Get Set FoR The 2023 Banjo Bowl!
With the Labour Day Classics now in the rear-view mirror, the countdown to the next big CFL game begins now. The 2023 Banjo Bowl will be played out this coming Saturday (At a very watchable 9PM UK time).
This one is realtively recent, but fun event on the CFL calendar, that fans of these prairie rivals might argue is one of the most important games on the calendar.
So just what is the Banjo Bowl all about?
It may not be the Grey Cup and it’s only of interest to these two teams but still the competition for this in-season trophy will be fierce.
So where does the Banjo Bowl name come from and what is it all about? According to Wikipedia, ‘the “Banjo Bowl” moniker was coined by a Blue Bombers board member in early 2004, inspired by an infamous comment made by Bombers kicker Troy Westwood in the week prior to a 2003 Western Division Semi-final game between the two teams.’
In a media interview, Westwood had referred to fans of the Riders as “A bunch of banjo pickin’ inbreds”. Before the two teams met in the 2003 West semifinal he apologized for the comment, in the most tongue in cheek way possible; He said “the vast majority of the people in Saskatchewan have no idea how to play the banjo.”
Westwood himself has attributed this all to growing up in the cauldron of the Bombers-Riders rivalry and pointed out many times that it was all in fun and that his mother’s side of the family is from Regina.
It may not be an official event but you can bet both sets of fans will be up for this one and you can expect a loud, sold-out crowd to be in full voice.
Banjo Bowl Head to Head
This will be the 18th ‘Banjo Bowl’ match-up and the Bombers currently lead the series 11-7.
The teams have split the back-to-back series seven times: 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. Each time Saskatchewan won the Labour Day Classic and then Winnipeg won the Banjo Bowl at home.
Saskatchewan has swept the Labour Day-Banjo Bowl matchups seven times, in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 & 2018.
Winnipeg has swept the series four times, in 2004, 2016, 2021 & 2022.
Banjo Bowl Results So Far
This is how the series has played out so far.
BB1 Sept. 12, 2004 – Bombers 27 Riders 24
BB2 Sept. 10, 2005 – Riders 19 Bombers 17
BB3 Sept. 10, 2006 – Bombers 27 Riders 23
BB4 Sept. 9, 2007 – Bombers 34 Riders 15
BB5 Sept. 7, 2008 – Riders 34 Bombers 31
BB6 Sept. 13, 2009 – Riders 55 Bombers 10
BB7 Sept. 12, 2010 – Bombers 31 Riders 2
BB8 Sept. 11, 2011 – Riders 45 Bombers 23
BB9 Sept. 9, 2012 – Riders 25 Bombers 24
BB10 Sept. 8, 2013 – Bombers 25 Riders 13
BB11 Sept. 7, 2014 – Riders 30 Bombers 24
BB12 Sept. 12, 2015 – Bombers 22 Riders 7
BB13 Sept. 10, 2016 – Bombers 17 Riders 10
BB14 Sept. 9, 2017 – Bombers 48 Riders 28
BB15 Sept. 8, 2018 – Riders 32 Bombers 27
BB16 Sept. 7, 2019 – Bombers 35 Roughriders 10
BB17 Sept. 11, 2021 – Bombers 33 Riders 9
BB18 Sept. 10, 2022 –Bombers 54 Riders 20
BB19 Sept. 9, 2023 – ?????????????????
All images on this page are from cfl.ca
CHRIS LAWTON
CFL Analyst
CHRIS ORIGINALLY STARTED FOLLOWING THE NFL WITH THE ‘FIRST WAVE’ OF FANS WHEN IT WAS SHOWN ON CHANNEL 4 IN THE 1980’S. HE HAS BEEN A KEEN SUPPORTER OF THE MIAMI DOLPHINS SINCE 1983. CHRIS FIRST ENCOUNTERED THE CFL IN 2016 AND INSTANTLY FELL IN LOVE WITH THE CANADIAN GAME. HE HAS BEEN WRITING ABOUT THE CFL since 2017. CHRIS HAS A DEGREE IN HISTORY, POSTGRADUATE DEGREE IN LIBRARIANSHIP AND CAN BE FOUND ON TWITTER AS @CFLFANUK