Canadian Football League unveils 2024 schedule

[Stretch]

They're not going to make the Grey Cup champs (just saying that makes me want to barf) open on the road.

I stand corrected. Tecno was right (which also makes me want to barf).

https://www.cfl.ca/schedule/2024/

[ModAdmin]

Please use this thread to discuss the 2024 Season Schedule. There is a locked sticky thread for easy access to the 2024 schedule throughout the season.

The links below outline the 2024 CFL season schedule and the Blue Bomber games schedule. Other information to follow as it is released...

https://www.cfl.ca/schedule/2024/

https://www.bluebombers.com/schedule/?lid=0mryx9i7411d

Canadian Football League unveils 2024 schedule

WINNIPEG, MB., December 14, 2023 - The Canadian Football League (CFL) today unveiled the 2024 schedule, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers open the regular season at home on Thursday, June 6th in a 110th Grey Cup rematch against the Montreal Alouettes. The home opener is one of only two Thursday night home games in 2024.

After kicking off the CFL schedule, the Bombers will then travel to Ottawa for their second game on the schedule before returning to face the BC Lions at IG Field on Friday, June 21.

The home schedule includes six Friday night games on June 21st, July 5th (vs Ottawa), July 12th (vs Calgary), August 23rd (vs Hamilton), September 27th (vs Edmonton), and October 11th (vs Toronto). Two games will be played at IG Field on Thursday nights, and only one will be held on a Saturday: The annual Banjo Bowl on September 7th. The club will play seven of its nine regular season home games between the home opener and the Banjo Bowl.

The annual Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl will be played September 1st in Regina and September 7th at IG Field.

Season tickets and flex packs for the 2024 regular season are available by calling 204-784-7448 or by going online.

[blue_gold_84]

Love the 2024 schedule.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

WE PLAY TOO MANY GAMES ON FRIDAY 

ppl have cabin and jump in lake!

[bluengold204]

Kickass schedule, best its been in years.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Here is a crude look at our strength of rest.

Plus (+) indicates more rest days versus our opponent that week.
Minus (-) indicates the number of fewer rest days we have versus our opponent.
0 is the same number of days and bye weeks are noted as such.

6 days of full rest is the typical one week. Week 9 is our worst rest ratio by far. Four times we play against teams coming off a bye and only twice do we play a team after a week's rest when they play the week before. This does not factor in travel days.

Week 1: 0
Week 2: Ottawa off bye (6 days off for Winnipeg)
Week 3: +2
Week 4: Calgary off bye (6 days off for Winnipeg)
Week 5: +1
Week 6: +1
Week 7: +1
Week 8: +1
Week 9: BC off Bye (4 days off for Winnipeg)
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: Winnipeg off bye (6 days off for BC)
Week 12: -1
Week 13: -1
Week 14: 0
Week 15: BYE
Week 16: Winnipeg and Edmonton both off bye
Week 17: 0
Week 18: 0
Week 19: Toronto off bye (Winnipeg with 6 days rest)
Week 20: BYE
Week 21: Winnipeg off bye (Montreal with 6 days rest)

[Bluehawk]

Best schedule in the past decade...hands down!!!!!
Well done CFL and Bombers!

[Pete]

I stand corrected. Tecno was right (which also makes me want to barf).

https://www.cfl.ca/schedule/2024/

no need... the grey cup champs do open on the road... the game against mtrl is at winnipeg

[Blueforlife]

Schedule is fine and if we good again the cabin/camping crowd won't impact attendance too much.  I would have preferred a day game later in the season.

The schedule doesn't impact me either way (drive in from the lake) and sure hope this draws well and helps with TV numbers.

[GOLDMEMBER]

WE PLAY TOO MANY GAMES ON FRIDAY 

ppl have cabin and jump in lake!

LMAO

[GOLDMEMBER]

Love the schedule

I?ll be out of town for the June 21 game is the only personal gripe.

[TecnoGenius]

I stand corrected. Tecno was right (which also makes me want to barf).

I'm honoured!

I haven't perused the schedule yet, but I want to see our guys out of the gate gunning for major revenge.  Because it'll be an early-in-regular-season game we'll play our normal bolder ball and hang up 50 on them.  We'll play to make a statement, not play not to lose... Fast and loose, not uptight and cautious.

