WINNIPEG — A controversial penalty call cost a Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan $1 million in Thursday night’s game.
Karen Kuldys would have won the prize when Toronto Argo Martese Jackson scampered into the end zone as part of a Safeway/Sobeys contest.
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A fan wins the $1 million prize when two kickoffs are returned for touchdowns in the same game.
Since the Bombers had scored a touchdown on the opening kickoff, Jackson’s run would have made Kuldys the winner.
“As Jackson was running down the field my husband was just telling me you know what, if he gets a … and then there’s a flag, before he can even finish it,” said Kuldys.
“All of a sudden the announcer went that was a one million dollar bad call,” she said.
At the time Kuldys wasn’t aware of the significance of the blocking penalty but her husband was.
“It was kind of shock … my husband was upset, he knew what was going on,” she said.
Despite losing out on the money Kuldys still won a $25,000 home entertainment system as part of the contest.
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Interestingly, Karen and her husband Stan have some experience when it comes to unexpected windfalls.
In 2007, the couple won $675,000 in a lottery.
“I had a craving for Chinese food so… he just went in the car and he went and got me a combination plate and on the way there he picked up a ticket and that was the ticket,” remembered Kuldys.
“We still went to work, we never quit work. I worked two jobs in fact and he used to work two jobs,” she said.
Kuldys said she immediately thought about what the money would have been used for after she realized what the call meant.
“My daughter could have stayed at home for another couple years with the baby, that’s exactly what went through my head,” she said.
The Bombers went on to win the game 33-25.
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