Jaime Stein
CFL.ca
Nothing quite describes Grey Cup week. There is this feeling that cannot fully be explained, but every fan, media or staff member who attends Grey Cup understands this feeling and you can see it in their eyes as you pass them by. And while we all share this common bond of Grey Cup revere, for each person, the week also presents a unique perspective.
In no particular order, here are some of the best memories I have from Grey Cup 2009 in Calgary:
HAVE A SEAT
Walk into any hotel lobby in a Grey Cup city and you’ll see the who’s who of the CFL. One moment I watch Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons entertaining media and fans and the next I’m getting into an elevator with Mike Kelly. But one of the best moments was an evening where I passed through the lobby of the Fairmont Palliser and sat down with the CFL’s Tom Higgins and his family.
What started out as a short chat turned into a several hours long revolving door of guests. You see, there was one extra chair at the table and various CFL personalities rotated through, sharing their stories from the week. It was like we were hosting our own talk show, grilling each willing participant.
MY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR
I’ve met the Grey Cup several times, but I was lucky enough to have it living next door to my hotel room during Grey Cup week. Each morning and evening I would grill Paul Micieli, one of the keepers of the Cup, about the Cup’s plans for the day. I would also ask when the Cup was going to visit my room to say goodnight. Sure enough, one evening I returned home and there is a note under my door saying that the Cup stopped by. It was written in the first person and was signed by “Earl”. Honestly, is there a better trophy in all of pro sports?
FAMILIAR FACES
Grey Cup is a great chance to reconnect with people. One of the parts I enjoy most is seeing the same fans year after year. But there was one couple who seemed to be everywhere I was; so much so that we joked about being part of the same family. I’m sure you have seen them on TV or at games – they are the Rider fans with the sheafs of wheat on their head. We first met in Regina on Labour Day when I did a story about Melonheads. By some act of Grey Cup fate, our paths crossed several times this past week in Calgary.
It is also nice to run into various players hanging out amongst the fans. Some of the good guys this week include Marwan Hage, Michael O’Shea, Orlondo Steinauer, Ricky Foley, Jason Arakgi, Kelly Bates, Mike Morreale, Tad Kornegay and Nik Lewis to name a few.
VANIER CUP
I am a huge fan of CIS Football and a big supporter of the Queen’s Golden Gaels. Unfortunately, their championship game against the University of Calgary Dinos was on at the same time on Saturday as media availability for the Riders and Als. But somehow, between interviews, myself and several members of the media were able to watch this epic contest.
At one point in the first half, Queen’s alum Jock Clime and I were watching the game in the Grey Cup production office. The score began to get out of hand against the Gaels and I became too stressed out to watch. After interviewing some players on the field, I came back inside to witness an amazing second half comeback by Queen’s for the championship. Rick Moffat from CJAD radio in Montreal and David Arsenault from RDS and I sat there in amazement as Queen’s conducted one of the greatest comebacks of all time.
CHARACTERS – PART I
Grey Cup week presents a chance to interview players you do not normally meet or speak with during the season. Two players whom I met for the first time were Keith Shologan and Stu Foord. Talk about two guys who have a raw passion for the game of football. I can see why Riders fans are so proud of these two outstanding Canadians.
Characters – Part II
I had never met Riders’ offensive line coach Bob Wylie until last week. One of the neat parts of covering the Grey Cup from the media’s perspective are the breakfasts and lunches held for each of the teams, where media can casually interact with players and coaches. I walked into the Rider breakfast and the first thing I saw was Coach Wylie performing card tricks. Not only were the card tricks really good, but he was entertaining. This was a completely different side to a man who appears so intense on television.
CAN I HAVE A JOB?
For two Grey Cups now Ticats centre Marwan Hage has worked as a video host for CFL.ca. That has caused a rivalry with Als centre Bryan Chiu. Chiu continues to ask when he will have a turn as host for CFL.ca. My standard answer is that, “When the Als stop making the Grey Cup, you can join our team.”
The two linemen are great friends off the field, but constantly run up against each other for all-star nominations in the East. They also made for entertaining television as we saw in our video of the Alouettes lunch this past week.
