Oh, the humanity

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/09/2010 (5538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They’ve rolled up their collective sleeves, leaned into the thing and really scrubbed.

They’ve trotted out all sorts of good memories from their 80 years of existence while saluting the many men who helped author that history.

But even a considerable amount of elbow grease and a tribute to the legends still can’t remove the stain of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 55-10 Banjo Bowl loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last year — a spanking which ranks among the lowest moments in franchise history.

It’s a loss that is still talked about today in the Bombers locker-room — albeit in funereal tones — by the men who survived the physical and emotional beat-down and are now preparing for Sunday’s home showdown with their prairie rivals.

“The only thing I remember about it is how horrible it all felt,” said Bomber slotback Brock Ralph on Friday. “I got hurt in that game and watched from the sideline. The guys that were there that are still here now, we’ve talked about it enough to make sure we remember how that felt… and we don’t want anything to do with that again.

“If that doesn’t leave a bad taste in our mouths then we’re not paying attention to history.”

What happened last year, in short, was catastrophic. In an absolutely abysmal performance that saw the Bombers commit eight turnovers — four on consecutive drives during one stretch — the club would suffer its worst loss in a decade.

Rock bottom? Consider that some Bomber fans drew cheers as they worked through the crowd holding a ‘Fire Kelly’ sign and in one section a ‘We want Reinebold!’ chant was being spit out in unison.

And the fallout was dramatic. The loss not only cost the Bombers in the standings, but crippled their bank account as attendance dwindled from an average of 28,000 to 22,000 for the remainder of the season.

Even now — one year later — the organization is still trying to rebuild the damage done to its brand.

“There are two really bad home performances in the 10 years I’ve been here that really stay with me,” said veteran defensive tackle Doug Brown. “One was last year’s Banjo Bowl and the other was when we played Saskatchewan here in the 2003 playoffs and Kenton Keith went off on us. You think of all the games we’ve won and lost here in 10 years and the two that stand out the most for me feature the Green Riders. Go figure, huh?

“What’s it like to be on the field for something like that? It’s like hearing 30,000 voices of disappointment. At home you’re supposed to feed off the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd. But when you put up a performance like that it just kills the place. That’s probably the most negative atmosphere you can imagine, when you stink out the joint at home.”

In a testament to the power of the Bomber brand — and their faithful’s loyalty — Sunday’s Banjo Bowl is again sold out despite a 2-7 record and a five-game losing streak that is the longest since 1999.

But just like last year, the Bombers very much remain in the playoff picture despite their struggles in the first half of the season.

“It’s going to be harder to catch anybody if we don’t get two points,” said head coach Paul LaPolice. “That’s what we have to do.”

Good point, that, for Sunday’s game could not only breathe some life back into the 2010 season, it could also help remove some of the lingering stain from the ’09 Banjo Bowl beating.

“I’ve always said that when you’re in Winnipeg if you have great teams or great games there’s no better place to play,” said Brown. “But when you lose, you’ve got to face the music. I think they came up with that saying, ‘The sweet only tastes so good because of the sour’ after a few football seasons here.

“This is Game 10, the start of the second half of the season. Now it’s time for us to make a definitive statement as to how we want to approach it.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

bomber game day D2-3

BANJO BOWL MEMORIES… AND NIGHTMARES

A look at the six previous Banjo Bowl results:

Sept. 12, 2004: Winnipeg 27 Saskatchewan 24

Sept. 10, 2005: Saskatchewan 19 Winnipeg 17

Sept. 10, 2006: Winnipeg 27 Saskatchewan 23

Sept. 9, 2007: Winnipeg 34 Saskatchewan 15

Sept. 7, 2008: Saskatchewan 34 Winnipeg 31

Sept. 13, 2009: Saskatchewan 55 Winnipeg 10