The 2018 Grey (106th) sees Calgary Stampeders take on Ottawa Redblacks in what will be a repeat of the 104th Grey Cup that took place in Toronto where the Redblacks emerged victorious, claiming their 1st Grey Cup. Below I have picked out 4 players who I believe will be the difference maker for their respective sides in the game in Edmonton, and if it’s anything like their encounter two years back it’s sure to be a competitive one. Diontae Spencer (Ottawa Redblacks) Having initially been impressed with him when he came to the CFL under the Toronto Argonauts, his game has come into its own during his time at the Ottawa Redblacks. Spencer looks like he’s enjoying his time in the capital too with the energy he brings to the pitch as well as his creative touchdown celebrations which encompass what the CFL is all about. The 26-year-old international receiver is what many would describe as a Quarterbacks dream, especially Trevor Harris who is Ottawa’s QB and the two have previous history from their time together at Toronto. This is shown in his form this year with his statistics backing this up, with Spencer getting 81 receptions this year which betters any of his previous seasons as well as getting over 1,000 rushing yards. Additionally, the Wide-Receiver got more touchdowns (with 7 so far) compared to his past seasons. Spencer has tons of pace and I expect him to use it to good effect if Ottawa are to win their second Grey Cup in only their 5th year as a franchise. Trevor Harris (Ottawa Redblacks) Like Spencer, Harris is another former Argonaut who has found his home at Ottawa too and has been the number one Quarterback since Henry Burris retired at the end of the 2016 season. He’s probably one of the most sought-after and reliable QB’s in the league and his stats back that up. 2018 will be the most games Harris has played in the season which is great for his team and teammates, knowing they have got a QB who’s match fit. This season, Harris has played 17 (more including the play-offs) and got 22 touchdowns in the process, which despite it being down from 30 in 2017 it still makes 2018 the 3rd best for the 7-year CFL veteran. 2018 has seen Harris record his best stats when comes to passing yards, reaching over 5,000, thus setting him up nicely for Edmonton. Harris’ form this year is one of the reasons why the Redblacks have reached the Grey Cup and if he is to walk out of Edmonton on Sunday night with his second Grey Cup ring then his form will need to be replicated for one last time this year. Bo-Levi Mitchell (Calgary Stampeders) The international Quarterback has made Canada his home since arriving in the Alberta province back in 2012. He has a lot to show for it too with numerous individual accolades, most notably appearing in 3 CFL West All-Star teams (2015,2016 & 2018), CFL All-Star in 2016, the MVP of the Grey Cup in 2014 as well as the team accolade of winning the Grey Cup in the same year. Furthermore, Mitchell will be making his third consecutive Grey Cup appearance (dating back to 2016) on Sunday and not many QB’s, past and present, can say they have achieved that. This season the Texas native has achieved at total of 356 passing completions making this his second best CFL season in his 7-year career. This is not bad considering he’s only had 585 attempts, meaning this has been one of his most consistent seasons. In regard to this being an impressive season, Mitchell has racked up 35 touchdowns so far, making this his best year yet for touchdowns. Interestingly, Mitchell has similar stats to the Redblacks’ Harris for passing yards (over 5,000), so it will be worth watching who comes out on top. Alex Singleton (Calgary Stampeders)
Seen as one of the biggest rising stars in the Canadian game, the American-born Line-backer has come along way since his rookie season and his loss in the Grey Cup to Ottawa in 2016, then the subsequent los t Toronto last year will only spur him on further. Singleton had another impressive year for the Stampeders getting into the CFL West All-Star and matching the same number of tackles (123 to be precise), albeit he didn’t gain as many sacks as the previous season. Despite that he did manage to force two extra fumbles than in 2017 and forcing fumbles will be key if Calgary are to come out of Sunday’s showdown in Edmonton victorious. Still only 24, Singleton brings much more to the game as seen in his six Special Teams sacks this season which just like causing fumbles, these too will be key if the Stamps are to win this years Grey Cup, especially if the game is to be a tight one.