One thing that I do know is that Marwan would trade spots with Bryan in a second if that meant he could play in a Grey Cup. And with his personality, I’m pretty sure Chiu would make an excellent host.
IT’S CLOSING TIME
Do you ever wonder who the last person is to leave the stadium after Grey Cup? I know I always wondered – at least until this past Sunday night when our CFL.ca team worked in the press box until well past midnight. Most of the lights had been turned off at McMahon Stadium. When we finally wrapped up our work, we made our way down to the field and attempted to exit the stadium. Door after door was locked. Finally, we found a lone security guard heading for the exits. He was the last man standing in the stadium and thankfully our ticket out of there.
RIDING TO THE STADIUM
Catching a cab in Calgary was not easy, but sometimes a challenge works out to your benefit. As it turned out, the Commissioner had an extra seat in his vehicle that was heading to the stadium for the big game. It was a pretty unique experience to ride with the Commissioner to the game and hear how excited he was for Grey Cup and the opportunity to hand out the trophy to the winning team.
GREY CUP TWEETUP
On Friday afternoon we held the inaugural Grey Cup Tweetup (#GCtweetup) for members of the CFL community who post on Twitter. We had an intimate gathering at a popular Calgary bar and swapped stories from the week over beer and food. We were joined by Commissioner Mark Cohon (@canadiancommish) as well as Rider Tad Kornegay (@T2daK) and Stampeder Nik Lewis (@nikel18). It was nice to have the opportunity to put faces to usernames. Click here to watch a video of the event.
HEY SUIT
One piece of advice for anyone attending the 2010 Grey Cup in Edmonton: Wearing a suit in the stands is probably not a great idea. This is the Grey Cup and we wear our team colours in our league. However, I was wearing a suit on Sunday as part of my role as video host on CFL.ca. The only route to the press box was through the jammed packed stands of McMahon Stadium. Most of the comments from the fans were entertaining, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
AIR GREY
There is nothing like the flight home from Grey Cup. You are guaranteed to be on a plane full of excited fans. It is always fun to listen in on the banter between the passionate supporters from each team. While most of the Argos fans on our flight were receiving sympathy from other fans, one guy started getting taunted about finishing last in the league. “At least we didn’t lose on a penalty,” he shot back at the taunter, who was clearly wearing green. Low blow, perhaps. But the entire plane burst out in laughter in one of those only in the CFL moments. Clearly, we were all amongst friends.
FOOTBALL REPORTERS OF CANADA
One of my favourite events to attending during Grey Cup week is the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) breakfast. It is always held on Sunday morning. Each year a member or members of the FRC are inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. The speeches often fill the room with both tears and laughter.
This year, TSN producer Paul ‘Mac’ McLean was the lone inductee into the Hall. McLean passed away in 2005 after a battle with cancer. He was 39 years old. McLean was the driving force behind the creation of TSN’s Friday Night Football and an absolutely outstanding person. Hearing various TSN personalities speak about his career and his life left many in the room in tears.
The laughter this year was provided by the inaugural winner of the Gibson’s Finest Football Reporter of the Year, Bryan Hall. Hall has been the Voice of the Eskimos forever. His speech brought down the house with laughter mostly because he promised to keep it short, only to vacate the podium a couple of times and return with just one more comment. Hallsy is a legend for many reasons.
THE GAME
With all of the other distractions taking place, one almost forgets about the game. There is no forgetting this year’s game. I was on the sideline during the final minutes. The noise of the Rider fans was deafening. I remember their roar on the Damon Duval missed fin
al field goal attempt. It was chaos… and then one fan yelled, “flag”! That was the beginning of the end. Jubilation turned to despair in the blink of an eye.
My job is to stay neutral, but I can honestly say that I felt the hurt of Rider Nation at that moment. To go from the highest high to the lowest low that quickly is likely an indescribable pain.
Fortunately, I was also able to witness the shear excitement and relief of players like Bryan Chiu, Ben Cahoon and Anthony Calvillo. What it must be like for the ‘Three C’s’ to finally have that Grey Cup monkey off of their collective backs. I don’t think we will fully appreciate Calvillo and his brilliance for some time, but I would suggest all CFL fans soak up this moment because he was, is and will be one of the best to have ever played this game.
