In 2025 the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were able to invest $1,215,000 back into communities for flag and tackle football.

While that number may not sound impressive to some people remember this…only the Bombers and the Roughriders made money in 2025. Investing back into football seems like a no-brainer. If you want this sport to be around, and even grow, you need future participants. And as far as I am concerned, there is no better way to grow a fan base than to get youngsters involved in the game.

There used to be a time in the CFL where the majority of fans were a part of the ‘old man club’, but I think we have turned that corner. And by all means, no offense to the old men (I myself am getting closer to being a part of that club than I would like). In fact, it is those fans that kept the league alive during some very bleak times.

So how were the Bombers able to make this investment? It certainly did not start in the 2025 season, or even the 2024 season where “the Winnipeg Football Club’s operating profit grew to a record $7 million.” (source) No, it started long before that. It started with bringing in Wade Miller, Kyle Walters, and Mike O’Shea.

Bomber games used to be a great time to have way over ambitious security wreck that good time. It was as if someone told these people, “You are the last line of defence,” and they bought it, forgetting that each CFL team has multiple players in the 300lbs range that could much easier enforce the law.

I remember being in the old stadium for a cold playoff game. It was freezing, even by Manitoba standards. We bought some cheap tickets in the endzone, and to stay warm we stood. Security came up to us and told us that if we did not sit down, we would be kicked out. (Am I at a football game or the symphony…and yes, I do enjoy the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra). But there are different social norms for different venues.

We asked the people around us if they cared that we were standing…obviously they did not. But that made no difference to the security person who told us again, sit down or you are kicked out. (It was a thin crowd and we were not obstructing anyone’s view). Fast forward to the new regime. You had the beer snake. You have the fanatic fan zone, you have the social pass ticket, girls night out…this new crew gets it. Wade Miller understands how to attract fans. They have got the fans coming that love football, and they have the people that want to show up for the social aspect.

Then look at 2025 where the Bombers sold out every home game. And let us be honest…they were not a great football team in 2025. And then they hosted the 2025 Grey Cup, which I am sure was a financial windfall for the Bombers. What has also helped the Bombers is that although 2025 was not a stellar year on the field, the Bombers have become very competitive in the last 4-5 seasons. Winning fixes everything!

You can have all those game day initiatives that I just mentioned, but if you cannot win a bunch of games at home, that shine fades quickly. As I watched other teams in 2025 it was frankly embarrassing to see how empty their stadiums were. For the teams that had winning seasons, they should steal a page from the Bombers’ book and bring in every initiative to attract fans – hey, their product is good. And for the loosing teams, they should realize that it does not matter what initiative you bring in if you cannot win games.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have embraced the idea of giving back to the community to such a degree that they hired a previous Bomber to be their Community Ambassador.

So I say, “Good on you, Winnipeg Blue Bombers!” Way to put a fun and winning product on the field, and great job giving back!”

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this. Catch all my articles here.