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An excellent and enlightening book by Steve O’Brien looking at the entire history of Canadian Football and how it has survived many turbulent times. O’Brien lays out in great detail various decisions by the league which have had both a positive and negative impact on the league such as the brief US expansion in the early 90’s, but have helped shape the CFL to what it is today nevertheless. The book is divided in to chapters each picking up an event or time period which has help shape the league, while the chapters towards the back of the book look more at the Canadian culture. There are quotes from CFL greats like Doug Flutie to add an extra element and personal experience to the book too. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the history and prestige of Canadian Football and the CFL and who wants to learn more. As an English fan of the CFL I would also recommend to international fans who either are keen fans or just have a passing interest in the league as this book acts as a great educational tool which offers great insight. Furthermore, this is one of only a few books which focuses on Canadian Football available (and arguably the best at dissecting the history of CFL), so a rarity too. Overall, fantastic research by O’Brien in order to put this book together and leaves it open for a potential follow up as the league has gone through a number of changes since it’s publication. Whether you’re a die-hard of CFL or just a general fan of Gridiron football this books for you. Although please appreciate that it looks at events as opposed to being full of statistics.
UK: The Canadian Football League: The Phoenix of Professional Sports Leagues (Revised Edition) CAN: The Canadian Football League: The Phoenix of Professional Sports Leagues (Revised Edition) Having been a fan of CFL for roughly 3 years and given it is the build up to the Grey Cup I thought I would write an article aimed at trying to address how the league can reach out to fans beyond Canada and the United States. If you may recall I did write an article a couple of years back with a similar title which focussed on the league expanding, games abroad and a console, which some progress has been made on a number of these points. Earlier this week the CFL announced that it had held positive talks with investors from Halifax in Nova Scotia about becoming it’s tenth team, which in my view is what the league is and has been crying out for. The region does have a history of CFL football (sort of) having been awarded franchise in 1984 called the Atlantic Schooners, although it never came to fruition and to this day remain undefeated as the saying goes. Nevertheless a 10th team in the Atlantic region does seem a strong possibility and I believe it will have a positive impact both in Canada and globally. Why? Well the main reason is public interest would broaden with a team based in an area which does not and has technically not had any professional Canadian Football. Therefore, fellow CFL fans and non-fans would be intrigued to see how a new team does, much like the way they were taken in by the introduction of the new-born again Ottawa franchise. Regarding the impact abroad, I think there would be similar intrigue mainly due to the expansion meaning more teams, meaning an opportunity for more teams to win the Grey Cup, both resulting in increased competition. All this would be appealing to international fans like myself and something which each of the CFL franchises could exploit, a point which I will get on to shortly. The point of having an increased number of teams in the league means there’s likely to be an increased amount of revenue courtesy of the TV and media deals which would obviously be beneficial to both the CFL and its teams. My personal view is the expansion into Halifax and to take the league up to 10 should only be the start as I believe the league could have a maximum of 16 teams (although that would be a long way down the line if it were to happen), but 12 should be the desired target which the league should aim for. Now let me explain the point I made above how the CFL and its franchises can exploit international fans, such as myself. Firstly, the league could launch some sought of digital network (we’ll call it CFL network just to work with) which would be like the widely available NFL network, this allows international NFL fans to watch games and various other content for a yearly subscription fee. It is worth noting that for this season the CFL did introduce something similar in collaboration with one of their partners which gives fans an option to pay either for a single game, a season ticket for their team or for every game of the 20-week season. However, the limitations with this is that it is unavailable to people like myself who currently live in a country where a sports provider holds the CFL rights, so I’m able to watch it but unwilling to take out another sports subscription just for the game. Although I have seen a CFL game this year as I was able to watch Hamilton @ Toronto in week 1 due to living in the Netherlands at that point. The matter of fact is this should be available outside North America, regardless of right holders as more fans would have access to it with the likelihood of an increased viewership. For me personally, I would quite happily pay the $70 for the season pass (the cost of this season’s) or even $100 if necessary, which would result in extra revenue for the league. Another way which the CFL and Its teams could exploit fans globally is the wider availability of merchandise. Those of you who follow me on twitter know how I feel about this, but it perplexes me how different each of the team’s policies are regarding merchandise. Some teams like BC Lions ship worldwide and charge, while others including both Grey Cup 105 competitors Toronto Argonauts and Calgary Stampeders only ship within Canada and the US. By having a policy of shipping worldwide it’s an easy way to