Happy 100th year Grey Cup! Don't know if you've seen this or not, but it premiered during Canada Day's TSN broadcast on the 1st. Those bloody CFL promos _always_ get me.
In celebration of the 100th Grey Cup I'm starting a new weekly feature. Every week I'll be recapping the games and starting on the journey with you to the celebration in Toronto on Sunday, November 25, 2012,
I hope ya'll don't mind.
Week 1 finished like no one predicted with the West dominating the East 4-0.
Sask(1-0) @ Ham (0-1): 43-16
Wpg (0-1) @ BC (1-0): 16-33
TO (0-1) @ Edm (1-0): 15-19
Mtl (0-1) @ Cal (1-0): 10-38
Being a Sask homer I really had to marvel at Dressler in the Sask/Hamilton game. Don't know what it is about Hamilton, but Weston really shines there. Durant's gone and growed up. He showed real leadership during the game. And, by golly, we have another awesome running back! No planning the parade route yet, but my previous expectations of only being competitive in the West are starting to drift upwards.
I don't know what to think about Hamilton. There are huge expectations of the team that brought in some high-profile players during the off-season. This is the last year of Ivor Wynne stadium and the fans need a bit of Oskee-wee-wee to say good-bye to the old girl. It almost seemed like while individually their achievements are excellent, they don't seem to be on the same page at all.
BC played like the 2011 Grey Cup champions they are. Until they are beaten soundly, they are the class of the league. The magic Wally touch continues to glitter in BC. Congrats to Geroy Simon for becoming the league's all-time leading receiver! He surpassed Milt Stegall's 15,153 yards to become the best ever. I despise Superman, but jebesus, can that poser play. (Note, not personal, just that The Lions and the Riders have some history in WDF's and sure as heck if we lose it was because of that Simon character making some impossible catch that no one else in the world could make.)
Wpg was in tough this week losing their starting RB during practice (out for the season)...and then Buck Pierce went down during the game, he'll be back next week. All in all with the backups on O they were unable to really compete with the Lions. The 'Peg's defence played a fairly tight game and I expect the Bomber D to step up to were they were last year as a dominant force. The Wpg O needs a healthy Pierce. He'll decide their season.
Edmonton didn't prove or disprove anything during their game against TO other than that they can shut down Ricky Ray. It was a slug-fest of a game that only had moments of excitement in a snooze-fest. I think they'll need to gel a bit behind Steven Jyles before they can take their game to the next level.
Ricky Ray played alright for Toronto, but he struggled to make things happen. Some key drops by receivers really deflated the balloon. Having said that, TO with a relatively new team and coaching staff went into a notoriously tough place to play and stayed close. That bodes well for the balance of their season.
What happened to Mtl in Calgary? The Birds got dominated on both sides of the ball. Where in the heck does Calgary get these bloody QB's? Grrr. With the exception of the F-troop debacle, Calgary has managed nearly 20 years of pivot dominance. Drew Tate is unquestionably the next in what has been a long line of outstanding QB's. Gratz to Keenan MacDougall, Saskatoon native and UofS alumni, for a fumble recovery to score 6 in his first CFL game! Calgary's Canadian RB, Jon Cornish dominated the Al's DLine all game. I'm thinking Mr. Huffnagel in Calgary put to bed any second thoughts about losing Reynolds and Burris in the off-season.
Anthony Calvillo showed moments of his old self during the game, but Calgary's defence took away some opportunities and Mtl's lack of defence allowed Calgary to march right back down the field and eliminate any possible momentum shift.
I can honestly say that with the exception of BC the Western Division is completely revamped and back to winning ways. This is a huge surprise as no one (and I mean no one) expected the West to play to the level they did this week.
Hamilton and Mtl need to suck it up and start playing for each other or they're doomed. Individual stats mean nada if the win/loss ratio is less than one. I don't know what to think about Toronto. They are either toast this year or this was the kick in the can they need to get their heads on. Wpg is strong in the East and will be a blank spot on the schedule for no one.
All in all, thank the gods that the CFL is back, oh, I missed you.
Looking forward to the recaps Lance.
Kate, the first Grey Cup I saw on a colour TV was the 1966 game, the Green Riders beat the Black Riders. Eagle Keys, Ronnie Lancaster, George Reed.
First Grey Cup I can remember seeing as a kid was the Fog Bowl. Unfortunately, I can't see my Blue Bombers repeating the success of the 1962 team this year. Buck Pierce is no Kenny Ploen.
Go Green Riders.
Good idea Lance.
Not a bloody bit Lance. They get to me too.
I really think Anthony Calvillo is a great quarterback, almost sad to see my team beat them like that.
Strange to see all the western teams doing well, I can get used to this, but I won't.
