It was great to be part of this Riders-Bombers rivalry
I arrived in the Rider Nation in 2007 and it didn’t take long to immerse myself, and be wholeheartedly accepted, into the culture — one that every other CFL team covets.
I had previously spent three seasons with the Ottawa Renegades after playing for five years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I am eternally grateful to the Blue Bombers organization, especially, for giving me a shot when nobody else would.
But when I joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders, I knew this was where I had always wanted to play. I just hadn’t known it before.
For me, the Winnipeg-Saskatchewan rivalry runs deeper than football. My daughter was born in Winnipeg. My son was born in Regina. Having close ties to both markets, I love being a part of this rivalry — which was renewed Saturday when the Bombers beat the Riders 22-7 at Investors Group Field.
The Grey Cup was on hand for the latest Banjo Bowl. I was a guest of the Bombers alumni, and in a room full of ex-teammates and Bombers legends I did not feel one bit of remorse for being one of the few people in the room who was allowed to paw the Cup — a perk only available to Grey Cup champions. I qualified by virtue of having played for the 2007 Grey Cup champions.
I did, however, feel a little odd to be wearing full Rider regalia in the Blue and Gold Room. I knew no one really cared, but I mentioned my discomfort to a fellow alumnus who asked me why I had decided to stay in Regina, considering I played half of my career with the Bombers.
Having players stick around town and be active in their community is the best marketing tool for teams, and it builds that culture the Bombers are trying to establish.
For me, the answer was easy. Rider Nation is a community and everyone has a part, from the board of directors to the fans. All I needed to do to demonstrate my point was point out the window that overlooked both the Riderville tailgate party as well as the Bomber tailgate event on Saturday.
Riderville had a stage and beer tubs off to the side and a large open space where Rider fans were singing and dancing together. On the other side, the Bomber private suites were fenced off, and tents set up in the middle of the common area broke up the networking potential.
This was symbolic of how it felt to be a Bomber. The football side — the guys — was as tight as could be, but when I had to go across the foyer at old Winnipeg Stadium to the business office, I did not feel welcome among company that should have had the same goal as we did.
I didn’t know any better. I just thought that’s the way it was, until I wandered into the Mosaic Stadium business office for the first time, in April of 2007.
I had just arrived in Regina with my family and wanted to let head coach Kent Austin know I was in town. Upon opening the door to the offices, I expected the third degree: Who are you? Why are you here? Do you have an appointment? Do you mind waiting (an hour) while I think about accommodating your simple request?
Instead, I was greeted in true Rider fashion. They knew who I was, why I was there, and the names of my family members. They just seemed happy to see me.
We didn’t even have to wait to see Coach Austin. I was just let into the building and met the head coach in the hallway, where the president — the president! — popped his head out of his office and skipped the formalities of a handshake and greeted me with a hug. That’s my kinda guy!
Through short-sightedness, bad decision-making and personnel turnover, the once-great Bomber culture has been broken. Bombers president Wade Miller has the huge task of turning this culture around, much like the challenge Jim Hopson faced after becoming the Riders’ first president-CEO just over a decade ago.
I met with Wade (an exteammate) before Saturday’s game, and for a few seconds he let down his guard and looked as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders before he had to don his smile again and pose for pictures with his fans — people he needs to believe in him in order to right his ship.
Wade knows business and has excelled at every level of football in Winnipeg. To use an Austinism: “He gets it.” Just as importantly, he cares.
Filling positions with not only quality talent, but also good people — huggers — takes time, because it’s tough to decipher between a cozy hug and a bone-crushing bear hug before it’s too late.
For the first time since my rookie year in 1999, I felt like I wasn’t being crushed by bureaucracy in the Bomber organization. Instead, I was welcomed with a warm hug by my friend Wade and a handful of others who are working night and day to return their club to the glory days.
To sort of quote Rider legend John Lynch, it wasn’t very “Winnipegish.”
Regardless of what side of the border your allegiance lies, that’s a good thing for this Prairie rivalry — maybe even the only good thing that came out of an ugly, sloppy game by both teams on the field.