IT'S HERE! Grey Cup Game Day Thread

[kelownabomberfan]

 

 

Apparently they said it was the second lowest attendance since 1975.  The lowest being 1978.

http://morningbigblue.com/community/topic/9241-its-here-grey-cup-game-day-thread/page-3

Just informing, not dissing

98(also here) was the lowest since 75.

 

There were 3 factors for that.

 -brutality of the 91 game's weather had fans across that league saying fool me once..

 -major price increase

 -we sucked as a team....again

 

Those fans concerned about the weather only fooled themselves as it was record warmth that day.

 

The '98 Grey Cup was the regarded as the Grey Cup no one wanted.  The league was still somewhat in dire straits, not near the depths of 96, but only a smidgen higher.  Winnipeg stepped up when no one else really desired to have the Grey Cup.  It was also a period when the Grey Cup did not sell out with regularity.  

 

96 in Hamilton - well short of a sellout despite Tim Hortons stepping up to buy thousands of tickets at the last minute.

97 in Edmonton - I remember there was over 10,000 tickets available leading up to the game which mostly sold out only because the Riders made the finals.

99 in Vancouver - 15,000 short of a sellout

2000 in Calgary - a few thousand short of the sellout.

 

It also didn't help that the city hosted the Brier, World Junior Championships and the Pan Am Games along with the Grey Cup in just over a year.  Individuals and the corporate community were tapped out.

 

 

I was at the Grey Cup in 1999 in BC - total joke.  So many empty seats.  Friends of mine drove out from Calgary last minute and bought tickets at the door for $25 a piece, or something like that.  I remember looking at all of the empty seats and feeling embarrassed, and wondering if this great league would survive.  I also was wondering when I would see a Blue Bomber Grey Cup victory again. 16 years later, not much has changed.

[Dragon37]

That game fulfilled the expectation of what the Championship game should be. Both teams showed signs of being capable of winning, with flashes of exciting plays and defences stepping up most of the time. A huge chess match with both teams sacrificing rooks for the benefit of their King. And the King for this day? Mike Reilly.

Reilly, facing a deficit of 13 points, lifted 11 other players on his shoulders, and willed his way through the Ottawa defence, by running, throwing and defying any hits that the RedBlacks were throwing back. And there were quite a few hits.

I disagree that that one QB played poorly in the 2nd half (Burris). I strongly suspect Edmonton did what they had to do to stop the effectiveness of Maas's offensive attack. And Burris couldn't/wouldn't do what Reilly did..run and sacrifice his body. Edmonton does not win this game without Reilly's "all in" attitude.

Both defences played really well and the kicking game was pretty even.

All in all, a very good game to watch.

Lastly, I must mention how good IGF presented itself to any TV viewers. It looked spectacular, both inside and outside views. Lots of great shots of the stadium.

And pishaw to any naysayers dissing the attendance. By all accounts, the Grey Cup in Winnipeg was enormously successful and Winnipegers should be proud.

Well done!

Great post! I also think that having Edmonton and Ottawa was the best possible outcome for this game as I think that it ensured that the game would sell out. It has been a long time since I have seen such a chess match for a GC game.

[bigg jay]

Really felt like a RBs crowd.

 

Yep, from where I was sitting it was at least 60/40 RB's, at least in the 1st half.  There were a few "Hennnnnrrryyyy" chants that came out in my section as the game went a long and he started to disappear.

[kelownabomberfan]

Kirk Penton @PentonKirk

Hey, it's a start. #GreyCup attracts TV audience of 4.3 million, up from 4.1 million last year. #CFL

[Fatty Liver]

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

 

Apparently BMO is going to operate with 17 yd. endzones, 3 yds shorter than regulation.

[Dragon37]

Really felt like a RBs crowd.

 

Yep, from where I was sitting it was at least 60/40 RB's, at least in the 1st half.  There were a few "Hennnnnrrryyyy" chants that came out in my section as the game went a long and he started to disappear.

On TV it sounded at first like a RB favouring crowd then slid more towards Edmonton. I found that pretty interesting.

[Dragon37]

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

 

Apparently BMO is going to operate with 17 yd. endzones, 3 yds shorter than regulation.

I heard this too. That could prove interesting for visiting teams.

