REGINA – It’s not easy being a football fan. Just ask Jarret Beyko, a Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan who is very publicly questioning his commitment to his team, and wondering if cheering for the Saskatchewan Roughriders wouldn’t be a lot more rewarding.
For fans of the Riders the 2013 season couldn’t be going better, with the team off to a sizzling 5-0 start. However, the Blue Bombers are heading in a different direction, leaving some fans green with envy.
For Beyko the losing has just become too much, and he’s doing something about it, sort of. He recently posted an online ad that reads:
“One broken heart for sale. Season tickets since 1997. Endured -20 Celsius regular season games. Traveled to Toronto in 2007, cried in the bathroom after the 4th quarter interception. Hung head low after 52-0 Labour Day loss to Saskatchewan the whole way home. Bragged after our 7-1 start, only to go 3-7 after that. (and then lose the Grey Cup) Will trade broken heart for Riders Jersey – at least that team cares. :-( 23 years and waiting…”
Beyko says he has received lots of feedback from CFL fans about the post, many pointing out that the Bombers have won seven more Grey Cups then the Riders, but he believes that Rider fans have his team beat in the passion department.
“The pregame hype I wish we could imitate it with the tailgating and the pre-party – every team needs to do that, it’s a marvel to see,” Beyko said. “We joked that when I came out to Labour Day that I would switch jerseys because it’s a different postal code and I will not be recognized.”
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Being a Bomber fan has left Beyko with a bad taste in his mouth on more than a few occasions, but one of his worst memories is of 2007 when the Bombers lost to the Riders in the Grey Cup.
“Sitting in the Rogers Centre and we had these Rider fans beside us and we were trading jabs all game but after the 4th quarter interception by the Riders I hung my head low in the seat,” Beyko said. “I went to the washroom and I said to my buddy as I was looking in the mirror ‘I think I’m crying.’”
Another memory that is hard for Beyko to get over is the 52-0 drubbing that the Bombers suffered during last year’s Labour Day game.
“After I removed my Bomber flags from the car and on the long drive home I just kept saying to my wife there is no way a professional sports team should get zero points and it happened to us,” he said.
Beyko is quick to point out the ad is tongue-in-cheek and that it would be hard for him to cheer for the Bombers’ biggest rival.
“I’m having a separation from the Bombers, I haven’t divorced them yet.”
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