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July 15, 2016

Fan Friday: Jim Anderson

It could be said Jim Anderson has been married twice, with both unions having now covered almost 50 years.

He married his wife Dorothy back in 1967. And that same year, he officially got hitched to the football team that has been his passion for most of his life, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“I’ve been a season ticket member since ’67, and the reason I know that is we got season tickets the year we got married,” began the 71 year-old diehard, the subject of this week’s bluebombers.com fan profile.

“That’s 49 years now. I didn’t have season tickets before then, but we used to go to games before that. As a matter of fact, a Bomber game – I believe it was against Edmonton – was the second date I had with my now wife.

“We started off with the Bombers and we’ve been with them ever since. She didn’t know a football from a streetlight standard when I married her, but she really took to the sport and helped manage the teams I coached.

“She’s been a sweetheart to me for 49 years.”

Jim Anderson

If there’s such a thing as an ‘old school’ fan, then Anderson comes straight from Hollywood casting. He can still recall stories of following the team from his youth, watching Bomber practices at Canada Packers.

And he’s the type that will sit in the car for a spell upon arrival at Investors Group Field, just so he can squeeze in a few more minutes listening to Bob Irving on the CJOB pre-game show.

“Oh, those days at Canada Packers,” Anderson recalled. “I can remember Hal Ledyard, Kenny Ploen and Dick Thornton were the three quarterbacks. They were racing by position and bald-headed ol’ Hal wasn’t very quick. Kenny Ploen was pretty quick, but Dick Thornton was a speedster.

“I can remember Hal crossing the line and yelling out, ‘I can’t run worth a (bleep).’

“I go back 49 years and followed this team well before that. I remember the Buddy Tinsleys, Kenny Ploens… all those guys. I will say the Bombers have always been good with people and the fans. They stop and talk to you and I’ve never had any of them turn me away.

“You know, so many of these guys, they must play just because they love it. They beat the hell out of their body and haven’t always made a lot of money doing it.”

Jim Anderson

For Anderson, that’s part of the appeal of this team and of the Canadian Football League. Many of the Bombers he’s followed over the years have been the next-door neighbour types; gifted athletes who held down offseason jobs.

Anderson, who coached baseball, hockey and football while working for Manitoba Hydro and then three other companies before starting his own and retiring in 2005, was a good athlete himself, dating back to his days in Killarney, then Thief River Falls.

Summing up his approach to athletics, Anderson cracked: “I was always a guy who would rather hit a guy than look at him. I was rambunctious.”

Two new knees and a hip replacement over the last few years haven’t stolen his passion for the Bombers. One of his biggest thrills was serving as the 13th man flag bearer a couple of years ago alongside Bomber alumnus Brendan Rogers.

And while he might be tempted to trade in his seats to sit at home and watch the Bombers on TV, being at games live and in person has been a family tradition he’s been married to for years. The Andersons have four tickets – Jim and Dorothy, his son Jeff and his sister-in-law Daria.

“As I’ve told our CEO, Wade Miller, in 40-some years I’ve seen an awful lot of crappy football,” said Anderson with a chuckle. “But I’ve seen some pretty good football, too.

“I just love football. I didn’t play at a real competitive level, but I did play in high school. My kid’s just like me. He takes his vacation during training camp so he can go watch the Bombers in camp. He’s one of those guys who writes down his lineup of who they’re going to keep and who they’re going to cut and he’s always proud of how close his final roster is to the actual one. He’s carrying on our tradition.

“I guess when I can’t go anymore, I’ll still watch it in high def in my easy chair. But I still love being there. I’ve been a Bomber fan for a long time. That’s never going to change.”