Really good round up Lance, I wish Ottawa had a team to beat up on as well, or the Moncton Schooners ... / Halifax Poop in the Harbors or whatever ...
Hey Kate,
Here's one for you: the only known footage of the 1923 Grey Cup. Your Riders didn't do too well on that day.
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/no-game-for-weaklings-1
You should check out the promos for TSN's new series 'Engraved on a Nation'. There are going to be a series of documentaries about the Grey Cup and Canadian culture. They look good.
Cheers,
James
Good work Lance.
I look forward to this being a regular item.
I make it to every home and as many away as work allows.
Friday was good to see. Dressler will carry the mail. Funny how someone always steps to the fore.
A fair number of my Dakotan friends sure take a more keen interest in the green now because of Weston.
Go Green!
I loved that video! Well, everything except that dig about the thirteenth man. That still hurts. Go Riders!
What an excellent video. There aren't a lot of things Canadians agree on but the Grey Cup is one thing that unites all of us. We ought to focus more on these kinds of things rather than what divides us. I too didn't enjoy the 13th man thing but unfortunately it's going to be mentioned forever whenever the Grey Cup is discussed. Only thing that will eliminate the sting is more Grey Cup wins. The way coach Chamblin has taken charge of our team, I really like our chances.
Explaining Canadian football to Americans has become immeasurably easier since the demise of the Ottawa Roughriders.
Canadians being already known for not being too imaginative, it was a bit embarrassing trying to explain how a 9-team league could have two teams with the same name.
Amusingly, as a very small boy about 7, I was at the Fog Bowl at Varsity Stadium with my father and the then Governor of the Bank of Canada...Flasks were deployed. I got none.
But what is the deal with my hero Angelo Mosca and the word "villain" - hard hitting to be sure...but Angie was a pussycat.
Loved the banner "No Cup For The West, No Oil For The East". Hated that PET was on the screen for more than 2 seconds, and that Dief was on the screen for less than two.
Love the CFL!! Without a doubt the only professional sport worth watching... IMO. I may be in the minority here, but I miss the eastern Riders, although the Lions are my team... Roar you Lions Roar!!
CFL is a shaddow of its former greatness.Now we have a bunch of girls who need to showboat every touchdown,catch,tackle etc.Grew up with likes of Cookie Gilchrist , Etchevery , Jackie Parker , Norm Kwong , Garnie Henley , Bob Simpson , Bernie Faloney , Dick Mann , Jerry James and on . The current crop wouldn't last a quarter with the old school playing outside on natural turf at 20 degees F !
Your previous post asked what it was to be Canadian. Perhaps the CFL is your metaphor.
Unlike other sports (NHL, MLB, NBA, etc.), it exists wholly outside of the US. Americans hardly know it exists at all. Americans know more about soccer than the CFL. I live near the border and I couldn't tell you two things about Canadian football.
Go Green! ... er ... Riders!
One vote in favour of weekly CFL Monday-morning-quarterbacking from me. Just as long as analysis of the Calgary-at-Taylor-Field contests and the Christmas Bowls don't get too disgusting (pace images of mummified Sahara steeds).
"Hit 'em again, ye men of Calgary / Pick up the ball and let's go marching down the field..."
The Ottawa ROUGH RIDERS (two separate words)started in the 1870's and played in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. I've always heard the name originated from the loggers who brought the lumber down the rivers.
The Saskatchewan ROUGHRIDERS (one word)started in 1910 and played in the Western Interprovincial Football Union. The name, again, as I've always been told, came from the term used for working horseback riders.
If/when a team returns to Ottawa, it needs to be the Rough Riders.
jwkozak91 @ 11.14 am, "mummified Sahara steeds" ... ouch, that was a really difficult day, I have that image in my mind's eye still.
Something's got to be done.
Derek... "If/ when a team returns to Ottawa, it needs to be the Rough Riders"... agreed... naming them anything else would simply be wrong.
I was once told that the SK Roughriders were named after three team members who had been part of Theodore Roosevelt's "Roughriders" calvary.
Strange enough to possibly be true.
I sometimes recognise folks around town who came to Canada from the states to play for the Eskimos, then eventually brought their wives/girlfriends up for the summer, then eventually year-round, and now, years after retirement they call Edmonton home and are proud, active members of the community.
That they would feel welcomed here and choose to stay always makes me feel good inside.
On that note, turtle @ 8.48 pm...
On the morning of July 1.2012, just before the Calgary Stampeders played their opening game against Montreal, "our" Defensive Coordinator Rick Campbell and his wife Jeri, became Canadian citizens at a Canada Day citizenship ceremony at Fort Calgary.
That's quiet close to what you've said...
http://stampeders.com/article/campbell-a-great-day