10,000 party in ‘Winner-peg’ at the Blue Bombers’ parade
WINNIPEG — Thousands of Winnipeggers dressed in blue and gold crowded downtown streets Tuesday to celebrate the end of a 29-year Grey Cup drought.
Fans cheered as a parade of trucks carrying the Canadian Football League’s Blue Bombers and the silver trophy made their way from the historic Portage and Main intersection to The Forks tourist site.
Some players braved the cold without shirts and others drank beer, proudly hoisting the Cup over their heads.
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, calling the city “Winner-peg,” congratulated the team during a rally at the end of the route.
“This is long overdue and we know it. Let’s do it again real soon!” he yelled.
Mayor Brian Bowman also praised the team. “I want to say a special thank you to every member of this team for showing the grit and the passion that Winnipeggers demonstrate each and every day. We are so proud of you. “
The Bombers won their 11th CFL championship with a 33-12 victory against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on
Sunday in Calgary. It was their first Grey Cup since a win against Edmonton in 1990. In between, there were Grey Cup defeats in ’92, ’93, 2001, ’07 and ’11.
City police estimated about 10,000 people showed up at the parade to cheer on their champions. Fan Barry Kopulos said the win has energized a city struggling with a spike in violent crime. “We really needed this, like we were on the downside before this,” he said. “The energy’s positive. The mayor’s happy. The police are happy about this. The premier’s happy. It’s great for the city.” Hometown running back Andrew Harris, who became the first Canadian to capture Grey Cup MVP honours since 1969, thanked the crowd for having his back during the season.
Harris was suspended for two games in August following a positive drug test for Metandienone, an anabolic steroid. He told reporters he didn’t knowingly use a banned substance and believes the supplement he took was contaminated. “We did it baby!” he told the crowd. Slotback Nic Demski, also from Winnipeg, capped off the rally’s speeches.
“All I gotta say is the drought is over,” Demski said before dropping a mic on the stage.