Bob Irving
CFL.ca
I will be covering my 38th consecutive Grey Cup game this weekend in Edmonton and I must say that I look forward to number 38 with every bit as much enthusiasm as I did number one.
One thing has changed. I’m a lot smarter now. When I attended my first Grey cup in Toronto in 1973 I was under the misconception, held by many westerners at the time, that the weather in Toronto in late November was vastly superior to what we get in Winnipeg. Often that is true, but on November 25th, 1973, there was a nasty wind blowing off Lake Ontario, producing a wind chill that was undoubtedly many degrees below the freezing mark, and a cub reporter from CJOB in Winnipeg, sporting only a light summer coat, learned a valuable lesson, shivering to death for nearly three hours in a wide-open Exhibition stadium press box as Jack Gotta’s Ottawa Rough Riders defeated Ray Jauch’s Edmonton Eskimos 22-18. I will be much better prepared for the conditions in Edmonton this week than I was back in 1973.
This year’s Grey cup matchup is as good as it gets. A rematch of last year’s classic between the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders that produced a finish we will never forget. I don’t see how the Als and Riders could give us an ending as dramatic Damon Duval getting a second chance to kick the winning field goal on the game’s final play after a Riders’ too many men on the field penalty. But who knows? Maybe they can.
I hear some people say that they are tired of seeing the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL championship game, this being the eighth time in the last 11 years the Als have made it to the Grey Cup.
My response to that is—When do you ever tire of excellence?? The Alouettes have been the team to beat in the East since the year 2000. What they have accomplished in winning the East Division eight times in an 11-year span is one of the most impressive runs in CFL history.
Toronto Argonauts head coach Jim Barker said, after his club was manhandled by the Als in this years Eastern Final, that his team was overmatched, and all clubs in the East should aspire to reach the Als’ level of proficiency (or words to that effect).
One constant to the Als phenomenal run since the year 2000, and that is General Manager Jim Popp. Year after year, Popp has found the players that have allowed the Als to be successful. His most significant move probably came in 1998 when he rescued Anthony Calvillo off the scrap heap in Hamilton.
Having Saskatchewan in a Grey Cup game is never a bad thing. The Riders are, after all, Canada’s team. And the way they bounced back from a late season four-game losing streak to score dramatic victories over B.C. and Calgary in the playoffs, just furthered their image as the lovable Green and White squad from Regina. The Riders have had a long, and at time, glorious history, but only once before in their existence has Saskatchewan made it to three Grey Cups in a four-year period. That was from 1966 to 1969 when Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Hugh Campbell and the rest of a star-studded Rider team was cutting a swath through the entire CFL. Those great Rider teams of the late 60’s managed only one win in the season’s final game though. If the Riders can knock off the Alouettes on Sunday in Edmonton in their third trip to the Big Game in the last four years, it will give them two Cup victories in a four-year span, something no Saskatchewan team has ever done.
The Alouettes will be established as favourites. They were 12-6 during the regular season, the Riders only 10-8. But I would suggest that anyone who sells Ken Miller’s Saskatchewan squad short is making a mistake. If the weather conditions are less than ideal, and it appears there is a very good chance they will be less than ideal for Sunday’s 98th Grey Cup showdown at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, I believe the Saskatchewan Roughriders will extract their revenge, and will win just the fourth Grey Cup in Saskatchewan history.
