Down, set… Winnipeg!

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/11/2015 (3072 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg has sometimes been called a big small town because of its focus on communities and neighbourhoods, but also because of its ability to manage large events with the ingenuity and self-reliance of a village.

Where else, for example, would someone think of holding a contest between polar bears to predict the winner of Sunday’s Grey Cup game?

The Journey to Churchill exhibit at the zoo is putting two life-size papier mâché football players, one for each opposing team, in the polar bear compound Saturday morning. The last ‘player’ standing will be declared the winner.

That’s what you call small-town fun in a big city. Winnipeg loves a party and it knows how to throw one.

The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup was considered a bit of an exception, but most analysts blamed FIFA itself for the way it protects its marketing rights.

Otherwise, whether it’s the Junos, the Pan American Games or the Grey Cup, the city has stood out as a place that goes the distance to show visitors a good time.

The city has again risen to the occasion for this year’s CFL final, even though some critics say it’s a faded institution, a pale version of the days when it was celebrated like a national holiday and played on Saturdays so the liquor would go down in greater quantities.

To make matters worse, the home team isn’t playing, so what’s to cheer about?

Well, if Canadian pigskin isn’t your game, at least think of your leather wallet.

The Grey Cup is still a very big deal that will generate an estimated $85 million in new revenue for local hoteliers, bar owners, restaurants and retailers. And while TV ratings have been edging down over the years, nearly four million people tuned in last year — more than most sporting events receive in Canada.

So it’s a little early to be writing an obituary for the Canadian Football League, which remains a venerated national institution. Just ask the roughly 28,000 Canadians who made the trip to Winnipeg to cheer for a team, even if their own isn’t in the final.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans are down on the game at the moment and Grey Cup ticket sales were sluggish because of it. But make no mistake: this is a CFL town. Volunteers have been turned away because the Bombers and event organizers already had enough (about 800).

In past decades, Winnipeg was always content to be the genial, modest host, without pretensions of grandeur or greatness. In Toronto, on the other hand, Grey Cup festivities were lost in the din of a city preoccupied with other things.

This year, however, Winnipeggers can be forgiven if they feel like bragging a little bit.

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There’s the new Investors Group Field, one of the finest football stadiums in Canada, financial troubles aside. The award-winning polar bear exhibit has seen a rise in visitors (many dressed in CFL team colours) this week, even though zoo visits are not normally associated with Grey Cup games. And like the other cities in the CFL (except Hamilton and Regina), Winnipeg is an NHL town again with one of the busiest arenas in the country.

The crown jewel, of course, is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, a monument to Canadian identity located in a national historic site at The Forks.

The 103rd Grey Cup may have brought people here for a party and football game, but visitors will also notice this big small town is a rather special place.

Long-time residents have always known that, even as the rest of the country tended to dismiss Winnipeg as fourth rate, a place with a proud history but little future.

It’s safe to say the city is no longer riding the bench. Enjoy the game.