Blue Bombers beat Ticats in CFL season opener with 29,376 fans at IG Field
WINNIPEG — Kenny Lawler heard the cheers of 29,376 fans as the Blue Bombers receiver caught a pair of touchdown passes from Zach Collaros to propel Winnipeg to a 19-6 victory Thursday over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2021 CFL season-opener.
The game marked the largest crowd at a sporting event in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic swept around the world last year and cancelled the 2020 CFL season. This season is shortened from 18 to 14 games.
The fully vaccinated fans at IG Field were pumped for the rematch of the last league game held 620 days earlier, a 33-12 Grey Cup victory for the Bombers over the Ticats on Nov. 24, 2019, in Calgary that ended Winnipeg’s 28-season championship drought.
Prior to kickoff, the Bombers played a video of highlights from their championship run – the franchise’s first title since 1990 – and unveiled their Grey Cup banner while RCMP officers held the trophy on the field.