If you enjoy no-name products, then Friday’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers pre-season finale is for you. Oh, there will be names on the backs of the shirts, but spectators will have a difficult time recognizing them because no high-profile starters will play versus the Calgary Stampeders.
While teams frequently play veterans in their home preseason games – Ottawa, Toronto, and British Columbia are all set to do so on Friday – Winnipeg is an exception.
Fans wishing to watch Zach Collaros or Chris Streveler throw passes, Kenny Lawler and Dalton Schoen catch them, Willie Jefferson knock them down, and Deatrick Nichols and Evan Holm steal them will have to wait.
“They should be thrilled. They get to meet new people,” said head coach and promoter Mike O’Shea on Thursday.
There are two reasons for O’Shea’s strategy this year. One, his team is stocked with veterans who don’t require much, if any, preseason practice to be ready for live bullets.
The other is the schedule.
If Winnipeg’s first preseason game had been played at home, the lineup would have included more marquee players.
However, with the first regular-season game only six days after Friday’s exhibition game, O’Shea does not want to force his veterans through this tight window. Young players hoping to make the team will not complain. They will have more opportunities to demonstrate their abilities.
“Never take an opportunity for granted, because you never know when it will be your last,” defensive end Chauncey Rivers said, repeating advice he received earlier in the day in the defensive meeting room. “I’ve been through a lot of things in my life, and I just keep putting my right foot forward, keep putting my left foot forward.” We spoke with Rivers earlier in training camp about his tumultuous, step-by-step journey, from marijuana possession arrests that derailed his first college stint to his appearance on the Netflix documentary Last Chance U, the torn ACL that ended his NFL career, and, finally, the call from an old college teammate, Bombers defensive back Brian Cole, that brought him to Winnipeg.
Approximately three weeks
later, the 26-year-old from Georgia is getting one last chance to make the CFL squad. Does it feel like he’s close?
“I’m like every other guy on the team. You never know,” Rivers said. “It’s stressful, but that’s what we signed up for. So you’ve gotta live with it, and you’ve gotta die with it. It’s football.”
Receiver Josh Johnson was singing a similar tune. He’ll take a deep breath on Friday, then go out and play. “We’ve been playing football since we were young,” Johnson, 24, said. “Just go out there and have fun.”
Not every day of training camp was fun for Johnson.
Early on, the Arkansas native dropped an easy pass that would have led to a long gain. He beat himself up for the rest of that practice.
“I know exactly which one you’re talking about,” he said. “But I knew what I could do. Just keep putting in the work. I knew it was going to pay off. Taking it one day at a time, and never losing confidence in yourself.”
While Friday will be Johnson and Rivers’ first game in this stadium, receiver AK Gassama will feel right at home – and he is.
The 24-year-old Winnipegger, part of a refugee family from war-torn Sierra Leone, will have his parents, brother, sister, grandparents, his girlfriend’s family, and many friends in the stands, including former teammates from the University of Manitoba Bisons. “It’s incredible,” Gassama exclaimed. “As game day approaches, I’ve been mentally reliving the adventure, beginning with Ft. Garry. I’ve played on this field many times before, but tonight will be the most memorable. It captures everything I’ve worked towards.
“It’s going to be just a wow moment.”
Gassama knows he can’t let it overwhelm him, though. It may be the biggest crowd he’s ever played before, but the 5-foot-9, 158-pounder has a job to do.
“Looking back, wow, I’m thankful first that I was able to survive camp with no injuries,” he said. “On top of that, I was able to get better every day. Leading now to that apex moment to go play. I’m super-excited. I’ve got a lot to prove. I’ve been in the underdog situation a lot of my life, especially being a smaller guy. You’ve got to go out there and prove it.” The young players may not have the vets to lean on Friday, but they’ve all received some advice they’ll take into the game.
Gassama remembers one piece in particular.
“Don’t count your reps, make your reps count,” he repeated.
It’s one last chance to make a first impression.
“It’s what we’ve been working for, all this time we’ve been putting in,” Johnson said. “It’s time to go do it now. Put it on film.”
There may not be many names.
But there won’t be a lack of effort.
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