Saskatchewan Roughriders' quarterback Trevor Harris was reminded — multiple times — by fans how important it is to beat the rival Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Labour Day Classic.
"I was at Costco [Tuesday] and I think six or seven people stopped me and said: ‘Hey, big game this weekend.’ They were like: ‘Hey, we've got eight wins, but we need nine.' Quite a few people started stopping and talking to me — you can feel the game in the air," Harris said.
“People are talking about cooking and what they're going to be doing for the Labour Day game. My landlord was telling me about her plans for that game. This is a big time, it's pretty exciting — I'm really fired up about this one."
The 39-year-old Harris has spent 13 years in the CFL while experiencing different Labour Day Classic rivalries, first with the Toronto Argonauts from 2012 through 2015 against Hamilton. Later while he was with the Edmonton Elks (2019-2021) against the Calgary Stampeders. He was quick to answer the prairie rivalry between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg being his favourite.
"I think there's one right answer, I think anybody who's in a certain rivalry is going to say that. But I think the CFL longtime people would tell you it's this one in terms of the hatred between the fan bases, how the fans chirp us as players — I'm sure our fans do the same thing," Harris said. "I've been in all three rivalries and it's been talked about quite a bit. I've even heard fans say: ‘I don't care how many games you win, just beat Winnipeg on Labour Day.’ There's a lot of passion. I grew up in Central Ohio where I think if you ask Ohio State fans if they'd rather go 11-1 or 1-11 and their one win was against Michigan, and their one loss was against Michigan, they'd choose the 1-11."
The last game for the Riders, Saskatchewan lost to the Stampeders 32-15, marking the second time the Green and White lost to them in 2025. The first match-up was in Week 6, where the Roughriders lost 24-10.
"They out-executed us, we'll see them again, hopefully, and we'll be excited about that. It’s all about building to become the best version of the team that we can be and football is about match-ups," Harris said. "At that time, the match-up they brought they were better than we were. You've got to give them credit, but we're on to the next and we've got a huge one against Winnipeg. This will be a big two-game stretch in our season. We often talk about how, once Labour Day arrives, the real football season begins. We’ve got to start becoming the team that's going to be able to contend for that Grey Cup."
The six-foot-three, 212-pound QB finished the last game against the Stampeders completing 15-of-23 passes for 205 yards with two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Saskatchewan hosts the Bombers for the 60th annual Labour Day Classic on Sunday and lead the series with a 38-21 all-time record. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates bring you the pre-game show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen or watch our extensive coverage at the 620 CKRMCo-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
