As you may know the Bombers are now 7-0 on the season!

Yes, the game in Edmonton was an ugly win. Collaros went 7/16 for 188 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. If I would have led with those stats you would probably think Winnipeg got crushed big time (I would have thought that if I just read that stat line). However, Winnipeg actually won and did so in a convincing manner (on the scoreboard) beating the Elks 24-10.

These two things seem like they should not be able to occur within the same game; your quarterback goes 7/16 and you still win 24-10.

I get it. That is why some fans say that Bombers were lucky. I have heard that argument a couple of times after wins this year. So in this week’s episode of Truth Bombs I am going to tell you why that narrative is flawed.

*Luck Does Not Get You 7-0

The Bombers are 7-0. You do not get that record by being lucky! I hear the “Yah, but…” already. Stop. Even if the Bombers lost 2 games this year – some said they won by luck – they are 5-2 and still on top of the West Division. You want to say that they got lucky and won 3 games they should not have? I mean come on. How many games can a team win on luck? Just stop it already.

The Bombers did not get lucky, they capitalized on other teams’ stupid mistakes. It is not luck that causes a player to contact the kicker, it is a poor choice by the player. It is not luck that after contacting the kicker Winnipeg eats another six minutes off the clock, drives the field and gets a touchdown. That is not luck. Should we also count it luck that the Bombers have some serious stars that are injured and they are able to keep bringing in quality guys not just warm bodies? Here is who was not practicing on Tuesday and so will be marked as “questionable”:

With Agudosi going down the Bombers brought in Kelvin McKnight Jr. to the practice roster and I expect he will be activated soon.

It is not luck that the Bombers win. No, the Bombers are 7-0 because they are a great football team, including scouting, and that is what great football teams do – find a way to win.

*Some Winnipeg Fans Have A Poverty Mentality

I have been watching this attitude since 2019. Remember that year? That was the year the Bombers broke their Grey Cup drought. All through that year, fans would call Bob Irving on the CJOB post game show and complain about what Winnipeg did wrong…even after wins.

I remember listening to this occur post game after post game wondering, “What’s wrong people? We are finally winning! Didn’t any of you watch in 2013?”

And then it hit me in 2019, some Winnipeg fans have a poverty mentality. As fans, we have had some terrible years. The Bombers could not win in their new stadium. If you have ever watched a Bomber game on television you have likely seen some type of pink sign behind the visitor’s bench at IG Field. Those are my TSN signs, hence my nickname ‘Sign Guy.’ Well in 2013 I had to make signs that read, “This Stadium still Needs a win,” “4-0, The Season is Not over,” etc.

And I believe some fans have got stuck in a poverty mentality from past lean years.

Here is what I mean by that. It is like someone who grows up poor, becomes and adult, is not poor anymore, but acts like they are poor. To everyone else it looks ridiculous. To that person it is completely justified because they remember what it was like to be without. That memory clouds their perspective on their current reality. I would suggest that is exactly what is going on now. Bomber fans are so used to having a terrible team that it is almost impossible to conceive that things are different.

Either that, or Winnipeggers and Manitobans just like to complain.

If/when Winnipeg loses a game, this confirmation bias will rear its ugly head.

*In The Future Nobody Asks “How,” They Just Ask, “How Many?”

The Bombers are 7-0 for the first time since 1960. I get it. Most of us were not alive then. Do you think anyone in 1980 was calling the 1960 team “lucky”? No, in time people forget the how. That 1960 team had some close scores: 18-14 vs Edmonton in game 4; 19-14 vs BC in game 6; 15-14 vs Edmonton in game 7. Do you think they played perfect football those games? I do not. I mean in game 1 they won 35-21 against BC; in game 2 they won 38-23 against Calgary; in game 3 they blasted Calgary 50-7! They were not a model of consistency in 1960, yet that is what we are comparing them to today.  

*Watch The Tape; Now What?

Here is the other really interesting thing with the Bombers finding multiple ways to win – they have proven that they are not one dimensional. I know, I know, I would prefer to see that they are multi-dimensional by doing multiple things great, not by finding ways to win on not great nights. Yet think about this. The Bombers face a 4-1 Stampeders team this Saturday. What do you do if you are Calgary?

Calgary was on a bye week. Certainly they watched film from their last match against Winnipeg where Winnipeg bested them 26-19 in Week 6. Do you think they watched the Winnipeg Edmonton game? I do! If they did not watch it live, I am sure they caught a replay asking, “Wait. Winnipeg did what and still won?”

What are you going to do from that film session, Calgary? If anything you only learned that you can keep the Winnipeg offence at 7/16 and still lose. I am not sure they find anything that they can confidently exploit.

If you are a team that has to face Winnipeg you have to be scratching your head wondering, “What is it going to take?”

Conclusion

I do not think Winnipeg is getting lucky, rather they are a good football team and they are winning. Did you forget that they are the back to back CHAMPS?! Do they have areas that I would like to see them improve on and be more consistent with? You bet I do!

However, after being a Bomber fan through many lean years I say, “The Bombers are 7-0! Hold on and enjoy the ride!”

What did I get right? What did you disagree with? Let me know in the comments.

Written by a Bomber fan, for the Bomber fans.

Get the latest CFL news today from CFL News Hub