Courtesy Winnipeg Free Press:

Football players all over the planet spew the same message about living in the here and now; in a world where the biggest game is always the next game.

And while that’s also true of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as the curtain opens on another campaign filled with giddy excitement and some lofty expectations, there is also a bigger picture that should be drawn into focus. A much bigger picture.

The Bombers — as most of their faithful are painfully aware — currently own the inglorious title as the CFL franchise currently suffering through the longest drought between Grey Cup championships. It’s been 17 years, dating all the way back to 1990, when the Bombers could last call themselves champs.

So while this edition of the Bombers may deny it — and even straight-arm the issue — it’s hovering over the franchise like a big, black cloud. Yes, it is about tonight’s home opener against the Toronto Argonauts. But it’s also about the last Sunday in November. And it’s about ending a drought that dates back so far…

“Who would have been around in 1990? Milt maybe?” began Bomber receiver Terrence Edwards, referring to Milt Stegall, who actually joined the club midway through 1995. “This team, the guys that were here last year, that’s really all we can talk about — our shortcomings in the Grey Cup last year. Nobody was here in 1990. But we know what everybody in the city is expecting and what we expect from ourselves is this: nothing less than the Grey Cup.”

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