Blue Bombers’ loss cuts especially deep for retiring Doug Brown

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Grey Cup drought continues.

A 34-23 loss to the B.C. Lions on Sunday ensured the Bombers will go 22 years with a CFL title. They are 0-5 ('92, '93, '01, '07, '11) since their last championship win in 1990.

And no one on the team took the loss harder than defensive tackle Doug Brown, a 11-year veteran who went 0-3 in Grey Cup games. Brown, the heart and soul of the Bombers defence, announced earlier that this season would be his last.

"I'm numb right now," Brown said. "It's hard to come to terms with the finality. It doesn't seem real. It's too fast. I'm really . . ."

Brown couldn't finish.

Overcome with emotion he bowed his head and turned away from reporters.

"Doug's a legend in this organization and in this locker room. I feel for him, man," said Bombers centre Obby Khan. "You want to win it for him. He's done so much for this team, we just couldn't get it for him."

Winnipeg head coach Paul LaPolice paid tribute to Brown as well.

"I feel privileged to have been his head coach for two years," he said. "Bomber Nation should be very proud of him. He's a consummate pro and they don't come around like him very often.

"I'm certainly going to miss him. He's going to be very hard to replace. He'll be a Hall of Famer and it's disappointing we couldn't get him a Grey Cup."

The Bombers were badly outplayed by the Lions before rallying in the fourth quarter. Their defence kept them in the game but the anemic offence couldn't get anything going.

"We didn't get into a great rhythm. It was the first time in a couple weeks we haven't been able to run the ball," LaPolice said. "We have to stay on the field. When you're trying to run the ball and you get four yards or two yards and then you don't complete the pass on second down — you're off the field. You got to convert on second down."

There were several close plays that could have turned the tide for the Bombers. The most critical was in the fourth quarter when defensive end Odell Willis had what looked like a sure interception. Willis had the Travis Lulay pass in his hands but bobbled it and was finally knocked away. Had he held on to the ball he had an easy touchdown.

"[Willis] was pretty frustrated with himself after but there's a lot of other things that happened. We need to make more plays and I don't think we did that," LaPolice said.

The Bombers' players and coaches understand the strides they made this season — they went 4-14 and missed the playoffs just one year ago. Eventually their accomplishments will sink in and add motivation.

"I told them that they have raised the bar," LaPolice said. "But we're here to win championships. I told them to try to keep their heads up and stay together.

"The special part we'll remember about this season is the return of our fans. Everywhere you go they're excited about football [in Winnipeg]."

For players like Khan those little mistakes and near misses will sting throughout the off-season.

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda doesn't count," he said.

"It's super frustrating. It's the Grey Cup. We lost.

"It sucks."