Both teams remained in their respective locker rooms, eventually appearing in front of a nearly sold-out crowd, most of whom were still hollering as if they hadn’t left their homes for close to two years.ĭespite an emotionally charged opening ceremony, things couldn’t have gone much worse to start for the home side. It was fitting then that Thursday evening began with another, albeit brief, delay to honour the 2019 Grey Cup champion Bombers prior to the rematch against the Ticats.Ī fully vaccinated crowd that waited anxiously in line to get into IG Field was now back on its feet, this time to cheer the unveiling of the Grey Cup banner, which honoured all 11 of the team’s Grey Cup victories and will now hang high above the corporate offices near the south end of the stadium. When it became clear the CFL still wasn’t in a financial position to wade through the uncharted waters of the coronavirus, the league decided to push back its start date by two months. From July 15 to the end of training camp, the CFL administered close to 6,000 COVID-19 tests to league personnel, all of which came back negative.Įven still, it wasn’t as though the 2021 season will go unscathed. Navigating through travel restrictions constantly adjusting return-to-play plans to appease all levels of government regular testing of coaches and players and ensuring a safe environment for fans all became part of a new normal. It would take a collective effort by everyone - from fans to the league office to all nine teams - to reach this point. Kenny Lawler celebrates his second touchdown of the night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday at IF Field. What followed was a cancelled 2020 season owing to a COVID-19 pandemic that health officials would soon find out was tricky to contain and impossible to ignore the need to significantly scale back on permitting sizeable gatherings. It had been exactly 620 days since the last CFL game was played, since Winnipeg was showered in blue and gold confetti following a 33-12 win over the Tiger-Cats in the 107th Grey Cup in late November 2019. The CFL officially opened its 2021 season Thursday night, providing, at least for one evening, a feeling of normalcy unlike anything we’ve seen in these parts over the past 20 months. It will go down in the history books as simply a 19-6 win for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but on a night that was always going to be seen as a victory, it will be remembered for much more than what’s written in the box score. This article was published (447 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |