Finally, we have a CFL Labour Day weekend with good vibes across the country.
After the league’s three traditional long weekend hosts spent much of the past three years ranging mostly from mediocre to bad, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Calgary Stampeders just might be the three best teams in the CFL this season.
The league-leading Roughriders will play in front of a sellout crowd of more than 34,000 fans for Sunday’s showdown with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, while the East-leading Tiger-Cats also will play in front of a full house at Hamilton Stadium on Monday.
The surging Stampeders look like they’ll be supported by a season-high crowd of close to 30,000 for the holiday finale against the Edmonton Elks on Monday at McMahon Stadium, too.
What’s more, all three road teams are coming off victories last week.
Sure, the league has its challenges and it’s easy to point out the weaknesses — though, thankfully, we are far removed from the infamous Bankruptcy Bowl Argos-Ticats Labour Day game in 2003.
For the CFL’s final weekend with the full pro stage before the NFL enters the picture, the three-down loop should offer plenty of compelling drama.
“I was at Costco yesterday, and I think six or seven people stopped me and said, ‘Hey, big game this weekend.’ They were like, ‘Hey, we’ve got eight wins, but we need nine,’” Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris told reporters earlier this week. “Quite a few people stop and talk to you. You kind of feel the game in the air.”
Harris has been on the field for all three holiday classics, having started his career with Toronto before eventually finding his way to Edmonton after a stop in Ottawa.
When asked which rivalry is most special, he had a quick reply.
“I think there’s one right answer,” he said. “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. In terms of the hatred between the fan bases and whatnot, and how the fans chirp us as players when we’re over there, and I’m sure our fans do the same thing. I’ve been in all three. It’s talked about quite a bit.”
He went on to compare it to the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. That annual clash simply is known as ‘The Game.’
“I’ve even heard fans say, ‘I don’t care how many games you win, just beat Winnipeg on Labour Day,’” Harris said. “There’s a lot of passion there. I grew up in central Ohio where if you asked Ohio State fans if they’d rather go 11-1 or 1-11 and their one win was against Michigan (in a 1-11 season) and their one loss was against Michigan (in an 11-1 campaign), they’d choose 1-11.”
The Ticats, meanwhile, are a dominant 37-15-1 against the Argonauts on the first Monday of September.
Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is 7-0 on Labour Day, dating back to his days as a Stampeder.
“There’s gonna be some rowdy fans out there for sure,” Tiger-Cats offensive lineman Brandon Revenberg said. “It’s going to be great. For me, it’s always the juice. You’ve got the rivalry always. But Labour Day, everybody’s bringing it. For the fans here, especially. It’s second to Grey Cup, that’s it. Win on Labour Day.”
In the Battle of Alberta, Elks QB Cody Fajardo will complete the Labour Day trifecta after previously playing for the Argos and Roughriders.
Fajardo has led the Elks to three wins in a row, while the Stampeders are coming off their second win in as many tries against the Roughriders and sit just a half-game back in the standings.
The Elks get a nice weapon back in punter Jake Julien, who was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at camp.
“This is a great time to come back,” he said. “We were going to wait out for a little bit longer, wait for first couple weeks of NFL to progress. But I wanted to come back for this game. This game means something and it’s exciting to be a part of.”
Scheduling question
We know it’s not easy to put together a schedule for a league with nine teams, but it seems very odd not to have the Montreal Alouettes and Ottawa Redblacks squaring off on Labour Day weekend.
While the geographic rivals don’t have nearly as much history as the three traditional matchups, it’s hard to think of a reason why adding this game to the pre-NFL slate would be a bad idea.
Sure, that would always leave the B.C. Lions on the bye this weekend, but why not take the opportunity to add one more game to the league’s most visible weekend before the NFL kicks off?
A Friday or Saturday game between Montreal and Ottawa would hit the spot.
Key returns
Several high-profile receivers are getting back in action this week.
Blue Bombers star receiver Dalton Schoen returns after missing the past six games because of a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan’s Ajou Ajou (Indianapolis Colts cut) and Toronto’s Makai Polk (Atlanta Falcons cut) will make their CFL season debuts.
It will be interesting to see if other NFL cuts make their way north.
Names to watch include quarterback Taylor Elgersma (Green Bay Packers cut, Blue Bombers pick), offensive lineman Kyle Hergel (New Orleans Saints cut, Roughriders pick) defensive end Paris Shand (Buffalo Bills cut, Argonauts pick), defensive lineman Ralph Holley (Cleveland Browns cut, Argos own CFL rights) and receiver Ontaria Wilson (New York Jets cut, Blue Bombers own CFL rights).
Week 13 schedule
Sunday, Aug. 31: Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-4) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-2), 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CST
Monday, Sept. 1: Toronto Argonauts (3-8) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-4), 2:30 p.m. ET
Monday, Sept. 1: Edmonton Elks (4-6) at Calgary Stampeders (7-3), 6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. MT
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