More than three decades later, Hall of Fame quarterback Dieter Brock is still the Winnipeg Blue Bombers all-time passing leader.
“The Birmingham Rifle” played 10 seasons in the blue and gold from 1974 to 1983. He’s back in Winnipeg this week for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame Road Show. The 67-year-old still keeps tabs on his former team and was watching when fans booed Matt Nichols return to the game last Friday.
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“You`re gonna get a lot of praise when you`re winning, and you`re gonna get a lot of blame when you`re losing,” Brock said.
“You just got say, you know, there ain’t nothing you can do about it but go out and play, and just do what you’re supposed to do as a quarterback, and turn those boos into cheers.”
But Brock still knows all too well what Nichols is going through.
“It was pretty sad for me,” Nichols said after the game on Friday. “Came back on the field and got booed by the whole stadium that I was coming back out there. That one was pretty hard for me.”
“I don’t know if Matt Nichols took it the wrong way or whatever,” Brock said. “You are going to have those times where things don’t always go right and the fans aren’t going to be happy all the time. I had it. I had it throughout my career.”
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Brock’s love hate relationship with the Bombers faithful hit its low point after a contract dispute led to him holding out for the start of the 1983 season.
“I knew when I was going to go out on the field the first time, I was going to hear them, a bunch of boos,” Brock said.
“Of course I did. After, I think the first pass I threw to James Murphy, about a 40 yard shot on a post route, and he caught (it). And the boos turned to cheers.”
Nichols can do the same in the Bombers next home game.
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Brock, along with Milt Stegall and Chris Walby, will be available to sign autographs on Tuesday at Princess Auto on 515 Panet Rd. between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
WATCH: Raw Matt Nichols Post Game
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