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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers take on the B.C. Lions this Saturday at IG Field for the Canadian Football League’s West Final, and while it’s familiar ground for the Bombers — their fourth consecutive appearance in the conference championship — the team says it isn’t taking anything for granted.
Veteran defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat told Global Winnipeg that part of the 14-4 Bombers’ success on the field has been treating every game of the season as if it’s for all the marbles.
“We prepare as if every game is your last, every game is the most important game that we play,” he said.
“You want to make sure you put your best foot forward in every game that you play.”
Jeffcoat, who won the Grey Cup as a Bomber in 2019 and 2021, said another important factor in Saturday’s game is that it’s happening in Winnipeg, where the notoriously raucous fans give the home field players a definite boost.
“Home field advantage is huge. It’s big, especially with the crowd here in Winnipeg. They’re so loud, no one can hear their calls, they can’t make checks, they can’t make any different communication. … The loud noise helps us a lot.”
Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller said he agrees the crowd plays a big role, as the team is aiming to host its fifth consecutive sold-out game at the Winnipeg stadium.
“Going to the west final for the fourth time in a row … it’s a big one and it’s important for all of our fans to get here and get loud,” he said.
“There’s still some tickets left. We just went over 30,000 tickets. They’re moving and there’s still some available. We want a sold-out stadium again for the fifth time this year in a row.”
Miller said IG Field’s tailgate area will open early Saturday — around 2 p.m. — so fans can watch the East Final on a big screen before the local matchup, and get a taste of who the Bombers could end up facing if they advance to the Grey Cup.
Before any of that can happen, though, there’s a lot of work to be done preparing the stadium for the big day.
“We’ll have, on Thursday and Friday, over 100 people here shovelling snow and getting rid of it,” Miller said.
“We’ve got high school football players, university, junior football players, a bunch of staff that come out and get this stadium ready, so there’s a lot of work that’s going to go into this game before Saturday.”
Derek Taylor, 680 CJOB’s “voice of the Bombers,” said a win Saturday could propel the Bombers into rare territory as the first CFL team to make it to four consecutive Grey Cup finals in more than four decades.
“It’s something that hasn’t been done since 1982 in the CFL, period. This is enormous, this is the game they all play for,” he said.
First, though, they need to take on the 12-6 Lions, who Taylor said won’t be a pushover by any stretch of the imagination.
“They were here in week three and beat the Bombers 30-6, which kind of opened our eyes. … Things have righted themselves and the Bombers beat them in the next two games, including that overtime classic five weeks ago, so we’re just ready for an incredible matchup on Saturday.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.