Deep Dive into the Lions’ 2023 CFL Schedule: Preseason, Home Openers, Revenge Games, and Tough Challenges Ahead!

With the CFL 2023 season just a mere 3 months away, I decided to look at the Lions’ schedule and take a deep dive into it. I know what you are saying, it is too early to make a prediction. Some might agree with you, but I don’t. Looking at past performances can show what 2023 will look like.

It all starts with Preseason on May 27th in Regina to face the Riders. Ya well if I am home and there is absolutely nothing else on TV I might watch it ( if TSN carries it) Oh come on it is preseason and the Riders, do we really need to go further?

June 1st, we make our preseason home debut against the Calgary Stampeders, even as a preseason game I believe this one is a MUST watch. These two teams seem to always put on a classic CFL game. This one will be no different.

June 8th starts the regular season and it just happens to be against the Stampeders in Calgary. Yes, I will be attending this game ( I live in Calgary and have season tickets on the 55-yard line). If you can only attend one game and are in Calgary do yourself a favour and take this one in. Once again the Stamps vs Lions games are always great games. I expect this one to live up to all the hype. This will set the tone for what the season will look like.

June 17 is the Lions’ home opener!! The owner of the Lions Omar Doman has promised this one will be bigger than last year’s home opener where he brought in One Republic to put on a pregame concert. Ya the game itself is against the struggling Elks, but this one is the game of the year for BC. It will be a spectacle and over the top. I have no clue who Doman will be bringing in, I can assure you if you do not get your tickets early you will be sitting high up in the nosebleed section of BC Place. I am going to do my best to drive in for this game.

June 22 vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This game will be a revenge game. The Bombers beat us last year in the Western Final and the Lions should be UP for this one. Even though this is a Thursday night game you can be guaranteed that Jake and I will be getting together to yell at the TV!

The July games are the ones that BC should able to rack up a winning streak. The 3rd against Toronto the 9th against Montreal, the 22nd against the Riders and then the 29th against the Elks. Yes, Toronto did win the Grey Cup last year and should be a contending team in the East I really think these 4 games should be W’s for us.

August is going to be a tough month for the Lions. It starts with a 2nd game in Winnipeg on Aug 3rd. I don’t need to remind everyone that Winnipeg has been the top CFL over the last few years. We back that game up with a trip back home on Aug 12th to play the Stamps. With the season more than half over this is a game that will start to place all teams into their playoff spots. We then head on the road for what should be an easier game but my fear is that after playing two weeks of tough hard hitting games the Riders might surprise us if we are not ready for them. Mark Aug 20th off on your Calendar and let’s hope we don’t let up! Aug 26th takes the Lions back on the road into Hamilton to play the NEW Tiger-Cats. The Cats have added QB Bo Levi and RB James Butler in the off-season and are going to be one tough team every game. Yup, August is a tough one for BC!

Jumping into September our schedule gets a little easier. No team in the CFL is a guaranteed win but playing Montreal, Ottawa, Elks and Saskatchewan is as easy as this year will be. Ya Montreal always puts up a good game against BC, the Red Blacks, Elks and Riders haven’t been a powerhouse in recent years.

October is by far the toughest month in the 2023 Schedule. We only play 3 games but they are against Hamilton, Winnipeg, and finish off the season the way we started it against the Stamps. Needless to say, these three games will determine the Lions’ spot in the playoffs. Win all three and we would most likely finish 1st or 2nd. Losing all three we are almost assuredly finishing in 3rd or WORSE. My prediction is BC finishes in 2nd with Winnipeg 1st and Stamps third followed by the Riders and then last place will belong to the Elks again (hopefully the Elks win a home game for their fans this year)