I was chatting last week with a diehard Bomber fan who didn't know if he was going to rumble down the Trans-Canada Highway for the Labour Day Classic.
He wanted to go, and he said he would have no problem getting tickets to the game that sold out in about 12 minutes back in June. The catch? His wife was hedging because she didn't want to see the Bombers lose to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Again. The scary part is the guy could see his wife's point.
Yes, it has come to that in Bomberville, where even some of the fanatics are losing their fanaticism when it comes to the greatest CFL rivalry.
It's been worse on Maroons Road before, but has it ever been better in Regina? Let us examine
- The Roughriders sell out every game, while it seems the only time the Bombers turn the trick is when Gang Green rolls into town for the Banjo Bowl.
- The Riders haven't had a losing season since 2002, while the Bombers have 18 fewer wins -- and four losing campaigns -- in that same time frame.
- The Riders have won a Grey Cup in the last two decades, beating, of course, the Bombers in 2007. Winnipeg, meanwhile, has the longest Grey Cup drought in the CFL, with their last title coming all the way back in 1990. Buck Pierce was nine years old.
- Out in Regina, they are selling Fantuz Flakes in honour of Canadian receiver Andy Fantuz. Their government is producing Rider-themed licence plates. They just got their own loonie the other day, for crying out loud. It is minted, naturally, in Winnipeg, and there was a media blitz in Winnipeg on Friday urging people to scoop them up.
- The Riders are talking about building a mammoth, $400-million entertainment complex that would include a snazzy new stadium. In Winnipeg, they can't decide who is going to pay for the extra nails on a "state of the art" $115 million stadium at the University of Manitoba.
- The Riders announced a profit last year of $3.1 million, while the Bombers lost $1.2 million after firing their second coach in as many years.
If the Bombers lose on Sunday, and the Vegas bookies are predicting that they will, it will be the team's first five-game losing streak since 1999.
I'm not trying to be negative here, people, but the facts don't lie: The Riders are the haves these days, and the Bombers are the have-nots.
It just seems like the gap between the Riders and the Bombers has never been greater, both on and off the field. Everything the Riders are involved in comes up smelling like a rose.
"Yes, but we are finding ways to water our own garden right now," Bomber president Jim Bell said Friday. "I wouldn't say they're stronger, but they're riding a heck of a wave. Their business side is doing well, and I commend (Rider CEO) Jim Hopson and their team.
"We have a little bit to go in that respect. They have the Midas touch right now."
While Fantuz Flakes, loonies and licence plates are all fine and dandy, the only thing that really matters to the fans is winning. And there again, the Riders have the edge. They have won five consecutive Labour Day Classics, as well as five straight against the Bombers overall, dating back to the '07 Grey Cup.
A Winnipeg win on Sunday, however, would make the whole scene change in an instant. Just like that, it would make it a little bit easier to be a Bomber fan.
"Throw it all out on Labour Day," Bell said. "There are no animals left in the zoo; they're all at the ball park. Strange things happen. I have every confidence that we can go in there and win that football game on Sunday."
Bomber centre Obby Khan is happy to see Saskatchewan's success, saying it is great for the league. He believes it can only make the three-down loop stronger when other team's fans see Rider backers in every stadium across the country.
"That's phenomenal, and I hope that brings up the rest of the fans in the CFL," Khan said. "We have great fans here, but they get a little more inspired when Saskatchewan comes to town.
"But would it make me more happy to go in there and shove those Fantuz Flakes and coins down their throats? Of course it would."
