‘Massive’ Labour Day Classic an Oliveira favourite
Brady Oliveira knows first hand how much it means to play the Saskatchewan Roughriders on OK Tire Labour Day Weekend.
The Blue Bombers running back grew up in Winnipeg as a Blue and Gold fan watching the classic play out without being able to impact the outcome of the game.
Saskatchewan dominated the rivalry game from 2005 to 2019, winning 14 out of 15 matchups on Labour Day Weekend before Winnipeg claimed the victory in back-to-back games in 2021 and 2022.
The Classic – alongside the following rematch at home – is amongst Oliveira’s preferred items on the football menu.
“These next two games are my favourite games of the season,” said the running back in a conversation after practice this week. “They’re massive rival games. I’m obviously jacked up about that. I’ve been a Bombers fan since I was a little kid and watched these Labour Day games and even been to many in the old stadium. Lots of memories of, unfortunately, seeing the Riders beat up on the Bombers a couple of times when I was a kid.
“But it’s all good. That has changed in the last couple of years and we’re going to continue that trend of going out there and making Bombers’ fans proud.”
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Winnipeg will face a 5-5 Roughriders squad that is well rested coming off a bye and riding positive momentum after taking down another West Division heavy-weight opponent in the BC Lions in Week 11. They will attempt to overcome a Bombers’ team currently on a five-game winning streak and sitting in first place in the division standings.
Oliveira is again a big part of the success in Winnipeg this season. The runner is lapping everyone in the league when it comes to rushing yards with 902, more than 250 ahead of Argos’ AJ Ouellette (638) and Hamilton’s James Butler (631) in second and third place.
The 26-year-old’s drive is not about numbers or rushing titles, though. Oliveira continues to get better game after game in his second year as the featured back for the Bombers as a means to an end: getting Winnipeg one more in the win column.
“I write that in my notebook for the week, every single day on every page, I write one per cent better every day. That’s my mindset to continue to grow, continue to get on the same page with the offensive linemen, and go out there and then by any means help this team win football games.”
Having a running game that can wear down opponents is a valuable commodity that only gets more valuable as the season goes on and the weather gets colder.
Biding adieu to the warm embrace of summer to welcome the chilly winds of fall can be a challenge for a lot of people around the country. Unless, that is, your goal is to punish people by running full speed at 222 pounds between 20 to 25 times on an unsuspecting five-degree evening in October.
“This part of the season specifically is when I think the real season starts. It’s when I like it,” added Oliveira. “The weather is going to start changing here in a couple of weeks and it’s going to start getting a little bit chilly, we’re gonna get close to playoff football. It gets cold here in Winnipeg and we thrive in the cold especially with our identity of running the football.
“This is fun. This is the time of the year when I really get excited for the second half of the season.”
Oliveira and the Bombers went 5-2 after Labour Day in 2022 as the running back finished the season with 1,001 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground to go alongside 252 receiving yards and another major. This year he’s on pace for 1,476 yards and six touchdowns running the ball with 489 yards and three more majors as a receiver.
Winnipeg is 9-2 on the season and could clinch a playoff spot for the seventh straight season with a win on Sunday. It would be the second consecutive year they secure a post-season appearance after 12 games. Oliveira and his teammates are aware of that fact, but even all the recent success the Blue and Gold have enjoyed isn’t enough for them to take anything for granted.
“We take it week by week,” Oliveira said. “It’s hard to win in this league and when you can you have to obviously celebrate it. We want to go out there and win on Sunday and clinch a spot. It’ll be exciting and a good step in the right direction of where we want to be at the end of the year.”
The Blue Bombers came this close of that final goal last season, losing a hard-fought 24-23 battle to the Toronto Argonauts at the same stadium they’ll be battling the Roughriders this weekend. It would have been the third straight title for Winnipeg after being victorious in 2019 and 2021.
A self-motivated Oliveira was a part of the championship team two years ago and has been running all year like someone who wants to make sure he’s giving everything he has for his childhood team to return to that top spot.
“I’m still starving. I know how much I have in me and I know the sky’s the limit. Ultimately I want to help this organization win Grey Cups. That’s literally why I’m playing this game. I want to help my city win Grey Cups because I know how much the city becomes on fire when we win those championships.”
