The goosebumps come for Willie Jefferson long before he sets foot inside IG Field on Winnipeg Blue Bombers game day.
It’s the moments long before the madness – seeing the tailgaters set up hours earlier and watching the crowd grow as kickoff nears – that get the veteran defensive end amped up before he’s on the field for his first snap.
Those are the instances that Jefferson often pulls back to appreciate. And it’s all part of why IG Field has morphed into the toughest building in the Canadian Football League – a place where the Blue Bombers have won 28 of their last 30 games, including playoffs.
“Every week I do that, man,” said Jefferson in a chat with bluebombers.com. “You have to look at the big picture. It’s every week when we come out of the tunnel, whether it’s the offence being introduced or the defence. It’s every time they’re singing the anthem and you hear our fans yell ‘Blue!’ Those are the things where you think, ‘This is what we play for. A packed house just like this.’”
The last time a CFL team was on a run this good at home was the Calgary Stampeders, circa 2014-17, when they went 33-2 over 35 games, including playoffs, at McMahon Stadium. Thing is, even with all that winning McMahon never developed the same reputation as the home of the CFL’s loudest fans.
“What makes this place so difficult for visiting teams? It’s the fan base, No. 1,” said Blue Bombers receiver Drew Wolitarsky. “The team is the team, whether we’re at home or on the road.
“What’s really fun is teams can be intimidated coming here. You know it’s going to be loud; they know we’re going to play hard and so you’re not just facing us, you’re facing an atmosphere and when you’re facing an atmosphere you’ve got to have your mind right. When we get that momentum rolling and our fans are hyped, then you’ve got to fight them, and you’ve got to fight us. It’s a battle, dude.
“Look at this team… the fans see the same skeleton over the years with new pieces added. Across the CFL there are so many changes with quarterbacks and receivers changing teams. But there’s been a continuum here that makes it easier to follow and buy into and feel a part of. We all feel it.”
That continuity is a massive part of all this, for sure. The continuity leads to winning, which leads to the building being packed regularly. The Blue Bombers led the CFL in attendance last year for the first time in franchise history.
“It’s wild, when our offence is on the field (the fans) are supposed to be quiet… you know they don’t want to, but they see Zach (Collaros), and Yosh (Jermarcus Hardrick) and Stan (Bryant) and Sheed (Rasheed Bailey) – all those guys on offence – they are quieter,” said Jefferson. “And as soon as they make a play it’s roaring. And then it goes quieter again before they’re roaring again. It’s awesome.”
“And when the defence hits the field, it’s just going crazy the whole time and the whole place is just shaking. You can look past the O-line and the quarterback and just see it shaking. It’s the same feeling for the opposition offence when they’re on the field – they can’t hear anything, and they try to go on silent count.”
Consider this, just for perspective: the Blue Bombers’ current 28-2 run at home is light years from the record when IG Field opened in 2013. During a 30-game stretch from the opening in 2013 through the first three home games of 2016, the Blue Bombers were a woeful 7-23 at home.
“It’s like when we go to Sask,” Wolitarsky explained. “You know all week you’re going into that, and you’ve got to fight your feelings all week. A building can get a reputation, just like theatres for concerts. That’s part of the charm of sports and music – where things happen add so much character and story to it.”
More on the Blue Bombers vs. Lions in this week’s Game Playbook…
NEXT MAN UP:
The Blue Bombers will be without cornerback Demerio Houston against the Lions, as he is out of the lineup due to personal reasons. That means Abu Daramy-Swaray, the former Colgate star who had stints with the Cincinnati Bengals and most recently with the XFL’s Arlington Renegades, will make his CFL debut vs. the Lions.
“Honestly, it’s an honour, it’s a privilege and it’s been one of my dreams to play professional football,” said Daramy-Swaray after Wednesday’s walk-through practice. “So, to get that text saying that I was going to get called up (from the practice roster) it was one of those things where I’ve been ready for this moment. I’ve been preparing all week, all season, as if I was going to play. It needed to come natural for me. I’m thrilled and my mom was definitely excited.
“I gave her a call and she just said, ‘Oh my God… you just made my day.’ She said she was praying on it; she was hoping I’d get called up so now I’ve got that opportunity I’ve just got to go out there and just play football.”
Daramy-Swaray said he has been dreaming about a career in pro football since he was a kid. And…
“… It’s hard for me to get the words out, but the six-year-old me inside is jumping up and down,” he said. “I have to stay composed.”
BRADY AND THE ‘GTD’:
RB Brady Oliveira was listed as a game-time decision on the Blue Bombers depth chart released Wednesday. The club has until 7 p.m. Thursday night to determine whether Oliveira will suit up or be replaced in the backfield by Johnny Augustine. Greg McCrae is also an option to be promoted from the practice roster if needed.
“I’m obviously hoping to play tomorrow,” said Oliveira, who ranks second in the CFL in rushing with 155 yards to B.C.’s Taquan Mizzell (174). “We’ll see how I wake up in the morning and how I feel. I didn’t practice much this week which, for me, sucks. I like to practice and be in there with my teammates. We’ll see if they give me the green light.”
SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE:
The Blue Bombers have scored more than 40 points in each of their first two games to start a season, a first in franchise history. The Lions, meanwhile, are coming off their first shutout since 1977 and have allowed just 15 points through their first two weeks.
“They’ve been very good,” said Blue Bombers QB Zach Collaros of the Lions ‘D’. “Their back end is full of veteran players… they have a lot of confidence in them whether they are playing man or zone structures and I think that allows their front four to really get after the passer.
“It’s going to be a challenge, for sure. Every week in this league you’re facing a good football team and they’ve really started off extremely well. They’re playing with a lot of confidence and we’re going to have to execute at a high level.
“It doesn’t feel unnatural to us to work on being precise and be putting points up,” added Wolitarsky. “Obviously not every week is going to be like that, and other weeks are going to be slower than others because teams will take different things away. As you get later in the season teams refine their stuff to go against your stuff and it gets harder and harder to win. That’s the beauty of this game.
“We’re starting off fast because we’re a vet unit. We’ll have to adapt, too, which is fun. We’re just a precise team and the points come when you do your job.”
V.A. = DANGEROUS:
The Blue Bombers defence has faced a pair of pocket passers in the first two weeks of the season in Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell and Trevor Harris of Saskatchewan. B.C.’s Vernon Adams, Jr. ranks second to Collaros in passing yards, but is also especially dangerous moving around the pocket to buy time or stepping up for yardage.
“He’s making a lot of efficient reads and his completion percentage is pretty high,” said linebacker Adam Bighill. “He’s been using his legs effectively extending plays and that’s always been one of his hallmarks – his ability to be a good quarterback in this league has been his ability to extend plays. I don’t expect to see anything less.”
AND… WELCOME BACK:
Thursday’s game will be the first back in Winnipeg for centre Michael Couture, who signed with the Lions in free agency after beginning his career with the Blue Bombers. He spoke earlier this week with Matt Baker of the Lions’ website.
