When asked about his personal thoughts on Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans who live in Interlake region of Manitoba, Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said he is quite impressed.
“I’m always impressed by how people travel to games and the support we get,” O’Shea said, who played 16 seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts. “It is different being out west than it is in Ontario. I haven’t stopped seeing that. The number of licence plates you see and the number of Bomber flags.”
Selkirk mayor Larry Johannson told the Selkirk Settler Times just how excited he is for a 2021 season not matter how that will look with respect to fans being in the stands at Investors Group Field. He also talked about the strong fan base from the Selkirk and surround area.
“I think this is terrific. Of course this has been a tough time for us,” Johannson said in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Even if it’s not a full stadium.”
Johannson said he attends as many Bombers home games as he schedule will accommodate and he also noted his four sons are all season ticket holders.
It has been almost a decade ago since Selkirk Transit teamed up with the local Boston Pizza to provide fans with the opportunity to attend Bomber games via one of the city’s transit buses. Bomber fan meet up at Boston Pizza in Selkirk through a park ‘n ride concept and one of the city’s transit buses brings fans to Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. The purchase price of a ticket to ride on the transit bus also includes a personal pizza from BP with the chance of also winning prizes.
“It’s a fantastic atmosphere. When ever we went, we always took the bus,” Johannson said. “We went to the Grey Cup (2015) on the bus. Kyle and I went. We went and we met people there. It was such a good time. I can’t say enough about it.”
O’Shea also brought attention to a Blue Bombers marketing campaign from a few years ago when the Bombers sold flags that represented not only different neighbourhoods in Winnipeg, but also various communities throughout Manitoba.
“What I really enjoyed was a few years ago when they started that flag program. There were flags printed up for all over Manitoba and you can get a flag. I still like looking at the bottom of our website where the pictures scroll by and there’s all sorts of people displaying and proudly display their Bomber flag and where they’re representing. What neighbourhood they’re representing and what area they’re re representing. It is a source of pride and it certainty doesn’t go unnoticed by our players,” he said.
2021 CFL Season
O’Shea recently told a group of reporters during a media conference call via Zoom on June 18 that the 2021 will be a great lesson in resiliency and flexibility. He also explained that the doesn’t see any challenges that won’t be overcome by any team during the upcoming season.
“Things come up during the season and you need to be able to adapt very quickly. I fully expect our guys to do that and we have a bunch of pros,” O’shea said.
The Bombers head coach is more than ready to get the 2021 season underway. O’Shea said there have been a number of occasions during the COVID-19 pandemic where he thought the season close to getting underway, but now there is a definite start date.
“As soon as they say go, it’s like being a one arm juggler,” O’Shea said.
Opening season to the 2021 Canadian Football League season is slated for Aug. 5.
According to O’Shea, the play book for the Blue & Gold has been ready for the approximately the past 500 to 600 days and he is more than ready for Winnipeg to take to the field in the nine-team league.
“I think it’s been a trying time, especially for the players. I can’t wait to get them back in a distanced locker room, but I can’t wait for them to lay eyes on each other and just rekindle those relationships. It’s going to be a lot of fun to observe all of that,” O’Shea added. “I’m sure it’s going to be a very emotional time.”
The Bombers open the 2021 season at home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Investors Group Field on Aug. 5.
