
CFL commissioner takes notes from ‘fantastic’ Bombers atmosphere on league-wide tour
WINNIPEG — Stewart Johnston didn’t even need to watch a down of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers game last week to be “blown away” by the experience.
The CFL’s new commissioner saw team billboards on his drive to Princess Auto Stadium, watched fans at the official tailgate party enjoy some barbecue and bevvies and spotted kids testing their football skills two hours before kickoff against the Edmonton Elks.
“You started to feel the energy before you even got to the stadium, and then I was blown away by the tailgate. It is truly an event,” Stewart said in a phone interview this week during a pitstop at his Toronto home before continuing visits to all CFL cities.
Appointed in April as the league’s 15th commissioner, the former TSN president made his seventh of nine stops in Winnipeg as part of what he calls his “100-day listening tour.”