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News June 6, 2025

“I’m at a great place that I love and with guys I love to play with. That’s perfect.”

@EdTaitWFC

Chris Streveler had just unbuckled his helmet and peeled off a set of shoulder pads over a sweat-stained shirt. Taking an extra moment then to glance up at a bright Prairie sky on a picturesque morning after another Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice, the veteran quarterback’s mug broke into a wide smile.

“I get to see my baby girl and fiancée today after a month away from them,” Streveler began. “So, life is good.”

Football fans in these parts were first introduced to Streveler some seven years ago, when the then rookie quarterback was suddenly pushed into the bright lights as the season-opening starter following a late training camp injury to Matt Nichols. And in a 33-30 loss to Edmonton — a game in which he became the first fresh-from-college QB to start an opener for the Blue Bombers since John Schneider in 1968 and threw for 178 yards and three touchdowns — we all got a snapshot of the bulldozing, win-at-all-costs linebacker-in-a-quarterback-body as he took his first steps toward cult status in this town.

Now here we are, some six days removed from his next season-opening start as he’ll line up behind centre Chris Kolankowski for next Thursday’s curtain raiser against the B.C. Lions at Princess Auto Stadium.

“You remember my first start, my first game ever… I didn’t even know what was going on,” said Streveler in a chat with bluebombers.com on Friday. “I probably didn’t even appreciate how rare that opportunity was at the time because things just happened so fast.

“Now at this point in my career I have an even greater appreciation for these moments and this season in general — especially after going through what I’ve been through last season (with his year-ending knee injury in the Banjo Bowl).

“I know these opportunities are hard to come by and I just appreciate them that much more.”

Back in 2018 Streveler was a wide-eyed 23-year-old rookie with his whole career in front of him. He’s now 30, with 13 career starts to his name as a Blue Bomber — including a win over Ottawa in his lone start last year — and a whole lot of miles spent chasing his dream down south in the NFL with Arizona, Baltimore, Miami and the New York Jets.

All those experiences have shaped him, giving him a deeper perspective on so many things in and outside of football. What hasn’t changed — even from the first time we chatted with him as a rookie in 2018 — is his approach to the game, his craft and, essentially, his life.

And so much of this is what has made him a hall of fame teammate wherever he has stepped into a huddle.

“It’s always about chasing my best self. That’s my goal as a person, that’s my goal in life and as a football player — be my best self and work every day to try and be that person,” he said. “You’re never going to reach that because there’s always something to improve on. But that’s where I’m at every single day — pushing to be my best.

“It’s always been about wins. I don’t care about personal stats. I’ve never worried about anything other than winning games when I’m on the football field. I don’t care how we do it. We’ve won games in all types of ways and that’s what this entire organization is built on.”

“I’ve been around a lot of football at this point so I know it can go any way. Having that experience allows me to adapt to whatever kind of game it’s going to be that day. We have a great defence that keeps us in games and allows us to win a lot of games so the more football you’re around, the more you’re able to flow around those situations and do whatever it takes to get the win on that particular day.”

Streveler is coming off an excellent training camp and preseason — doubly so because he’s nine months removed from shredding his knee last September — and is convinced there’s still room to grow his game. And the notion that he has something to prove to critics or naysayers, well, he stiff-armed that to the ground during our chat on Friday.

“You learn your strengths over time,” he said. “I still think I’m improving as a player at this point in my career. I’ve had one of my best camps ever this year. But at this point in my career I really play because I love the game. I play because I love my teammates, and I love the work and the process.

“I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody. I’m just trying to be my best and help this team win games. I don’t look at it at all like, ‘I’ve got to go prove people wrong.’ The prove-it mentality was more the approach I took in rehab and coming back from injury. And now that I’ve done that and haven’t missed a practice and I’m back on the field, that feeling is gone Now it’s about being out here with my teammates. That’s why I love this game.

“I was having this conversation with my fiancée the other day,” he added. “It just feels like I’m seeing the game in a different way. I’m appreciating it more and just embracing the whole process. It’s a really cool place to be at right now at this stage in my career. I feel like I have as much of a leadership role on this team as I ever have and that’s when I’m at my best.

“I’m at a great place that I love and with guys I love to play with. That’s perfect. It’s why I appreciate this.”

HOT TICKET: The Blue Bombers announced Friday morning that tickets for this year’s Grey Cup in Winnipeg on November 16th at Princess Auto Stadium are now available to the public through Ticketmaster. As well, all Grey Cup ticket buyers will receive exclusive early access in early July to purchase Team Social Passes, which include access to the 2025 Grey Cup Festival Concert Series and the highly anticipated Team Party Rooms – two of the biggest attractions during Festival Week.

SHOW OF SUPPORT: Tough news out of Hamilton today with GM Ted Goveia, who spent 2014-24 with the Blue Bombers before becoming the GM with the Tiger-Cats, announcing he has a serious form of cancer.

ICYMI: Kudos to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for their tribute to Chase Stegall, the beloved son of Blue Bombers legend Milt Stegall who passed away suddenly earlier this week, for this tribute prior to Thursday’s season-opening game against the Ottawa RedBlacks at Mosaic Stadium.