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Never in my lifetime (and I'd suppose pretty much all of yours) have we had this matchup in the Grey Cup.
And if you, dear Bomberfan, could go back through your memory of all of your past teams and coaches and then select just one of them to be taking the field this Sunday for All The Marbles, I can't think that many of you would pick any other Bomber squad or Coach that you've ever personally witnessed above this one which you have.
Conversely, we the Argo Faithful, would be stretching the truth if we were to say the same. Indeed, most of us wouldn't have this year's incarnation of the Boatmen in our top 10.
 
Speaking for myself, I confess great sporting admiration for your current team, its coaches and its accomplishments. Having myself been spoiled by epic teams in the past, I remember well the great feeling it brings to have your spirits buoyed by witnessing a well-oiled machine, firing on all cylinders and sweeping all before them. It is a daunting prospect for any club to come up against such an animal - apologies for mixing metaphors - but as you well know, there's a reason why you don't just declare a winner before the ball gets kicked.
Any Given Sunday.
This time honored maxim is a cliche for a very good reason: the team that is supposed to win, doesn't always win. Game of inches and such. I go into this matchup once again prepared for the emotional wound which losing The Big Dance can bring... But then, I have made this preparation for each of the last 3 of these games we were in and the outcome wasn't what it ought to have been. We were solid underdogs in all of them. We should have lost each of them. But we once again had our glorious name etched of the Cup because for each of these games we had a gameplan that worked, made fewer (or no) mistakes, and we had that one intangible that others will scoff at, but we, the True Double Blue know from the bottom of our hearts is real:
The Argo Bounce.
It's a helluva thing, but time and again, year after year, decade after decade, The Argo Bounce has come from out of nowhere and given us Victory and Glory that just frankly and earnestly speaking should never have happened. Fumbles, Tips, Deflections, Slips, Bonehead Errors and yes, Bounces. They should not keep happening, and the younger Bomber supporters with less appreciation for the Storied History of a rival team may deride this as a bullshit thing that isn't real and that random acts of bounce happen for and against every team. Well, yes they do. But the grizzled veterans amongst you look back over the years and in some recessed corner of your memories do in fact recall a stupid amount of random events granting risibly improbable wins for the Toronto Argonaut Football Club. And you wonder, will The Argo Bounce show up? Can the nigh invincible Bombers be denied by The Football Gods showing their favour once again to the Mighty Scullers?
Likely not.
This is probably the year where The Law of Averages catches up to us. When Lady Luck looks past us because we have just had it so damn good for so damn long. Maybe the Argos show up and have their best Gameplan, best Effort, make no mistakes and do everything right but still fall short because their opposition was just too much for them to overcome. The Blue Bombers should win this game. I can't fathom that you'd find many Argo fans who, if forced to bet everything they own on this game, would take the Argos to win it. If Winnipeg shows up and plays their best, it probably won't matter if Toronto can show up with their best. Winnipeg wins that matchup nine times out of ten... Or... maybe Any Given Sunday and The Argo Bounce happen.
 
Some of you have known me 20 years or close enough to it. You know that my wish of good luck to you is sincere and it is in the tradition of sporting competition that the better team on the day wins. I witnessed your years in the wilderness and the false dawns that ignited hope in you that never came to be. You are deserving of your time at the top spoke of fortune's wheel because you've known the bottom of it. 
 
Sincerely & Fraternally,
It's Go Time. I will look for you on the field of honour.

Man collaros talking about how they all talked about wanting to win the west final to make sure the team is together for another week got me right in the feels. You know those guys really love playing together. 

holy S*** THE FIRST HAT TRICK OF THE SEASON WTG KCONN

Fake news- Regina doesn’t have an airport 

is it being rattled or is it just the cats escaping the bag...... it's a thin line, I suppose. Either way, **** that guy, and here's hoping Coach Hall makes his life miserable all afternoon/evening Sunday...

His history of temper tantrums (including last weekend screaming at his own coaches, and last year going after a cameraman) beg to differ.

