk about that stuff, so be it. But when that clock hits 0:00 and we get a chance to hold that trophy up again, they can call us whatever they want, but I’m calling myself a champ. A three-time champ.”

While the Bombers are focused on the game, a few of them said on Saturday that they will be taking some time before kickoff to reflect on what it took to get to this stage.

“I like to self-reflect and give myself credit. You don’t really get a chance to say to yourself ‘Thank you’ for how much work you’ve put in, for how much passion, for all the tears, because everything’s about the team,” Bailey said.

“And sometimes, like for me when big games like this come around, I really like to spend some time alone and congratulate myself and appreciate what I’ve done and then tomorrow, just to put it all together again, one more time. I love these games when there is no tomorrow because that’s when the best players come out to play.”

***

When running back Andrew Harris left his hometown Bombers to sign with the Argos in the offseason, he had to make a huge sacrifice.

Joining the double blue meant Harris would have to spend the majority of the 2022 season away from his 14-year-old daughter Hazel who lives in Winnipeg. Harris, who recently had a newborn son named Axton, told reporters on Saturday how much it meant to have his daughter’s support.

Both Hazel and Axton will be at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday for what could end up being the 35-year-old’s final game.

“I didn’t feel like I went out the right way. The way that 2021 ended, I wanted to do something more. I wanted to continue to play. Making a sacrifice like that with my family and my daughter especially, she understood it. She actually hit me up, (saying) ‘I want to come to the Grey Cup’ and I was shocked because she hates being cold,” said Harris.

“She’s making a sacrifice for me now because she knows how important this is for me. We’ve both grown from this. We miss each other like crazy, but it’s just telling that she wants to freeze outside and watch her dad play because she hasn’t been like this in the last few years. The sacrifice was well-warranted and she appreciates what I’ve done and where I’m at now and wants to come be a part of it, which is great.”

***

Argos quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson is often criticized.

The 34-year-old pivot has shown that he’s a talented player, but you rarely hear his name when people discuss the top quarterbacks in the three-down game.

That could change with a strong showing in the Grey Cup. Bethel-Thompson, who’s been with the Argos since 2017, was asked on Saturday what it would mean to win a championship as a starting quarterback.

Bethel-Thompson was vividly emotional as he shared his response.

“Not a lot. I’m so dedicated and grateful for the opportunity to stand out on the field tomorrow and watch my brothers raise that trophy. And to see the look in their eyes, and to see the work they’ve put in to get to that moment, that’s it,” he said.

“It’s not about me.”

***

Despite being one of the newest faces on the Bombers, defensive back Desmond Lawrence has already earned the team’s trust. The club brought him in at the beginning of October after the Hamilton Tiger-Cats cut him.

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Lawrence only played one regular season game for the blue and gold, but the Bombers saw enough in the second-year player to start him at corner in the West Division final. Lawrence will start there in the Grey Cup as well.

Even though he hasn’t been with the team for long, Lawrence said he feels like he’s been a Bomber since Day 1.

“It’s just like a family here. I had more team outings in my first two weeks than I had in my previous two years in Hamilton,” Lawrence said. “It’s really like a family here and they make sure everybody is incorporated in everything team related that’s going on and you see it on the field. We play for one another, and I think it’s going to show on Sunday.”

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.