Riders fan scores last-minute ticket to his 29th Grey Cup from Bombers fan

After going to the Grey Cup every year since 1997, Roughrider fan Brian Clark didn’t have a ticket to this year’s game — at least, not until he befriended a Bombers fan.

Before his stroke of luck, though, Clark had driven more than 17 hours to get from his home state in Missouri up to Winnipeg for what he was hoping would be his 29^th Grey Cup game.

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Feeling “wiped out” after the journey, he asked the front desk person at his hotel where to “get a beverage or three.”

That’s how Clark ended up in Torque Brewing, right by Winnipeg’s airport, at the same time as a Bombers fan waiting for their dad to arrive from Victoria, B.C.

The two of them struck up a conversation, and according to Clark that’s when he shared he didn’t have a ticket to watch the game for the first time in decades.

The Bombers fan told him, “‘Well, my father said he didn’t really want to go.”

“This guy was a season ticket holder. Gave me his ticket for like, almost nothing. And I was just like, ‘you got to be kidding me.’ I’d rather be lucky than good any day,” Clark said.

He was then able to watch in person as his team beat out the Alouettes.

“I’m very proud to say, I’ve been to three-fifths of the Riders Grey Cup victories now,” he said, adding how it would’ve been four of six if the 13th man situation hadn’t happened in 2009.

Clark said fans unhappy about upcoming CFL rule changes fans could be heard booing during the Grey Cup presentation in Winnipeg on Nov. 16, 2025. (Brian Clark/Submitted)

Even with three wins under his belt, Clark said picking a favourite out of those Grey Cup games would as difficult as picking which child you like best.

“How do you pick your favourite one?” he asked.

Clark said there were some highlights from this weekend, particularly how Bombers fans came out in support of Saskatchewan’s team.

“As difficult as it was for [Winnipeg] to cheer the Riders, it was amazing to see the camaraderie and the fellowship and that people really wanted to see the West win, no matter if the Bombers were in the game,” he said.

It’s team-swapping that would rarely happen in the NFL, according to Clark.

“If the Chiefs are playing the Broncos or Raiders or whatever, no one’s gonna root. They’re just very team loyal. In Canada, the game is so division friendly,” he said.

He also paid compliments to MGK’s half-time show performance, as well as the Riders cheerleaders and pep band.

Those last two are the sorts of things, “you don’t see at a Super Bowl game,” Clark said.

While he’s starting his journey back to Missouri today, he said he’s feeling a bit of jealousy towards his friends who’ll get to be in Regina for the victory parade.

But, even so, Clark said he’s “just so proud” he got to watch the game — all thanks to a Bombers fan.

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