So what can one win do for a team?

Wonders, if you're a victory-starved crew like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

We'll never find out exactly how this season would have turned out if the Bombers had dropped to 0-3 Thursday in Hamilton.

But I'd bet you a Tim Horton's dozen it would have been worse than how it's going to unfold following a 28-24 win.

Confidence is an elusive trait, even in a highly-trained professional athlete.

Learning what it takes to win, too.

The Bombers got a much-needed injection of both, Thursday, and the impact was both measurable and immediate as they returned to practice, Sunday.

“You have to understand how to win,” running back Andrew Harris said. “It's not always going to be pretty. It's not always going to be glorified. When you have those situations where you're fighting and it's just a dog fight, a 12-round battle, and you're able to find a way to make plays, or certain guys step up and close the game out, it's a morale booster, it's a character win and it's a family win – all three phases the guys stuck together.”

It certainly wasn't pretty.

The Bombers made enough mistakes to lose, and if it wasn't for the fifth or sixth Hamilton turnover, they likely would have.

But just like losing when you play well enough to win isn't anything to write home about, winning ugly can't be written off.

Mainly for the effect on the fragile, collective psyche of a group that's far too used to coming up short.

“We were all wrapped up and everybody was a little bit jittery,” is how receiver Jace Davis put it. “It does a whole bunch. Confidence is huge. Once you feel like you can win, there's not much that can stop you. Except you.”

That's just it – you got the feeling over the last several years the Bombers have had two opponents every game: the one from out of town, and the one in their own colours.

If they can get the second one to stop showing up, maybe they'll stand a chance.

“We'll see I guess, won't we?” head coach Mike O'Shea said “Learning how to win – I'm sure there is something to that. It is hard to put a finger on. It comes down to when there are those critical moments in games, are you making the right decision? Are you executing at a higher level than the opponent in those critical plays?”

Adrian Hubbard did on the quarterback sack and fumble recovery that sealed the win.

Harris did on a couple of drive-opening, fourth-quarter runs (13 and 18 yards) that seemed to say, “Give me the ball and we'll put these guys out of their misery.”

“When you have a lead and you're backed up in your territory, that's go-time,” is what Harris actually said, Sunday. “That's a running back's dream. It's always harder to run the ball in the first and second quarters. And as the game goes on it's a little easier. That's when you've got to be in shape and be ready to pound it down their throats.”

It wasn't a leap forward by any means, but a step's a step.

“You can't get your second until you get your first,” O'Shea said.

A Bomber fan born after the mid-1980s wouldn't know this from experience, but they say winning can become a habit, just like losing.

The effect this one has, long-term, we'll see.

Short-term, it picks up the mood.

“It just loosens up the shoulders a little bit, drops them off, lets you be a little bit looser on the field during practice,” receiver Ryan (Velcro) Smith said. “And just lets you play a little faster. It brings the team together to get that first W.”

We'll give the last word to Moe Leggett, he of the two interceptions, a sack and a touchdown.

“Starting to believe,” he said.

That's a start.

pfriesen@postmedia.com

Twitter: @friesensunmedia