Back in black.
The Stampeders go head-to-head with the Edmonton Elks for the 59th time in the Labour Day Classic on Monday at 4 p.m., and will be donning their black uniforms which have become a staple in the Battle of Alberta edition of the LDC.
Calgary has worn the black jerseys on occasion since they were first introduced in 1994.
Stampeders president and former offensive lineman Jay McNeil was in the locker room when the jerseys were first revealed to the players ahead of their 1994 Labour Day matchup with Edmonton.
The quick change was intended to provide a spark for the club, giving them an edge before they took to the field to do battle with their rivals from the north, who ended their season by a score of 29-15 in the 1993 West Final the year before.
McNeil says a switch was flipped when the team was surprised with the jerseys hanging in their stalls.
“When the team went out for warmups in the red jerseys and came back in after and the black jerseys were in the stalls the intensity in the locker-room went up ten times,” he explained. “It changed everything. We came out and beat the crap out of them. It sort of continued that way ever since then. It’s a big game, the intensity just really ramps up when you’re in the black jersey.”
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Now, the tradition extends from the field to the stands.
For the second year in a row the organization is calling on fans attending the provincial tilt to wear black Stamps gear of their own, creating a blackout at McMahon Stadium.
Including the regular season and post-season, this year’s Labour Day Classic marks the 49th time in franchise history the Stampeders will wear black jerseys. The Stampeders have an all-time record of 36-12 while wearing black, good for a .750 winning percentage.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for both teams on Monday with the Stamps just three points back of first in the CFL West Division and the Elks breathing down their necks trailing them by just two points.
“Rivalries come and go,” said McNeil. “Sometimes BC is a big rival when they are good, Saskatchewan is a big rival but Edmonton is always our rival.
“So it makes it exciting and then you layer in it’s going to be a bigger crowd, (and) the flyover is happening. As a player you know it’s a huge event and as a fan it’s a huge event.
“Generally, it’s a game that you need to win. We need to fill the stadium. It’s a giant game for us, we need to stay ahead of Edmonton, it’s a really big game.”
The fans can expect the gameday experience to be ramped up for this iteration of the Labour Day Classic.
“What I think is cool about the Labour Day game is it’s really meant for everybody,” explained McNeil. “We’ve got the Gridiron Gardens going beforehand that has activations for kids and we have five-dollar Heinekens for adults. We’re going to have entertainment for all ages.
“Then, during the game, game presentation will be geared to give everyone something and we have the halftime performance which we don’t do every game. Then, we add in the military appreciation with the flyover and everyone loves the flyover.
“For the regular-season games, it’s tough to get the tailgaters in for kickoff which I understand, but for Labour Day they are in their seats at kickoff because they want to see the flyover from the stadium. It’s pretty cool – there is a lot of electricity at kickoff.”
