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My introduction to ‘The Rivalry’ came in my rookie year back in 2012 and my first ever Labour Day Classic.
I found out quickly that these two provinces really don’t like each other – especially on days when the Blue Bombers and Roughriders are playing each other – and in ‘12 I was thrown right into that. We weren’t very good that year, but everyone told me, ‘That doesn’t matter over the next two weeks. Everything changes on Labour Day and in the Banjo Bowl.’
It was definitely a whirlwind time for me getting introduced to pro football. It was a crazy week leading up to the Labour Day game with LaPo (Paul LaPolice) getting fired and Tim Burke taking over.
I remember Coach Burke making a crack about Pilsner beer – he said he expected to be heckled at the game and have beer poured over him and that he was more of a pale ale man than a Pilsner guy and liking more hops in his beer. Then he added, ‘I’m a little tougher than those guys over in Saskatchewan.’
And then we go out and get embarrassed 52-0.
We used to take the bus to Sask back then and there was good and bad to that. It was good because we left on Day 3 – on the Friday instead of flying out Saturday – and you got an extra day with the guys. The bus ride there was fun, but the bus ride back wasn’t. It certainly wasn’t fun bussing back after the 52-0 loss and the next year (a 48-25 loss) wasn’t much better. That year, 2013, the club also fired the CEO and GM in August, right around the same time as LaPo had been fired the year before.
Like I said, that was my quick introduction to pro football in just my first two years.
Now if one of the new guys on our team asks about this rivalry – especially those who have come from the NCAA – I would say the easiest way to explain Labour Day and the Banjo Bowl would be to compare it to their rivalry weeks, like the Oklahoma-Texas Red River Shootout, for example. The Banjo Bowl just further adds to the rivalry. It gives you that boost midseason. The season can be long and sometimes it feels like it’s dragging along, but these two games really start to amp things up. The weather isn’t as hot and you’re paying more attention to the standings.
We do a good job of repeating just going 1-0 this week, but this week does admittedly feel a bit different. When we arrive in Regina there’s a bunch of people in green or blue yelling at you when you go to dinner. It’s such a fun atmosphere. It’s hard to be anonymous, but that’s fun. It’s not always just us getting heckled.
To me, the old stadium – Taylor Field – was more intimidating in some respects because it felt like the fans were more on top of you. The new stadium is beautiful, but it doesn’t feel like the fans are right there. The old CFL stadiums – like Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton – there was a dugout and the fans were right on top of you. In terms of heckling, Hamilton’s old stadium used to be worse.
I love these games and the rivalry that goes with it. When I was at Acadia our biggest rival would change from year to year, but the biggest was probably St. Mary’s or whoever the better teams in the conference were at the time. My wife played volleyball and she wasn’t a fan of St. Mary’s either, but it was nothing like this.
Where I grew up in Fredericton, the city is divided by a river so there’s north and south side high schools. I lived on the north side and went to Leo Hayes High School and on the south side it was Fredericton High. We never won in football, but usually won in hockey. And that would be more of a rivalry than what I had in Acadia.
But this is a whole different level.
This rivalry is just so great for these two teams and for the CFL. It’s always good to have a provincial rivalry like this. It adds a bit of spice to such good fan bases. Even in ’12 when we were blown out on Labour Day, we felt like we could still win the Banjo Bowl. We lost 52-0 but almost won the next week in the Banjo Bowl. We should have won, but we blew it against a young Drew Willy who led the Riders to a late field goal.
As intense as this rivalry is, I do like that there’s a level of respect to it, too. Here’s an example: my parents went to the game in Regina when Mosaic officially opened in 2017, and they were wearing their Bombers gear and I was worried whether they were going to be OK. But it wasn’t about the masses of fans, I was just worried about the one drunk fan who might say something. But my parents had a great day when we played there on Canada Day and they made friends with the Sask fans.
That’s what I love about this league – even if the fans chirp you, they’re still going to respect you. And if you’re a Winnipeg fan or a Saskatchewan fan I’m still thanking you for supporting the league and I feel the fans respect the players for being a part of the league, too.
These games are special. This rivalry is special.
– Jake Thomas
