Bombers, Stamps QBs friends in high places

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This article was published 21/09/2016 (3300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The two quarterbacks who will attempt to one-up each other over 60 minutes on Saturday spent a half-hour conference call Wednesday talking about how fond they are of one another.

It’s not the typical backdrop heading into Week 14’s matchup (or any week’s, for that matter) that pits the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders — the CFL’s two hottest clubs — against one another. But then again, not every game on the league’s schedule has this kind of exclusive preamble.

Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols and the man who took over his offence at Eastern Washington University, Stamps pivot Bo Levi Mitchell, did not play together in college, but it was Nichols who convinced Mitchell to be his successor.

Nichols (a two-time Big Sky Conference offensive player of the year) hosted Mitchell (who won the Walter Payton Award as the most outstanding offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 2011 and was named the 2011 FCS national championship game’s most outstanding player) when he visited Eastern Washington shortly before transferring from Southern Methodist University after his sophomore season.

Mitchell, 26, called the duo’s first encounter a “hell of a night” — an evening he declined to recount the events of. Their secret is safe, but the friendship they fostered that night is certainly out of the bag.

“Sometimes when we’re watching Calgary play, my wife will cheer when Bo throws a touchdown or something and I kind of look at her and go, ‘Hey, actually, we need them to lose,’” said Nichols, 29. “It’s just kind of funny.”

Added Mitchell: “My wife cheers for him. I’ve met his family (and) he’s met mine. We all train together a lot. Anybody from Eastern, we all got that family mentality.”

Mitchell said Nichols played a pivotal role in convincing him to play for the Eagles. The Texas-bred gunslinger said the California-born Nichols helped nurture a culture at Eastern Washington everyone got behind.

Of course, championing each other’s cause will take a three-hour hiatus Saturday when the Blue Bombers visit McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

The purpose of Wednesday’s conference call, other than to amp up the hype machine, was to highlight a quirky CFL record: it’s the first time two teams with combined win streak of 16 games will clash. The Stamps (10-1-1) are the hottest team in the league, sporting a nine-game win streak (and an 11-game unbeaten run), while the Bombers (8-4) have won seven in a row — making them a threat to Calgary’s perch atop the West Division.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

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