Published Oct 28, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Reaching a Grey Cup game in your home city is difficult \u2013 over the last 11 years, just one team has pulled it off.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n For the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, that\u2019s the carrot dangling down the CFL playoff road.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Some don\u2019t even want to look at it.<\/p>\n Brady Oliveira can almost taste it.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing more that I want,\u201d the Winnipeg-born running back was saying as he faced a media scrum on his home field on Tuesday. \u201cThen to come back here, play in my back yard with all my boys, all my teammates \u2013 we all want that. We want to be back here for the big game at the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand it\u2019s going to take a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n For starters, it\u2019ll take a win in Montreal on Saturday against a rejuvenated Alouettes squad that won its last five meaningful games of the regular season.<\/p>\n If they can pull that off, it\u2019s on to Hamilton and what they used to call Tim Hortons Field for the East final.<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n It\u2019s a double-double a dozen teams have tried to complete and failed since the crossover playoff spot was deep-fried into the CFL rules, some 30 years ago.<\/p>\n The chance to make history seems to entice Oliveira as much as the chance to lower his shoulder into a would-be tackler.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re in the West or the East,\u201d he said. \u201cThe full crossover thing is cool, though. I\u2019ve heard no other team has made it out to a Grey Cup. I find that very intriguing and very motivating for us to be the first. So why not us?\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to think of several reasons, actually.<\/p>\n They have the league\u2019s least productive passing attack, for one. Throwing that against the CFL\u2019s stingiest pass defence and top overall defence sounds like a recipe for aerial disaster.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Having one of the loop\u2019s most turnover-prone offences is another red flag in any game, never mind a win-or-go-home affair.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also Winnipeg\u2019s rookie offensive coordinator, Jason Hogan, who at times appears to have bitten off more than he can chew.<\/p>\n Play-calling against Montreal defensive mastermind Noel Thorpe\u2019s unit will be critical.<\/p>\n After a week of rest, Oliveira is ready to hear his number called over and over again. He knows what can happen with the ground game at this time of year.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know I\u2019m going to say it\u2019s extremely important,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially a run game that is hard-nosed, downhill, going to hit you in the mouth-type running the football. That really does something to an offence.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, though, we\u2019re going to have to find maybe some different ways to win games throughout this stretch of going in the East and trying to make it back home.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The 28-year-old says making it \u201cback home\u201d would be a reward to the Winnipeg fans who\u2019ve filled the joint all season and made the Bombers the runaway leaders in attendance.<\/p>\n \u201cOur fan base deserves it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou look at what they did for us this year. They\u2019ve been a vital part of us having success here.\u201d<\/p>\n Not as vital a part as taking care of the football. When the Bombers turn it over more than their opponent, they\u2019re 1-7.<\/p>\n The man most responsible for the ball will experience a first on Saturday, despite his lengthy resume.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever played a playoff game in Montreal,\u201d Zach Collaros said, calling it a very hard place to play. \u201cSo it\u2019s a really exciting challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n The quarterback hasn\u2019t been the underdog for a while, either. His team has reached the last four Grey Cups through the front door: first place in the West.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Whether or not that\u2019s a door to extra motivation depends on the player.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can maybe also take the pressure off you if you\u2019re somebody who gets bogged down by that kind of stuff,\u201d Collaros said. \u201cIt\u2019s a different feel, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n It would have felt similar in 2019, when Collaros led the Bombers to their first of back-to-back championships from third place, winning two road games to get there.<\/p>\n For some reason, nobody\u2019s been able to do that while crossing over to the East.<\/p>\n Like Oliveira, that seems to have caught Collaros\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, pretty cool,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sure, statistically, there\u2019s some kind of stat that (shows) when teams go east from the west and vice versa it\u2019s tougher to win. Luckily, we\u2019re right in the middle.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cSo maybe that\u2019ll play to our advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe. It is the Bombers\u2019 first crack at it.<\/p>\n The previous 12 tries were by B.C. (five), Edmonton (four) and Saskatchewan (three).<\/p>\n Mike O\u2019Shea has been around the CFL for more than 30 years, but has no answer for why it\u2019s so hard to do.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know that it is,\u201d the head coach said. \u201cI\u2019ve never been a part of a crossover.\u201d<\/p>\n He has experience with the other part of this equation, though: he was an Argonauts assistant coach in 2012, when they reached, and won, their home Grey Cup \u2013 one of just four teams to pull that off over the last 45 years.<\/p>\n One game at a time, says the coach.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re all smart, they know hosting the Grey Cup is very important to the city and the province and the fan base,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cThe core veterans wouldn\u2019t let anybody lose sight or mix up their message.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the carrot dangles in the distance.<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-247039","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Bombers\u2019](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/OliveiraOnline.jpg\")
Bombers\u2019 Winnipeg-born quarterback Brady Oliveira wants to win the Grey Cup at home this year.\u2002Christopher Katsarov\/The Canadian PressArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.8.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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