I don't know that someone that crazy can be rattled. But I also don't think he's very bright and can't read a defense to save his life....so I expect Richie Hall to know exactly how to force him into multiple bad decisions. 

I’d hate us too 

1. All starts and finished with #8
2. D line made Butler a non-factor and kept Rourke rattled all night.
3. Grant atoned for an earlier mistake.
Crowd noise was unreal. I don't think I have ever seen a team that unprepared for crowd noise in the playoffs.

1 Fans
2 Brady
3. Darby
HH Mike the Killer Miller

Brady
OL
Darby
HH-Grant whose TD made up for the muffed punt.
HH2-Thr crowd

I'm still thawing out as I type this. My first playoff game at IGF (couldn't go last year because of health stuff). I'm so grateful to witness this team -- from going to the 2019 Cup in Calgary to today.
1) Brady O. Accounted for 45% of our total yards from scrimmage. So glad we stuck with him and that Walters chose him as our RB1 in the off-season. Monster game.
2) Darby. A great pass breakup and we finally got to Rourke on his SAM blitz. Welcome back to the family, Alden.
3) Willie. Strip sack and a pass knockdown for two impact plays in the first half (if memory serves me correct).
Honourable mention to Lawrence for a great pass breakup. Our secondary looks so good.
HH to the crowd. That was the most electric atmosphere I've been a part of at IGF. The last game of this magnitude I've been a part of in person was the 2011 Eastern Final. Let's get a better result best week at IG West!

1. Brady - lions couldn't stop him 
2. Bailey - just some keep blocks on some runs 
3. OL - kinda owned the BC DL most the game. 
HH to Casey Sayles - butler non factor.  

Good for Toronto that they sold out their original 19,000 seat allotment and are expanding capacity bit by bit by opening up sections. And they’ve arranged a pre-game hip-hop concert and sweater giveaway for the first 10,000 through the gates. Baby steps, but at least they are trying. 

Did not know Toby Enstrom branded sticks existed 😂

Just a friendly reminder that Saturday's Jets game is at 9 pm

Didn’t think I would be able to say this at any point this season - Jets are 1st in the Central!

interesting to say the least, and kinda funny considering all the flack and complaining that occurred about our apparent weak secondary...quietly and efficiently just get the job done with no flash and boasting...much like the team as a whole has done week to week for past several years
the Lions have scored 33 of their 58 regular season touchdowns through the air. On the opposing sideline, the Bombers defence has allowed a league-low 19 passing touchdowns this season. Additionally, Winnipeg allowed the second-fewest yards per attempt (7.8), tied BC for the fewest passing yards allowed per game (253.6) and have held opposing quarterbacks to a league-low 65 per cent completion percentage.
 

I think it’s a badge of honour that everyone wants you guys to lose… the Patriots, the Warriors, the Lightning, Astros, etc. people want them to lose because they win. They love em at first when they end a long drought or win an underdog title. But then, they keep winning, and people get tired of it. They want a new champion. 

Bout time we saw Capo. He did all right for first game in a while. 

 

Yep, pushing 70.... Seen a lot of great games & players. Heartbreak & happiness. I'm 67. Born in 1955. Started watching the team as a fan in 1965. I remember the 65 Grey Cup & how we lost by 6 points after conceding three safeties rather than punt because of an 80 klm hour wind coming off of Lake Ontario at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Bud Grant was critixized heavily for conceding those three safeties. The wind played havoc with the kicking game. Had we punted the ball it would have gone backwards & we'd probably lose by 3 touchdowns. That was the first game where I watched from beginning to end. 

I have anxiety but I learned long ago that water helps everything 
Lose weight? Drink water 
Clear up my skin? Drink water 
Migraine? Drink water  
People causing me anxiety? Drown them in water 
 
But you also need to remember anxiety has been around forever.. back in the dinosaur days there was a bunch of nervous Rex around 

My Bomber game anxiety is significantly diminished when I'm watching at IGF with 30,000 or so of my closest friends... I hate watching on TV, alone.