Ten years after Brian Dobie led the University of Manitoba Bisons football team to a national championship, the head coach is hoping new jerseys bring good karma back to his team.
The U of M unveiled new black, brown and gold football jerseys on Tuesday, and the new colour scheme reminded Dobie of 2007, when the Bisons put together an undefeated season and won the Vanier Cup in Toronto.
The football team wore black and gold during that championship season before switching to brown and gold for the 2008 campaign.
“We were literally the last team on campus to move to brown and gold. Everybody else in that season (2007) had already, the year before in ’06, had moved in to brown and gold,” said Dobie.
“We entered that season as the only team left on campus, and it had to be some karma because we ran the table, first team in history ever to do so and win a national championship undefeated at 12-0. So I hope some of that karma gets back into this locker room.”
The Bisons will honour the 2007 team at Investors Group Field this Saturday at halftime during their annual homecoming game against the Calgary Dinos.
“I’m super excited about it, I’m part of that team too. It means everything to me and I know it does for those guys,” said Dobie.
Dobie said the fresh jerseys resonate beyond just football and athletics.
“It represents who you are, it represents the heart and soul of the institution. We represent our university proudly.”
Dobie said the Vanier Cup trophy will also be at the stadium on Saturday to honour the 2007 team.
