Improbable victory but richly deserved
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are the Grey Cup champions — improbably but most deservedly.
The route to the title and the storylines throughout the season are just amazing.
The winning quarterback, Zach Collaros, began the season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, only to be traded twice — first to the Toronto Argonauts, and subsequently to Winnipeg.
If Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler doesn’t get injured, does the acquisition of Collaros even take place?
Do the Blue Bombers win the Grey Cup without Collaros?
The movie on this topic alone could be a highly rated one.
Collaros ultimately savoured the crowning moment that several high-quality Blue Bombers quarterbacks were unable to experience.
Quarterback Matt Nichols’ success earlier in the year, before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, should not be overlooked. It must have been tough for him not to be in uniform for the championship game.
After Hamilton Tiger-cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence left Collaros concussed with an illegal hit to the head, just three plays into the CFL’S regular season, who could have imagined what would unfold in November?
If you had bet on Collaros quarterbacking the Blue Bombers to a Grey Cup championship after being traded twice — and helping Winnipeg defeat Lawrence and the Tiger-cats 33-12 in Sunday’s final — you would have won a lot of money on predictions.
Rob Vanstone, as you all saw during the year, will never have to worry about this issue. The final tally on our season-long predictions: Taman 57-29, Vanstone 55-31.
Adversity strikes every team during a season. The Blue Bombers received several doses of it, but played their best game at the best possible moment.
During the season, tailback Andrew Harris had issues with drug testing, assistant coaches Richie Hall and Paul Lapolice dealt with the passing of loved ones, and there was a revolving door at quarterback. Even so, there was a happy ending.
I enjoyed my years in the Blue Bombers’ front office. There wasn’t a team or a city that deserved a championship more than Winnipeg, which had not won a Grey Cup since 1990.
The longest drought now belongs to the Tiger-cats, who last won a championship in 1999. They have endured three Grey Cup losses over the past six seasons. Their time will come.
As for the Blue Bombers, I was especially happy for two individuals from that organization.
Brad Fotty, the Blue Bombers’ trusted equipment manager, waited 29 — yes, 29 — years to hoist the Grey Cup. On top of that, he had lamented five Grey Cup losses before Sunday night.
Regina-born offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld also came to mind. One of the toughest things I experienced as the Roughriders’ general manager in 2013 was telling Patrick that he had been sent to Winnipeg at the trade deadline, in a deal that brought defensive end Alex Hall to Saskatchewan.
At the time of the trade, I told Patrick that in the long run, it would be the best thing for his career.
It didn’t seem like it at the time for him, I’m sure. But on the sixth anniversary of the Roughriders’ 2013 Grey Cup victory, he too became a champion.