increase their global fanbase as followers of the CFL would find this attractive and a way to buy loyalty. The reason why I believe this is so important is that sport consumers and customers nowadays are basically walking billboards for teams with the customers (fans) displaying their team’s colours which equals free marketing. The cycle then continues as other people see a sports fan displaying a team’s customers and become curious, which then leads to them making a purchase and so the process continues. For example, if I was wearing some Toronto Argonauts gear it leads to others questioning it, much like what has happened in the NFL with the growth of various fanbases here in the UK which can be attributed partly due to the wider availability of merchandise. Also, I’m guessing some Canadians who live in the UK are followers of the CFL and specific teams, but this policy means that they are unable to get merchandise too. Recommendations From that I’ve come up with some recommendations for the CFL to possibly use in order to increase the popularity of the league globally and increase its brand awareness. Some I’ve mentioned already such as the need for the league to expand as this would help grow interest and a more lucrative TV deal as the league would be seen as stronger. The league expansion is more a long-term goal, so this is not something the CFL needs addressing immediately, apart from try and continue the work to secure a franchise for Halifax. Other recommendations include launching a CFL Network which would give fans worldwide exclusive content as well as the ability to watch every single game live throughout the season. If the CFL chose to do this, they could increase revenue streams and speaking myself I would quite happily pay a fee to give me this content as opposed to paying a subscription fee to a sports channel just specifically for CFL. I believe this would be possible outside North America as from speaking from a UK point of view I’m sure that no one subscribes to BT Sport specifically for CFL, meaning BT Sport would not lose out on anything should CFL make a network available within the UK. The other recommendation I would make in response to teams and the league making merchandise available to a wider market is if at all possible is for the CFL to launch a CFL Europe shop much like the NFL’s. If this was achievable it would give access of CFL merchandise to a much wider audience, thus expanding the brand. Although this would probably be somewhere down the line as the CFL would probably hold back (and I don’t blame them) till the CFL has a bigger presence in Europe. Nevertheless, the point I’m making is that there are many more fans out there who would like a slice of the CFL pie but are unable to get any.
1981 is the year for this rewind and the setting was Montreal’s Olympic stadium and featured the Edmonton Eskimos and the Ottawa Rough Riders in what was considered to be one of the best Grey Cups of all time. This was the 69th Grey Cup and featured many players who would go on to be inducted into the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame and would also be the last game for some of the games greats. The date of the Grey Cup was 22nd of November and featured two teams with completely different records from their 16 game season. On the one hand there was Edmonton Eskimos who were considered the favourites having won 14 of their 16 games whilst drawing 1, on the other hand were Ottawa Rough Riders who made the Grey Cup with a 5-11 record which is completely unheard of the game today. With the stage set the teams did battle and it was Ottawa who got the first points in the game as a result of two Gerry Organ field goals from 34 and 37 yards respectively giving the Rough Riders the 6 before Jim Reid scored a touchdown with Organ securing the conversion to make it 13-0 to Ottawa after the 1st quarter. The 2nd saw Ottawa stretch their lead with another touchdown with Sam Platt scoring from a 14 yard run with Organ adding the extra again. Edmonton then got onto the score sheet before the close of the second quarter with a single from Dave Cutler after he missed a field goal from 24 yards. So at half time it was the Rough Riders who were leading the Eskimos 20-1 and looked to be on course to cause a major upset. The third quarter was all Edmonton’s as they aimed to get a foothold back in the game. The Eskimos first touchdown of the 69th Grey Cup came when running back Jim Germany made a 2-yard run into the end zone with kicker Dave Cutler scoring the conversion. This cut Ottawa’s lead to 20-8, before Edmonton made more inroads into the Rough Riders lead this time through quarterback Warren Moon making a 1-yard run into the end zone for the touchdown. Cutler again adding the conversion to get the extra point. With one quarter to go it stood 20-15 to Ottawa, but the question is could the Rough Riders hold on? Ottawa got their first point of the second half through a field goal from 28 yards by Organ to take them up to 23. Moon responded for the Eskimos with a touchdown from 1 yard and Moon had a part to play in the convert as his pass to wide receiver Marco Cyncar giving the Eskimos 2 points as opposed to 1. This left the game evenly poised going into the final 4 minutes and Ottawa looked like they may be on the way to sealing the Grey Cup when the injured Tony Gabriel of Ottawa caught a 20 yard pass ahead of Eskimos Gary Hayes. However in this phase of play there was no gain for Ottawa as the referee, to many players astonishment called a pass interference on play. Shortly after the call Ottawa lost possession and Edmonton’s Cutler scored a 27 yard field goal with seconds left to complete a historic comeback by the Eskimos. Meanwhile Ottawa’s Gabriel was forced to retire after the game with knee ligament damaged after that play that never was. The 69th Grey Cup finished 26-23 in Edmonton’s favour in what would be Ottawa’s last ever Grey Cup appearance in their Rough Riders form as they went bankrupt in 1996.
