Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
OTTAWA — When the final whistle blew late last November and the Ottawa REDBLACKS were awarded the Grey Cup, Greg Ellingson was left wanting a little more.
The 104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw was Ellingson’s fourth time in the final showdown – he was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when they made back-to-back Grey Cup appearances in 2013 and 2014 and was a REDBLACK in 2015 when his team was runner up to the Edmonton Eskimos.
While the confetti fell and his team made its way back to the locker room to celebrate, Ellingson was left on the field making sure each member of the media that wanted to talk to him had a chance to — as well as visiting with those who made the trek to Toronto to watch the contest.
He waited so long to win the trophy for the first time and the 28-year-old missed out on arguably the best part of being a member of a championship squad – celebrating with his teammates.
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Ellingson made it to the celebrations just in time to take a picture with his “bud” Brad Sinopoli (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
“I was on the field for so long after talking to media and family and friends and people that were out there that by the time I got in [the locker-room] almost everything was gone and everybody was already finished celebrating,” Ellingson laughed during an interview with CFL.ca at Mark’s CFL Week in Regina.
“I was like, ‘oh man, I need to win this year, in Ottawa, back-to-back, so that I can be the first in there and pop the champagne like everybody else got to’. I gotta get in there quicker, I learned my lesson.”
The Tampa, Fla. native was one of four Ottawa receivers to surpass 1,000 yards on the season, helping to get the REDBLACKS to their second Grey Cup appearance in as many years. Ellingson recorded 1,260 yards on 76 receptions – both career highs – to go along with four major scores.
After the REDBLACKS’ stellar 2016 campaign, Ellingson was set to become a free agent but opted not to hit the open market on Feb. 14.
Just a few days before his contract was set to expire, the pass-catcher decided to re-sign in Ottawa. Being the first one to start the celebrations if the REDBLACKS won the Grey Cup once again was on his mind, but Ellingson credits how great the city of Ottawa, and its fans, are as to why he really wanted to stay.
“The family comradery we have in that city is (great) and where I want to be,” he said. “It wasn’t worth a little bit more money to me (to go somewhere else). I was like, ‘I’m going to get this, I could potentially maybe get a little bit more somewhere maybe’.
“But realistically, to me, do I really want to go to another city with new teammates, new coaches? So I decided to stay in Ottawa.”
In his first season with the REDBLACKS, Ellingson caught the game-winning touchdown to send his team to the Grey Cup (CFL.ca)
While the connections he made on the field had an impact on Ellingson in the two seasons he donned the red and black, he says the city itself had just as big of an influence.
“It’s unique,” Ellingson said of the nation’s capital. “We’re kind of the show in the summer time. It’s not a Toronto or Montreal, as far as the size of the city but it’s a sweet niche. We have the parliament building, some nice places to eat. There are a lot of culinary schools there so there’s a lot of food and museums and stuff. It’s a cool vibe in the city.”
The fans, too, helped Ellingson in making his decision, fans that he says will only continue to show their support for his team, especially this season as the REDBLACKS are set to host the 105th Grey Cup.
“The fans come out and they’re loud and they love the REDBLACKS,” he said. “I guess it kind of helps that we’ve been successful for the past two years but I think it’ll always be that way now that it’s kind of thriving in Ottawa.”
Heading into the 2017 season, the REDBLACKS take on the Calgary Stampeders in Week 1 and Week 2 – the same Calgary Stampeders that Ottawa met in the Grey Cup last year. Although, Ellingson isn’t too worried about having to play the dominant Stampeders early in the season. He says he and his team just have to follow the old cliche – stick to their game plan.
“With our schedule,” Ellingson explained, “we have to come out firing and win a lot of games up front because we don’t have a bye week until Week 17 which is kind of unique and a little bit crazy but it is what it is and you have to roll with the punches.
“We just have to play REDBLACK football, be consistent, have that grit about us that it doesn’t really matter what’s going to happen we can come back and win a game, fight through games and be consistent is the main thing.”
