Having played in all three Labour Day weekend rivalry matchups across the CFL, Trevor Harris can attest to which one is the best.
“I think there’s one right answer,” said the Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback. “And I think anybody that’s in a certain rivalry is going to say that.
“But I think the CFL longtime people would tell you it’s this one.”
Early in his CFL career, Harris experienced the Ontario version of the annual Labour Day matchup as a member of the Toronto Argonauts who annually go up against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Later in his career, he took part in Alberta’s Labour Day weekend rivalry with the Edmonton Elks against the Calgary Stampeders.
This season, Harris, 39, is set to start in his second prairie rivalry as the Roughriders host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 60th edition of the Labour Day Classic on Sunday (5 p.m., TSN) at Mosaic Stadium.
“I’ve been in all three rivalries and I know it’s talked about quite a bit,” said Harris, who was sidelined for the game in his first year with the Riders in 2023. “I’ve even heard fans say like, ‘I don’t care how many games you win, just beat Winnipeg on Labour Day.’
“I was at Costco yesterday and I think six or seven people stopped me, said, ‘Hey, big game this weekend.’ And they were like, ‘Hey, we’ve got eight wins, but we need nine.’
“And so quite a few people stopping and talking to you. You kind of feel the game in the air.”
The Roughriders hold the all-time edge over the Bombers in the Labour Day Classic with a 38-21 record over the last 59 years. Saskatchewan has won 15 of the last 19 however Winnipeg has won three out of the last four.
Last year, Winnipeg beat Saskatchewan 35-33 in what was Corey Mace’s first Labour Day Classic as a head coach of the Roughriders.
Like Harris though, Mace has been in all three as he was a defensive lineman and coach with the Stampeders in their annual Labour Day matchup against the Elks before experiencing the rivalry between the Tiger-Cats and Argonauts as a member of Toronto’s coaching staff.
“It just lived up to the expectation,” said Mace. “Everybody told me that this was the best one of them all.
“And when you’re part of the other ones, you’re like there’s no way. And then you’re part of this one and you get it.
“Having experienced being a part of the main three Labour Days, this one’s different.”
Mace also knows there’s some extra attention around the team this week given the magnitude of the sold-out game, which is expected to break Mosaic Stadium attendance records.
“We try to instil it into the guys too,” he said. “We know what it’s going to be and it’s an awesome time around the entire league, but certainly here.
“It’s going to be an excellent atmosphere. I know our fan base is already waiting in line to get in the building right. So we’re just hoping to put something together and give them something to cheer for.”
The last three Labour Day Classics have been decided by just two points each and Mace noted that records don’t matter in a rivalry game like this.
However, Sunday’s matchup has plenty of implications in the West Division standings with eight games to go.
The Roughriders currently sit in first place with an 8-2 record followed by Calgary — the only team to beat Saskatchewan this year — at 7-3.
The Blue Bombers, who have been to five straight Grey Cups as the West Division champions, currently sit in third place with a 6-4 record followed by the B.C. Lions at 5-6 and Edmonton Elks at 4-6.
And while Saskatchewan currently has an edge in the standings, they also know how quickly that can be erased given how tight things are and the fact that they have to travel to Winnipeg the following weekend for the annual rematch.
“They’ve really been the class of CFL for the last five years,” Harris said of the Bombers. “They’ve been to five straight Grey Cups.
“They’re kind of the top dog right now, until they’ve proven otherwise. I think people need to prove in November that you can beat Winnipeg. And so for us to do that, we’ve got to just become a better, better team every day this week and be ready to execute the best we can on Sunday.”
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