I love Sir Blue & Gold's breakdown: that's the value add of the forum.  Awesome!  The saving grace in week 9 is it's in WPG, meaning IGF advantage plus no travel time-wasting.

Are there any teams we face 3 times?  Or does the return to the "balanced schedule" mean no team is 3 times anymore?  I assume it's still 3 byes for every team.  I'll do the work on that later tonight if no one else has yet.

[TecnoGenius]

Notables on first glance:

PS split over 3 weeks means we almost certainly get to see both games, as PSW1 WPG@SSK should be televised, and the 2nd game is at IGF.

EDM Home & Home weeks 16/17

Our 3-game matchups are:
BC (2 @IGF)
SSK (2 @Mosaic)
Which is probably the best we could have realistically hoped for assuming BC stays strong and SSK stays weak.

Byes: week 10,15,20.  Very similar to last year.  It's a long stretch till the first bye, which is a bit tough, but then nicely spaced, and a final last-minute bye to rest up with (hopefully) week 21 as a "garbage season" game.

@MTL in final week a possible GC2024 preview?  Might be lame though if either/both teams don't need the W.

Can IGF actually get more attendance this year than last?  It may be epic.

[The Fresh Prince Of Belair, MB]

WE PLAY TOO MANY GAMES ON FRIDAY 

ppl have cabin and jump in lake!

I would have complained about this 6 years ago but since I don't have tickets anymore it's a non-issue.
I prefer watching or listening to games at the lake anyway so this works well for me. And it's not like the team has problems selling tickets for games landing on any day of the week!

[Blueforlife]

What do folks think about where the bye weeks are, I think it will work well as long as we come out healthy to start

[GOLDMEMBER]

What do folks think about where the bye weeks are, I think it will work well as long as we come out healthy to start

I would have preferred bumping one up in Late June.

[ModAdmin]

Ed Tait takes a look at the upcoming season - game by game...

https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/12/14/bombers-kick-off-2024-schedule-at-home-june-6th/

[Sir Blue and Gold]

What do folks think about where the bye weeks are, I think it will work well as long as we come out healthy to start

In a perfect world where we could pick I think we'd move each one up by maybe 2 weeks by it's a very good breakout none the less. I think waiting until week 10 is preferable to the opposite like opening the season with a bye like Ottawa. It could be slightly better but overall I think the Bombers will be quite happy with it. Really, week 9 is really the only brutal turn around and every team will has a week they wish was scheduled differently I think. 10 teams would really help with that one day.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I see Kenny Lawler is featured on the Bombers 2024 schedule, so I don't see them contemplating dumping his salary so they can pay Schoen, for anyone who suggested it.

[TecnoGenius]

What do folks think about where the bye weeks are, I think it will work well as long as we come out healthy to start

I'm pretty sure it was a fairly similar bye spacing as the last 2 (maybe 3) seasons.  Long first stint, and a nearly-last-minute 3rd bye.

I think it's been working well for us.  Gives you a ton of games to rack up a big W lead in the West and get a psychological advantage, even though it's a bit of an illusion.  If star guys get injured early, they can usually shake it off by the middle stint, and it gives our backups more live reps against all the in-disarray teams, which is most of them for the first few weeks.

For me it will be key to demolish MTL in week 1 and set the tone for the whole season, showing everyone we are still the team to beat, and proving that coming into IGF is Dark Side death & destruction (figuratively) for opposing teams.

[TecnoGenius]

I would have complained about this 6 years ago but since I don't have tickets anymore it's a non-issue.
I prefer watching or listening to games at the lake anyway so this works well for me. And it's not like the team has problems selling tickets for games landing on any day of the week!

Haha, that's pretty funny actually.... maybe all those years pandering to the Thursday "muh lake people" was a waste after all, if they were just sitting at the lake (or home) anyhow instead of coming to IGF    You're not the first one to say those words here!

I bet WFC finally did their homework (i.e. surveys) and the proof in the pudding will be when this Friday-heavy schedule results in the same number of STH as last year... or more!  Then we can finally end the "great lake debate", and mention it nevermore.