The 90th Grey Cup was quite a poignant one for one of the teams and very important one too as the sport was regaining its identity following the failed American experiment in the mid 1990’s. The 2002 season saw 9 teams compete for the 2 places in the Grey Cup including an introduction of one new franchise called Ottawa Renegades from the capital. The Renegades were replacing the gap left by the Ottawa Rough Riders who folded 7 years previous in the mist of the American experiment having been around since 1876 making them one of the oldest. Out of the 9 teams involved in the regular season only 6 could make it through to the play-offs where 4 Western teams made it through due to the crossover and only 2 from the East. The 2002 Grey Cup was hosted in Edmonton and involved the team from Edmonton too in the Edmonton Eskimos as the faced off against Montreal Alouettes. The match-up involved an intense rivalry that has existed since the 1950’s as they had met in the Grey Cup 11 previous times to this, albeit Montreal were in a previous form to what they are now, which is why it made this game so unique. There was added spice to the occasion as both teams won their respective divisions which gave them both byes to their divisional finals. This was where the hosts of the 90th Grey Cup, the Eskimos fought hard to edge out the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West final by 33 points to 30, while Montreal’s path was a lot more clearer they eased past the Toronto Argonauts 35-18. As intriguing matches go this was up there, but there was more to the contest than just the match itself as it was about how the Alouettes rose from the ashes and reclaimed the Grey Cup for the first time since 1977 and won it in Edmonton’s backyard. Montreal were only starting to emerge as a force again on the Canadian Football scene ever since they relocated from Baltimore in 1996 after the leagues failed American dream. At first the Alouettes new future appeared to be short lived due to a lack of energy for the game around the city, this was proven as poor attendances were clear for all to see at the Olympic Stadium. However a change was on the horizon as grassroots participation was increasing and fans were regaining their love for the game that started in 1874 when Montreal University, McGill faced Harvard. The turnaround in fortunes appeared to be complete when on November 24th 2002, Montreal took on Edmonton in the 90th Grey Cup. So how did the match go down, well there was only a single scored in the first quarter when Terry Baker made a 68 yard punt to the endzone. The second quarter saw Montreal extend their lead to 11-0 by adding 10 points through Wide Receiver Pat Woodcock touchdown (6) with Terry Baker adding the extra 1, before Baker kicked a field goal to add 3 more points (10). At half-time Montreal led 11-0, but Edmonton came back into the game thanks to a touchdown by Ricky Walters as a result from a 17 yard pass from quarterback Ricky Ray. Sean Fleming then added the conversion before securing a field goal from 13 yards to put Edmonton within a point of Montreal. So it proved that the game would be decided in the 4th and final quarter, where Montreal increased their 1 point lead to 8 as a result of wide receiver Jeremaine Copeland touchdown from a 47 yard pass from Anthony Calvillo. Edmonton then replied with a touchdown of their own with another Ricky Ray assist and Ed Hervey with the touchdown. However the Eskimos did miss the conversion meaning the scoreline was 18-16 with less than a minute to go on the clock. With that said Montreal did add another touchdown and Copeland got his second from a kick-off return, Terry Baker added the conversion. The end result was 25-16 to the Alouettes and a victory made even sweeter winning in the hometown of their rivals. The MVP award went to quarterback Anthony Calvillo.
