Blue apologize to Rider Nation

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This article was published 25/04/2009 (6369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers have apologized to the province of Saskatchewan and fans of the CFL’s Roughriders for comments made by a fan and new head coach Mike Kelly at the club’s annual Fan Forum Tuesday night referring to Regina as the “crotch of Canada.”

At the forum, one fan referred to the Saskatchewan capital and home base of the Green Riders as the crotch of Canada.

Later, Kelly, talking about how he has recruited a lot of talent from both the Roughriders and the Edmonton Eskimos as he approaches his first Bomber season, said: “We kind of raided the toothless, green, watermelon-helmet-wearing people from the crotch of Canada.”

The comment drew intense laughter but the reference in Free Press football writer Ed Tait’s story got back to Saskatchewan, where several radio stations and some websites took umbrage at the remarks. One post on a radio station website said forget the Banjo Bowl, the teams should play in the Crotch Classic.

The Banjo Bowl is the name given to the annual Bombers-Riders game in Winnipeg that traditionally falls on the Sunday after the same two teams clash in Regina for the Labour Day Classic, a regional rivalry that gets the fans of both teams riled up.

The game was called the Banjo Bowl following comments made by former Bombers kicker Troy Westwood referring to Saskatchewan residents as “banjo pickin’ inbreds.”

On Friday, Bombers’ president and CEO Lyle Bauer, who was born and raised in Saskatchewan, apologized for the statements that were made at the Fan Forum on Tuesday night.

The Bombers issued a news release in which Bauer said the franchise “holds our partners to the West in a very high regard, as we share similar corporate cultures and values in our respective status as community sponsored teams.

“The comments by a fan and our head coach were truly meant in the playful spirit of our great rivalry,” Bauer added. “We do recognize that some might not have received it in the context in which it was made.

“We look forward to our continued relationship, partnership, and rivalry with Saskatchewan, the Labour Day Classic, and subsequent Banjo Bowl. As someone who was born and raised in Saskatchewan, I share the pride of the residents. However, I know there is no disrespect meant by those who made the comments.”

— Staff