Bombers’ defeat leaves fans crushed, but O’Shea still proud

Dynasty denied. That is the realization Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans are making Monday after watching their beloved blue and gold come up short in the Grey Cup for a third consecutive year.

When asked if Sunday’s loss stung more than the previous two years, or if it’s worse, Bombers’ head coach Mike O’Shea replied: “They all have their space to be terrible.”

Fans at viewing parties across Winnipeg could only watch in horror Sunday as their championship hopes slipped away in a disastrous fourth quarter that saw Zach Collaros leave with a hand injury, only to return moments later to throw a pair of interceptions, all but sealing Winnipeg’s fate. 

“I don’t know if I took a helmet or a hand hit it. Little bloody, had to get some stitches in it and numb it, but it’s not an excuse for our performance tonight,” said Collaros. 

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For him, he says the triumphs in 2019 and 2021 seem further and further away in contrast to these last three devastating defeats, as the MVP in the 108th Grey Cup has thrown six interceptions with no touchdowns in the last three Grey Cup losses.

“There are just so many people in the locker room that you care for, develop deep bonds with, put a lot of time, a lot of work together, so not to have it go our way in the ultimate game is obviously tough,” said the Bombers’ QB. 

The biggest question though, stemming from Sunday, was the use — or lack thereof — of the league’s newly named most outstanding player, who rushed the ball just 11 times.

“Obviously, we want Brady to have a great game and lead us to victory but sometimes defences have a say in it too,” said O’Shea. 

However, despite the bitterness of this loss, the Bombers’ head coach was still proud of the fight his team showed to reach this point after many were quick to count them out after a sluggish start to the season.

“Anytime you don’t win your last game, there’s a tendency to view it as a failure, and I don’t know about that,” he said. “It was a hell of a ride this year, quite a different season. We just didn’t play our best football at the end.” 

Now, while it will take some time for the pain of this loss to heal if the Bombers are able to reach the CFL’s biggest game for a sixth consecutive season, redemption will await them at home, with Winnipeg’s own Princess Auto Stadium playing host to the 112th Grey Cup Championship.