Thanks for the memories, Canad Inns

I still remember the first time I ever visited Canad Inns Stadium. It was August 8, 1982, as Dieter Brock and the Bombers took on Roy Dewalt and the B.C. Lions in front of the biggest crowd of the season.

Being a bit of a contrarian kid at the time, I was rooting for the Lions on the grounds that my grandparents lived in B.C. So I was a bit shocked and annoyed the first time I heard the crowd shouting “B.C. sucks!” at the top of their lungs.

Of course that paled in comparison to the reaction I had after the first questionable call by the referees. As a nine-year old kid, hearing thousands of people chant “Bulls--t!” in unison is about the most exciting and scandalous thing in the world. With eyes as wide as saucers, I turned to my dad and asked if I was allowed to join in.

“No!” was his hasty response, and I had learned a valuable lesson: sometimes it’s more fun to yell first and ask for permission later.

At halftime, we headed into the concourse and I was awestruck once more as I had my first encounter with the mythical “trough” in the men’s room. So disgusting, so efficient, and again, for a nine-year old, one of the most fascinating things that ever existed.

As it turned out, the Bombers ended up winning both the game and my allegiance that day. I’ve happily shouted “B.C. sucks!” many times since, and I might have even suggested to a referee or two that he had excrementally poor judgment.

As the stadium gets ready to host its final game ever at the end of this week, many Winnipeggers will be fondly recalling their favourite moments from the past 58 years.

Maybe it was watching Ken Ploen and Leo Lewis lead the Bombers to victory in the fifties and sixties. Or the first Grey Cup we hosted in 1991. Or concerts with the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney or AC/DC. Or going to the Red River Ex in the stadium parking lot.

For me, though, it was sitting next to my dad at that first football game, and becoming a True Blue fan over the course of a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for the memories, Canad Inns Stadium. Oh, and Hamilton sucks.

– Colin Fast is a corporate communicator who blogs about life in Winnipeg at policyfrog.com.