Professional Football Researchers Association Forum
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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won the 107th Grey Cup game yesterday, ending a drought dating back 29 years to 1990. The Big Blue dominated the favoured Hamilton Tiger-Cats in every phase of the game in the 33-12 win.
Hamilton had the best record in the CFL, dominating the weaker Eastern Division with a 15-3 record while Winnipeg finished third in the wild West, going 11-7 after starting the season 5-0 and then losing starting QB Matt Nichols to a shoulder injury midway through the season. The combination of second year backup QB Chris Streveler and a late season trade for often injured but talented QB Zach Collaros enabled the offence to regain its’ stride and the much maligned defence played brilliantly in giving up only 39 points in three postseason games, none of which were at home.
Congrats JohnH, that was an old fashioned boot stomping yesterday. Tremendous defence by Winnipeg during the post-season ... a throwback to Bud Grant's Bomber teams of the late 1950's & early 1960's. Your guys stopped my Roughriders on the last play of the West Final, so the air had pretty much gone out of my Grey Cup balloon. That said, I am happy for you and the long suffering Winnipeg fans. 29 years without a Grey Cup in the modern era CFL is ridiculous. If someone would have told me in November 1990 that it would be nearly 3 decades before the Bombers would win another Cup I would never have believed it. Nice way to close out the decade. 8 different CFL clubs experienced Grey Cup success during the 2010's. Only Hamilton failed capture the trophy. Do you suppose Bud Grant was watching?
Knew John would be happy about it. I was happy Bighill recovered the early fumble -- he played HS football in roughly the same area as I did and just after me. So I wanted to see him win.
Sucks for Hamilton, though. Now they have the drought, alone. And Banks has horrible Grey Cup luck.
I liked Harris' post-game interview, and that he made history.
Thanks guys! I have to admit I'm not nearly the fan I used to be (I haven't been to a game the past two seasons) but I still watch every Blue Bombers game in 60 inch HD glory. Most of my football passion is now focused on hopefully one day seeing my Vikings hoist the Lombardi.
I watched Sunday's game with some friends who are season ticket holders and some tears of joy were shed. Twenty nine years is almost exactly half a lifetime for this old fart and there are many fans thirty five and younger who have no memory of us ever winning the Grey Cup.
It's odd how the Blue Bombers only seem to win the Cup in bursts;
-1935 was the West's first ever win as we beat Hamilton 18-12 and then 1939 and 41 were both close wins over Ottawa.
-Then there was a seventeen year drought before Bud Grant's teams won in 1958, 59, 61 and 62. Grant's Bomber teams also lost in 57 and 65. All of those games were against Hamilton. Ironically, Bud's best team was the 1960 club which lost the best of three (at the time) Western final two games to one when QB Kenny Ploen, playing with a broken hand, fumbled the ball late in the game setting up the winning Edmonton field goal. The final score was a very CFLish 4-2. It should have been five in a row like the 1978-82 Edmonton Eskimos.
-Another drought followed - one that I suffered through - as Winnipeg didn't make another appearance in the Grey Cup game until 1984 when they pounded Hamilton and former Bomber superstar, Dieter Brock, 47-17. Championships in 1988 and 90 followed soon after.
The Blue Bombers lost Grey Cup games in 1992, 93, 2001, 07 and 11 before yesterday's win. The 2001 14-4 team lost to the 8-10 Calgary Stampeders. In 2007, QB Kevin Glenn broke his arm trying to recover a loose ball in the Eastern Final win over Toronto, dooming our chance against Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup game.
One more oddity; as a result of Ottawa not having a team, Winnipeg was a member of the Eastern Division for all seven of their Grey Cup appearances from 1988 to 2011. In those seven games we played all four of the remaining Western teams. However, our last nine (!) Grey Cup games against an Eastern team have all been against Hamilton dating back to 1953 when the legendary Indian Jack Jacobs was our QB and another legend, George Trafton, was our coach. We have never played Montreal in a Grey Cup game.
