It is the prerogative of a primordial historian to live in the past — a welcome refuge when events unfolding in real time are not to your liking.
Such was life in the Bob Irving Media Centre at IG Field on Saturday, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 51-6.
Winnipeg reached the end zone on each of its first six possessions en route to assuming a 42-6 halftime lead.
I needed something to make myself feel better and, alas, there weren’t any remnants of the delectable pre-game meal. I went foraging for crumbs, to no avail, so reflection was the next course of action for this oldster.
Unfortunately, and unavoidably, I reminded myself of July 5, 1986, when the Blue Bombers blanked the Roughriders 56-0 at Winnipeg Stadium.
Yeah, I was at that one, too.
In that 1986 game, Tom Clements threw four touchdown passes as Winnipeg piled up 38 first-half points.
Two of those TDs were scored by James Murphy, who on Saturday was inducted into the Blue Bombers’ Ring of Honour during a halftime ceremony.
So there was an eerie familiarity to the proceedings.
I was also reminded, mind you, of another Bombers-Roughriders game from 1986.
On Aug. 31 of that year, the Blue Bombers visited Taylor Field for the Labour Day Classic. That one didn’t look promising, either, as Winnipeg scored all 16 second-quarter points to assume a 23-7 lead.
Well, guess what?
The Roughriders ended up winning, 34-30, on the strength of a touchdown bomb from Joe Paopao to Ray Elgaard, who crossed the goal line with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
The play covered 56 yards — a fitting figure, considering that the 56-0 debacle had occurred just 57 (so close!) days earlier.
My tortured mind flashed back to another shutout loss in Winnipeg while watching Zach Collaros throw five touchdown passes on Saturday.
The very same Zach Collaros was at the controls of the Saskatchewan offence on Oct. 13, 2018, when Winnipeg posted another shutout victory (31-0).
That loss was so devastating (read: sarcasm) for the Roughriders that they proceeded to travel to Calgary and defeat the Stampeders 29-25, only seven days after the walloping in Winnipeg.
A week later, the Roughriders downed the host B.C. Lions 35-16 to finish the regular season with a 12-6 record and earn a home playoff game.
Moral of story: Lopsided losses, as excruciating as they can be at the time, are survivable.
They do not necessarily define or typify a season.
The 2007 Roughriders lost 34-15 in Winnipeg … and capped that season with a Grey Cup victory.
When the Roughriders next captured a championship, in 2013, a 25-13 loss to the Blue Bombers in the Labour Day rematch proved to be a mere blip on the path to prosperity.
And, sometimes, the wild swings in performance are utterly inexplicable.
On Sept. 1, 1990, the Roughriders led 38-15 at halftime en route to eviscerating the Blue Bombers, 56-23. One week later, Winnipeg rebounded (somehow) with a 49-41 overtime victory over Saskatchewan.
On Sept. 3, 1995, the Roughriders hung another 56 on the Blue Bombers. Seven days after losing 56-4 at Taylor Field, it was Winnipeg’s turn to win (25-24).
Consider, too, that Saskatchewan had defeated Winnipeg in a nailbiter (32-30 in overtime) only six days before the tables — to mention the chairs, light fixtures and most of the living-room furniture — were turned in Saturday’s one-sided rematch.
“We had a tough day,” Roughriders Head Coach Craig Dickenson said afterwards. “We don’t have a bad life, though. We’ve got a good life and we’ve got a good team, so it’s just one of those games.
“They got out early on us and the floodgates opened and we couldn’t stop them.
“We feel good about the group in that room. We’ve got a good team and we’ll get back.”
A similar mindset prevailed after another one-sided game on the road — a 41-12 loss to the Montreal Alouettes on Aug. 11.
After a fourth loss in a span of five games, the Roughriders responded by registering back-to-back home-field victories over the West Division’s first- and second-place teams.
The B.C. Lions arrived in Regina with a 7-2 record, only to fall 34-29 to Saskatchewan on Aug. 20. Then came the Roughriders’ overtime win over Winnipeg — a second successive conquest with Jake Dolegala starting at quarterback.
“Our team rallied after that Montreal game, for sure,” said Dolegala, who is now looking ahead to Friday’s game against the Edmonton Elks (7:30 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“I think we refocused. Our team got together and we told ourselves, ‘Hey, we’re not out of it yet,’
and we know we’re not out of it yet, either.
“We’ve just got to refocus, have a great week of practice and, on Friday next week, we’ll put it together.”
