Winnipeg Blue Bombers Coach Reflects on Grey Cup Loss
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were arguably one of the best teams in the CFL last season with a statistically impressive offense. The Bombers finished their season 14-4 and cruised their way to the Grey Cup championship.
But a game-winning touchdown by the Montreal Alouettes in the final seconds finished off a 28-24 upset over Winnipeg.
Now over a week removed from the game, Blue Bombers coach Mike O'Shea held an end-of-season press conference and reflected on the loss.
“I’ve said this before: I think these stick with you forever,” O'Shea said. “So, I imagine at some point down the road, even years from now, I’ll just all of sudden let out some sort of primal scream and say, ‘Damn. We had a chance.’”
This was the fourth straight Grey Cup appearance for Winnipeg, as the Bombers appeared in the big game in 2019, 2021 and 2022. They won in those first two years, but also lost in close fashion (24-23) in 2022 after a blocked field goal at the end of the game against the Toronto Argonauts.
Even with both games ending in different ways, O'Shea felt the same about both games at the end. Sick.
“The emotion around it is a little different. The end of the game scenario… you lose at the end in the same sort of fashion, but two completely different plays and you feel sick when you relive both of them,” he said.
The past week was spent with the players having exit interviews, as some players departed south for the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, while others prepared for the offseason. Despite the result, O'Shea and the players know they have a solid team that can compete for a Grey Cup title again in 2024.
“The emotion is a little different, but the sentiment is the same – the guys all believe we’ve got a good football team that can keep rolling. I agree with them,” he said.
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Anthony Miller has been covering professional spring football since 2019 including XFL, USFL, and CFL. He was a local news reporter in Texas before transitioning to sports. Other sites he writes for includes College Football Network and NTZ Network.