Winnipeg Bombers coach expects emotional reunion at training camp
Mike O'shea summed things up nicely when he answered a question about his Winnipeg Blue Bombers not facing the Ottawa Redblacks at all during the shortened 2021 Canadian Football League season.
“If they rolled out the schedule and we had to play the same team for every game, it would have been perfect,” O'shea said.
O'shea is finally going to have some players to coach again in the near future, almost 20 months after the last time he did so and you can tell he's very happy about it.
The CFL will conduct a 14-game season, starting on Aug. 5, and teams will go through three-week training camps starting on July 10.
There were a lot of people who thought it was odd and disappointing that the Bombers will not face former offensive co-ordinator Paul Lapolice, former starting quarterback Matt Nichols and the Redblacks in 2021.
But for O'shea, there's just too much to celebrate right now — after the 2020 season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic — to worry about one game that didn't make the schedule.
“I'm just in that euphoric state that we're playing, that we're getting going,” O'shea said.
When O'shea last coached the Bombers, it was Nov. 24, 2019 and his team beat the Hamilton Tiger-cats 33-12 that day to win the Grey Cup for the first time as an organization since 1990.
Amazingly, he's going to have a large majority of the players from that Grey Cup win back in training camp and, as long as those players are healthy and able to still compete at a high level after such a long time off, he should have a veteran-laden lineup for the season.
Among the veterans expected to return on offence are quarterback Zach Collaros, running back Andrew Harris, receivers Darvin Adams, Nic Demski and Drew Wolitarsky and the entire starting offensive line. On defence, there are defensive ends Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat, linebackers Adam Bighill and Kyrie Wilson and defensive backs Brandon Alexander and Mercy Maston.
We say those players are “expected” to return because no one really knows what kind of shape they are all in after 20 months away from the game.
It's not inconceivable that there will be some retirements among veteran players across the league between now and the start of the season, especially considering some players have started on other careers, with Canadian football on hiatus. Players who come to a CFL training camp will have to go through quarantine upon arrival, and will be tested for COVID-19 regularly before and during training camp and throughout the season, likely three times per week.
Just getting back on the field is going to be a momentous occasion for everyone involved.
“I'm extremely happy,” O'shea said. “Not only for the CFL and the fans, but the players, especially. They deserve this and they need this … they've suffered a lot. So, it's good to see them excited about the season. I mean, we're only a few weeks away from getting together, right?
“I can't wait until they lay eyes on each other and just rekindle those relationships. It's going to be a lot of fun to observe all that. I'm sure it will be a very emotional time.”