On Sunday night, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers put an end to a 29-year championship drought. They won the Grey Cup, and the city of Winnipeg went wild.

If you aren’t a Canadian, you probably don’t know who the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are, or what the Grey Cup is, for that matter. Even if you are aware of the Canadian Football League, and the chalice donated by Earl Grey (yes, the same Earl Grey), you may not care that much who won it.

In this Prairie city, even people who are not normally interested in sports are excited about this win. There has been a steady stream of bad news lately – rising crime, cuts to municipal services, libraries and pools threatened with closing, police shooting Indigeneous youth, and so on. This is a piece of unadulterated good news – local boys make good, and the MVP and best Canadian grew up right here in the city. There will be a parade down Portage and Main, and on Sunday night the iconic square was full of people celebrating together.

When people are having a hard time, sometimes it is not that easy to find something to be grateful for. Nobody wants to be considered a naive Pollyanna, and yet it is absolutely vital for our mental health to find something – anything – even a football game, to be grateful for.

Yes, of course we need to grieve sometimes. This city has still not recovered from the brutal murder of a 3 year old in his bed, exemplifying everything that is wrong with a system in which some are still more equal than others.

But on Sunday night, everyone, black and white, Indigeneous and immigrant, celebrated together. This is why sports can be important, and gratitude can wash all the pain away, for a while.

This week, our neighbours to the south will be celebrating Thanksgiving, with their own brand of football. Wishing everyone safe travels and much joy and gratitude.