How Bryson Barnes gave Ottawa Redblacks fans the parting gift of hope

Only Bryson Barnes’ wife and young son were among the 16,371 on hand Friday to witness his debut as a Canadian Football League starting quarterback — which turned into the most exciting and promising night at TD Place in years — but he knows why others close to him didn’t make the trip.

This weekend marked the start of deer hunting season in and around his tiny hometown of Milford, Utah.

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“ I completely understand,” Barnes said from the post-game podium. “ It’s a pretty penny to come out here.”

At the same time, the rest of his clan and his friends did catch the game on TV.

“There was like a little w atch party with my family because a lot of people were in town,” he said. “ I want to say opening morning is (Saturday) for the hunt, and so everybody was over tonight. T hey’re probably heading up the mountain right now.”

Barnes also provided a rare stir of excitement and a nice parting gift for Ottawa Redblacks fans attending the final game on the team’s home schedule in 2026.

With his startling, gutsy performance in a dramatic, come-from-behind, 40-39 victory over the Toronto Argonauts, Barnes not only helped end a record 22-game losing franchise streak that dated back to last year, but he also gave them hope for the future.

It wasn’t just the way Barnes remained unflustered when overcoming a deficit created by an Argos touchdown on a blocked punt off Ottawa’s first possession.

It wasn’t just the way he completed 27 of 37 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns without turning the ball over.

And it wasn’t just the way he carried the ball seven times for 62 yards, including a 21-yard dash up the middle one play before he fired a 24-yard bullet to Ayden Eberhardt in the end-zone for the game-winning touchdown with just nine seconds left in the fourth quarter — and two plays before rookie Paul Geelen booted the point-after to end the suffering.