Manitobans energized over CFL's Grey-Cup bound Blue Bombers, high-flying Jets

Oh, to be a Manitoba sports fan these days, with the Blue Bombers back yet again in the CFL Grey Cup -- and now the NHL's high-flying Jets are stomping all comers and breaking records.

Just ask Chuck Duboff, who has been posting pictures of both teams' victories on social media this week.

"Everybody's just smiling more. It's just been electric in the city," Duboff, a high school teacher, said in an interview.

"It's beyond anything any of us could have ever imagined."

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers play the Toronto Argonauts in Sunday's CFL championship. It's the fifth consecutive year the Bombers are in the big game.

The Jets, meanwhile, a traditional heartbreaking team that has never made it to the NHL's Stanley Cup final, are turning heads this year coming out of the gate on fire, becoming the fastest team in league history to reach 15 wins.

They lost Thursday night 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning but aim to keep the momentum going Saturday in Florida against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.

Tyler Evans, owner of Pregame Sports Bar and Lounge, said he'll be busy this weekend, keeping one eye on the games and the other on keeping his customers happy.

He said his bar is fully booked for Sunday's game, and he's predicting his watering hole east of Winnipeg's downtown will also be packed with fans of all stripes for Saturday's Jets game.

A sports fan since childhood, Evans said he likes the Jets because the season is longer, but he's still a big football fan.

The Grey Cup drives a whole different crowd atmosphere, he said.

"During those big games, everybody's standing up high-fiving each other, people running from table to table," he said.

At Hat Tricks Sports Bar and Grill, they've created specialty cocktails for the occasion and plan on giving away "buckets of beer pitchers."

Restaurant manager Chase Johnson said the reservations are filling up for the weekend, but they're saving room for walk-ins.

"It's like one big happy family," said Johnson, 25.

"It's looking like we're going to be a full house by this Sunday."

Johnson said he's a longtime Bombers fan and is keeping his fingers crossed they can take home another Grey Cup.

Joe Carson, a 30-year-old musician in Winnipeg, said he's still in disbelief at how far the Jets have come.

"People that don't really watch hockey are starting to get into it," said Carson.

He added that on Sunday, he'll be thinking about his friend's dad, a Bombers fan who recently died.

"I'm really hoping that the Bombers can do it for him."

   This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.

   -- By Fakiha Baig and Aaron Sousa in Edmonton