Follow CFL

© 2026 CFL. All rights reserved.

O’Leary: Emotional response to being booed a sample of Nichols’ passion

Senior Writer
@olearychris

It was the aged, severely-weathered (and, it’s worth noting unfailingly evil) Montgomery Burns who sat in disbelief in a Springfield theatre in 1995, astounded at watching his townspeople morph into boo birds over his offering in the local film festival.

“Are you saying, ‘boo’ or ‘boo-urns?’ the liver spot-riddled lizardman asked the crowd.

Of course, they confirmed the former and threw their snacks at him.

RELATED
» Bombers using Week 10 loss as something to learn from
» REDBLACKS defeat Bombers in dominant performance at IGF
» By the Numbers: 2018 passing leaders

Matt Nichols shared a similar level of disbelief on Friday night when his townspeople in Winnipeg made themselves heard at the end of the Bombers’ 44-21 loss to Ottawa. Nichols had been hurt on an earlier play and was sent back in by coach Mike O’Shea, who sent his starter back in with 4:15 to go. There was no boo-urns option here. Nichols knew what he heard and he didn’t like it.

If there’s one thing you need to know about Matt Nichols it’s that when he plays for your team, he’s fully invested. He never got the chance to be the starter in Edmonton, but in the five years he was there, he made the city his home. When he was traded to the Bombers in 2015, he dove in. He and his wife, Ali, had their second child in Winnipeg last November. Her middle name, Winnie, is a nod to the city where he’s established himself as a starter.

So you can understand why, when Nichols got back onto the field on Friday night, the booing he heard cut deep for him. Even if it was directed more at O’Shea for putting his nicked up QB back in a game that was all but decided, Nichols heard what he heard.

That he’d put up his best numbers of the season — 291 yards with a pair of touchdowns to one interception — also could have factored into his anger.

Another factor? How quickly we forget things. Going into Friday’s game, the Bombers had won three straight and four of their last five. Even with the loss to Ottawa, Winnipeg is in the thick of things at 5-4 in a competitive West Division, with half of a season still to be played.

It makes you realize why Nichols has stepped back from social media (his Twitter account is still active but he’s not checking it). As he told TSN’s Sara Orlesky last week, he found it refreshing to not have to wade through the toxicity surrounds us all on these platforms. We’re far less reactionary in real life to the ups and downs of a game, but it’s definitely changed the way we watch things and the boundaries of our patience.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go for the Bombers when they’re at home again, hosting Saskatchewan on Sept. 8 in the back half of the Banjo Bowl. Most of the online reaction to Nichols’ comments has been to say that the boos weren’t directed at him, but the decision to put him back into a lopsided game (a boo-urns of sorts, maybe?).

At home and on the road, athletes get booed. They rarely say anything back. With Nichols, Winnipeg has a player that’s all-in for the city and his team and he’ll tell you what he thinks, no matter what.