Argos and Bombers touchdown at YQR

The Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers officially made their arrival in Regina on Tuesday evening ahead of the 109th Grey Cup.

The two teams landed within almost an hour of each other and stepped off the plane to the brisk Saskatchewan temperatures. However, that will not stop the teams when it comes to their preparation for the big game.

“We’re not going inside [for practice this week]. We’ve had nice weather in Toronto I mean two weeks ago I think it was 20 degrees but we have to get acclimated a bit,” Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said.

“The majority of our guys have realized the benefit of [practicing outside] years ago and right now it’s not even talked about it’s just what we do,” Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said.

Winnipeg will look to be the first team to three-peat in 42 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL), while Toronto is on the hunt for their first championship since 2017. Both teams are aware of the football climate they are about to embrace here in Saskatchewan as they prepare to face off in the biggest game of the season.

“We want to play the best players at the biggest stage at their best and beat them. That’s what we feel like we’re ready for and it’ll be amazing,” Argos quarterback, McLeod Bethel-Thompson said.

“Fans are extremely passionate [here] you know, they love their Riders. So I imagine it’s a good place to travel to enjoy the passion of the Grey Cup,” O’Shea added.

From the moment the teams stepped off the plane onto the tarmac in Regina they knew the journey was already well underway to walk away as champions on Sunday.

“You know there’s a lot of different distractions and we have to make sure to overcome [them]. It’s almost like a college bowl for the guys who haven’t played in the Grey Cup,” Dinwiddie said.

“You work all year so that you can get to this point. So at this point it’s kind of the same thing you’ve done all year and it’s just 1-0 this week,” Bombers receiver Greg Ellingson said.

The Bombers and Argos only faced off once in the 2022 regular season with Winnipeg taking the matchup 23-22. Winnipeg is listed as the favourites heading into Sunday’s game.

The two teams will begin practice Wednesday with the Argonauts set to take to the field in the morning and the Blue Bombers in the afternoon.