Rivalries: The Games That Divide the Prairies
Football is more fun when you have someone to beat, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are blessed with some of the best rivalries in Canadian sport. Two of them, in particular, turn the late-summer calendar into appointment viewing across the prairies. This page celebrates the grudges that make the good times better.
The Labour Day Classic
Every September, on Labour Day weekend, the Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders renew hostilities in one of the CFL's signature traditions. The Labour Day Classic is usually staged in Regina, a cauldron of green and white, with the Winnipeg faithful making the trip south to plant a flag in enemy territory. For two prairie provinces separated by a shared highway and a mutual dislike on the field, it is the biggest weekend of the regular season.
The Banjo Bowl
The rematch is even better. The week after the Labour Day Classic, the teams meet again in Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl — one of the great rivalry names in all of sport. The story behind it is pure CFL: after a Winnipeg player made a light-hearted crack at Saskatchewan fans' banjo-playing abilities, the comment took on a life of its own, and the home rematch was christened the Banjo Bowl. What began as a joke became a beloved institution, complete with a trophy and a fierce competitive edge. Bragging rights for the year often ride on this pair of games.
Prairie Pride
The Winnipeg–Saskatchewan rivalry works because the two fan bases are so alike: loyal, weather-hardened, and utterly convinced of their own team's virtue. The games are physical, the crowds are loud, and the outcomes echo through prairie coffee shops for months. It is exactly the kind of communal drama that the old OurBombers.com fan forum lived for.
Other Foes
Geography has shifted the Bombers between divisions over the years, giving them a rotating cast of rivals — hard-nosed dates with clubs from across the West and East alike. But nothing quite matches the Labour Day / Banjo Bowl double-header. For current schedules and matchups, fans can check the CFL schedule. For the deeper history of these clashes, our franchise timeline puts them in context.
Why Rivalries Matter
A rivalry is a compliment. It means two communities care enough to make an ordinary game feel like a war. For Bomber fans, beating the Roughriders in September is a joy that lasts all winter — and losing to them is a wound that takes just as long to heal. That is exactly how it should be.