This was the 83rd edition of the prestigious Grey Cup and it took place during a time of turmoil within the Canadian game with instable ownership putting the Canadian Football League on life support. The early and mid-1990’s saw the CFL take the brave decision of expansion, not in Canada but in the United States. Part of the reason behind this grand and bold plan was to reignite the Canadian game and bring growth to what seemed to be a dying sport. The idea behind the expansion into America was to serve markets within certain states which were lacking an NFL franchise, however there was no thought and not much research behind the strategy. The problems were that because the Canadian Football field is wider and longer it was difficult to put the pitch into stadiums that were there to serve American Football solely. Furthermore the Canadian player quota system had to be scraped to entice American teams to join. Many franchises in America were created between the short lived years of the American experiment, which began with Sacramento Gold Miners in 1993, then after came the likes of Shreveport Pirates, Memphis Mad Dogs and who could forgot the Las Vegas Posse (maybe most as they only lasted 1 season, as did a number of other franchises). In spite of what could be perceived as a failed strategy, came a franchise who to an extent left a great legacy, the Baltimore Stallions. Formed ready for the 1994 season under the name Baltimore CFLers, they reached the Grey Cup that year as East Division champions, losing in the final 23-26 to BC Lions. Having survived one season the franchise appeared to be a success so Baltimore under a new name, Baltimore Stallions went again in 1995 and achieved something that will never be completed again, an America team winning the Canadian Grey Cup. The 1995 Grey Cup was played at Taylor Field in Regina, home to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the smallest place to host a Grey Cup, but without question the city with the most passionate fans. This was proven when the people of Saskatchewan got right behind the 83rd Grey Cup, despite the Roughriders failing to make the play-offs finishing 6th in the North Division with a 6-12. However this event was all about the Baltimore Stallions and the Calgary Stampeders and America versus Canada, this was sure not to disappoint, not least because of the testing weather conditions facing the teams. This was the reason why the 83rd Grey Cup earned the name of the Wind Bowl. So how did the game break down, well Don Matthews the Stallions coach had a major advantage along with the rest of the American teams to begin with as they were able to operate without any roster restrictions which the Canadian franchises had to follow. This allowed Matthews to build a class team above any other and this showed during the game against the Stampeders. Chris Wright started the scoring off playing an 82-yard punt to Carlos Huerta, putting the Stallions 7-0 before the Stampeders came back to edge the 1st quarter through 2 field goals by English born Mark Mcloughlin. Doug Flutie added to this early in the 2nd quarter to leave Calgary 13-7 up. However from then on Baltimore dominated by scoring three field goals plus a touchdown (Carlos Huerta FG x3 & Alvin Walton TD), to give them a 10 point lead (23-13) at the end of the 2nd quarter. The 3rd quarter involved 1 touchdown for either side, firstly Calgary through Flutie, Mcloughlin with the conversion, then Baltimore replied through Tracy Ham (Huerta with the conversion). The 4th and final quarter ended with Baltimore tightening their grip on the game through two more field through Carlos Huerta who battled the windy conditions. The Grey Cup ended 37-20 in favour of Baltimore and their quarterback, Tracy Ham received MVP. The victory was seen as one of the greatest in Canadian Football history as that was Baltimore’s 18th in the whole season, something that has and possibly never will be matched again. Although after this historic season the American experiment was over with the franchises in the States folding and Baltimore becoming an NFL franchise after the Cleveland Browns relocated. This resulted in the re-launch of the Montreal franchise which was seen as a great move which helped restore some national pride back into Canadian Football, as the failed American experiment was seen to be taking some patriotism away. Nevertheless one of the Grey Cups which help define the direction of the game.
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