Football is intertwined with my life. It always has been and it always will be.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of going to cheer on the Bombers with my dad at CanadInns Stadium. We would go to home games every year and if we couldn’t make the game, we would cheer loud and proud with the radio or television on, depending on where we were at the time.
Milt Stegall, Charles Roberts and Doug Brown were just a few examples of names that inspired me to strap on the pads for the first time at age seven.
Over the years, the game became so much more to me.
For one, it helped me gain confidence as a kid when I struggled with anxiety.
Nothing makes you man up quicker than staring down someone who — for the most part was much bigger — and having to tackle them right in the hole. It sounds weird to say, but I felt like if I could handle that type of a hit, then I could handle anything life threw at me.
Football has also provided me with the opportunity to meet other role models.
One of those role models was Dave Beakley, a former member of the Manitoba Bisons who I still am in contact with today, in part due to the fact that he’s my girlfriend’s awesome weightlifting coach (shoutout to Midtown Barbell).
As a ten-year-old, he showed me compassion when I was struggling through a tough portion of anxiety while at a MinuU football camp. I thought that he would forget who I was once the camp was done, but he didn’t. He saw me in the crowd during one of the Bisons’ home games — which I also made sure to attend every year with my dad — and allowed me into the legendary Butler Hut after one contest. That memory will always stick with me.
As I older older, football became a coping method. Times were tough mentally as a senior at Grant Park High School and football got me through it. I still wear my championship ring from grade 12 every day. It is a reminder to never give up, even when days are hard and you want to quit on life.
As someone who was prone to concussions, it was recommended that I give up the sport after high school for safety reasons. I eventually obliged, understanding that that particular outlet for releasing frustration in a healthy manner was now gone.
There were some very hard times in the years ahead, but one thing that continued to ease my mind was football, specifically watching and supporting the Bombers.
As the years have progressed, as has the emotional connection to the team.
Which brings us to 2019.
In the lead-up to the Grey Cup, it was being called “The Drought.”
It was the perfect metaphor for not only a team, but also for a city that — community owned and without a victory in the big game since 1990 — was craving a feel-good ending, especially in the wake of rising crime rates.
When the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won that Grey Cup, I fell to my knees in joy. Their victory was the perfect symbol of a city and province that personifies determination, patience and perseverance.
The winters are filled with bitter cold, the skies are consumed by grey, the nights are long and they take a toll on the mind. But every day we, as proud members of Manitoba, tough through it.
When the Bombers won the cup, I walked with my girlfriend to Portage and Main to take in the celebrations. I hugged random strangers and screamed out in joy. In that moment, everyone was #FortheW. We, as a city, were all united. We threw away the burdens that were weighing us down and simply celebrated as a community.
Throughout the unforgettable celebrations at the airport and The Forks, there has been one common theme. Unity. Countless players spoke about how this victory was for more than just them, that it was for us too, and that couldn’t be any more accurate.
When Andrew Harris — a proud Manitoban who came home to play for his city — said ‘who’s got my back’ during his speech at The Forks, and we all yelled back ‘I’ve got your back.’ It was true, and always will be.
Thank you to each and every member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Football Club for bringing joy to a city, as it nears the hardest months, as well as to a life-long fan that really needed this.
