5 THINGS: Edmonton Elks climb out of basement with Labour Day sweep

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From near-dead and buried following an 0-7 start to seeing their long-awaited playoff hopes emerge alive and well for the first time in a long time, could the Edmonton Elks finally be back?

Saturday’s Labour Day Rematch was a game they were expected to win, and the home team didn’t disappoint — which is something that doesn’t usually get said around Commonwealth Stadium these days. Not after those nightmarish 22-straight los… well, no need to dredge up that painful past. That was then, this is now. And those days are long behind this new era Double-E.

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Maybe.

Probably?

And speaking of days long behind, a 37-16 win over the rival Calgary Stampeders saw them sweep the Labour Day Series for the first time since 2004.

Yup. Twenty years.

You might remember Ricky Ray spent that one standing on the sidelines with the New York Jets, sandwiched between winning a couple of Grey Cups with Edmonton.

And while this franchise is a long way from being back in that kind of conversation, the Labour Day sweep saw them manage to climb out of the basement of the standings and emerge in the playoff race, having won five of their last six.

Not bad for a team that had already buried itself right up to the neck this season. But maybe that’s becoming a thing for pro teams in Edmonton?

Here’s what we learned from Saturday’s game:

1. PLAYOFF PICTURE

With the win, the Elks (5-8) managed to leapfrog their southern rivals to sit fourth in the West Division, just a single point out of a playoff spot held by the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-7-1) in third place.

Truth be told, Edmonton is also right on the heels of the Toronto Argonauts (6-6), who sit third in the East Division, as far as early crossover considerations go.

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The point is, with just a handful of games left, they still control their own fate. But they really needed those two against Calgary. Especially considering their next three come against divisional opponents who sit ahead of them in the standings, including a back-to-back against the division-leading Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

2. FIVE ALIVE

It might get lost in the excitement of the Elks being the hottest team in the Canadian Football League right now, but let’s not forget just how low they have set the bar.

It’s so low that the five wins they’ve earned this season catapults them to a benchmark they haven’t reached since 2019, having gone 3-11, 4-14 and 4-14 since the COVID-cancelled 2020 season.

They could lose out the rest of the way and still end up finishing ahead of where they’ve left off the past three seasons. But that’s hardly the goal. There is a bigger prize in the Elks’ eyes.

3. POST-SEASON PUSH

There is only one way to end a season that saw a private owner pony up to rescue this community-owned club from looming financial failure, and that’s with an immediate return to the post-season.

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The Elks haven’t played on the playoff stage since … well … becoming the Elks in the summer of 2020. Their last playoff appearance came in 2019.

Remember when reaching the divisional-final round for the third time in four years (albeit two of those were via the East) wasn’t enough for Jason Maas to keep his job as head coach? My, how times have changed.

4. BUMS IN SEATS

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Saturday’s Labour Day Rematch didn’t happen on the field at all, but in the stands.

The Elks appeared to be just a couple of advertising tarps away from selling out the 31,000-seat lower bowl — something that hasn’t happened since chaining off the upper deck coming into the season.

Heck, I couldn’t tell you the last time there was a legitimate crowd count of 30,000 to watch a regular-season football game at Commonwealth Stadium. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s been years, a handful of head coaches ago, a trio of general managers and an entire rebranding ago, to say the least.

This is every bit as big a victory as adding two points in the standings.

5. ALL ARROWS POINTING UP?

I’ve been hard on the Elks for a long time. Incidentally, they’ve been bad for a long time. Real long.

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To the point where failing to show up for almost half a season and getting the coach fired feels like a normal Tuesday. But they seem to be getting better.

And it’s coming at a time when the rest of the West is far from their best.

The cyclical nature of sports in the salary-cap era suggests it was only a matter of time before the Elks would climb out from under the rubble, not necessarily because of how high they reached, but also because other teams inevitably getting worse.

Perhaps that’s what we’re witnessing right now, a little bit of both.

But nothing can take this victory away from them. They earned it.

After all, the Elks, along with their fans, will rightfully take the wins as they come, at this point.

And the rest of the way too.

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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