Who can honestly say they saw this victory in Regina coming? The Edmonton Elks looked like they were headed for one of the earliest exits from playoff contention in the history of the Green and Gold franchise. Now they head into a bye week with a bit of optimism, although the season is still on life support.
The Elks who now have a record of 4-10, gave fans a reason to cheer on Friday, September 16 when they handed the Roughriders a 24-23 defeat. Newly re-signed Quarterback Taylor Cornelius drove the Green and Gold 38 yards downfield in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and set up kicker Sergio Castillo to boot the winning field goal with 24 seconds left on the clock. It was Edmonton’s first victory in Regina in over 2500 days.
Can the Edmonton Elks Break their 1000+ Day Home Losing Streak?
The Elks next game will be at home on Saturday, October 1st at 2pm as they host the Montreal Alouettes. If the Elks can somehow manage to break their unfathomable and lengthy home losing streak against the Als, and hope Winnipeg can take out the Riders on Friday Night Football on September 30th, football fans in the Alberta Capital may have a playoff race to follow afterall.
Elks now have one more victory than they had in all of the 2021 season.
When your team has been getting the you know what kicked out of them all season, you have to look for some positives not only in the final half of the 2022 season, but looking ahead to 2023. With the big win in Saskatchewan the Elks already have one more win that they had in 2021. That’s not saying a lot if you’re a franchise like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers or the Calgary Stampeders, but for a fan base that’s been crawling on their bellies for the past two seasons, it’s a little sign of hope. In the glory years in Edmonton back in the late 70s and early 80s, Edmonton fans had it as good as anyone as the Green and Gold won five Grey Cups in a Row led by Tom Wilkinson, a CPA, and Warren Moon.
At that time, the young Edmonton Oilers shared the spotlight with their CFL counterparts in the City of Champions. Now with the Oilers heading into the 2022-23 NHL season with visions of Stanley Cup visions in their heads, could the Elks fans start to quietly believe that the franchise is turning the corner and are slowly building their way back up towards dreams of a Grey Cup someday soon? Crazier things have happened, and Elks fans might be able to look at the September 16, 2022 victory over Saskatchewan as a franchise turning point.
Even if the Elks were to lose out in the next two to three weeks, they might have enough optimism and drive left to help determine where teams like the BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders will finish in the standings. That would make for some compelling football in October, and give fans a reason to come to Commonwealth Stadium and begin realistically dreaming of better days ahead for the franchise. If you’re a fan of the Edmonton Elks, you gotta have a small sliver of hope that the worst is now behind the team and the franchise.