[Mr Dee]

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

 

Apparently BMO is going to operate with 17 yd. endzones, 3 yds shorter than regulation.

Now does that truncated CFL logo make sense?

[Brandon]

Ed Tait ripped the Grey Cup a new one... Had to check twice that it was his article and not another Wiecek crap.

I thought the game was fun and came off really good.

[bb.king]

 

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

 

Apparently BMO is going to operate with 17 yd. endzones, 3 yds shorter than regulation.

 

Didn't BC Place have shorter end zones at some point during its history - something like 15 yards? Maybe when it first opened? I seem to recall that, but I could be completely wrong.

[kelownabomberfan]

 

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

 

Apparently BMO is going to operate with 17 yd. endzones, 3 yds shorter than regulation.

 

 

and to placate the Toronto FC soccer fans, several times during the game Argo players are going to fall down and start writhing like they've been shot, then pop up again and walk off the field under their own steam.

[Guest]

Didn't BC Place have shorter end zones at some point during its history - something like 15 yards? Maybe when it first opened? I seem to recall that, but I could be completely wrong.

18 yards IIRC, only fixed (now 20 yards) when the 2011 renovation was completed.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

Rogers Center is going all in on baseball I think.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

 

 

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

 

Apparently BMO is going to operate with 17 yd. endzones, 3 yds shorter than regulation.

 

Didn't BC Place have shorter end zones at some point during its history - something like 15 yards? Maybe when it first opened? I seem to recall that, but I could be completely wrong.

 

I remember it was damn close to the cement walls. I know some stadiums had cut off corners like EDM.

[kelownabomberfan]

 

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

Rogers Center is going all in on baseball I think.

 

 

what else do they have?

[Fatty Liver]

 

 

BMO will host grey cups. Argos and cfl are done with Rogers. Rogers Center isn't even shown in the skyline pic of Toronto for their grey cup event.

 

Apparently BMO is going to operate with 17 yd. endzones, 3 yds shorter than regulation.

 

Didn't BC Place have shorter end zones at some point during its history - something like 15 yards? Maybe when it first opened? I seem to recall that, but I could be completely wrong.

 

 

I think the standard used to be 25 yd. endzones but when BC Place came online they shortened them league wide to 20 yds. to match.  Now what?

[Mr Dee]

A flattering photo from TSN's hot air balloon?

 

 

 

 

Now, who would have enough hot air to keep that thing up there that long?

[comedygeek]

Very glad to see the Esks win and all the Bomber fans leave before the presentation, lol.

I watched the whole presentation, and was just behind a pile of Esks fans crowding the first few rows when a bunch of players brought the Cup over to the sidelines to give their fans a closer look. Thought it was very classy, and it was fun to see the Esks fans enjoying their win in a very respectful way.

Yes, our futility is legendary and the 25 years since our last Cup is insane. (Technically Ottawa has the longest drought in seasons between all its franchises at 26: 20 with the Roughies, 4 with the Renegades, and now 2 with the Redblacks; Hamilton is also now at a not-wonderful 19 seasons.) But I still enjoyed seeing a team win their first Cup in a decade after having a fairly similar run of futility to us during that time (save for our 2007 season). Hopefully we can turn it around in a couple years and get our first legitimate chance at a Grey Cup victory since 2001 by, say, year 28 or 29?

All that is to say that I tried to soak in as much of the Grey Cup as I could, and that included sticking around to see the winners celebrate their trophy.

[bigg jay]

 

Very glad to see the Esks win and all the Bomber fans leave before the presentation, lol.

I watched the whole presentation, and was just behind a pile of Esks fans crowding the first few rows when a bunch of players brought the Cup over to the sidelines to give their fans a closer look. Thought it was very classy, and it was fun to see the Esks fans enjoying their win in a very respectful way.

Yes, our futility is legendary and the 25 years since our last Cup is insane. (Technically Ottawa has the longest drought in seasons between all its franchises at 26: 20 with the Roughies, 4 with the Renegades, and now 2 with the Redblacks; Hamilton is also now at a not-wonderful 19 seasons.) But I still enjoyed seeing a team win their first Cup in a decade after having a fairly similar run of futility to us during that time (save for our 2007 season). Hopefully we can turn it around in a couple years and get our first legitimate chance at a Grey Cup victory since 2001 by, say, year 28 or 29?

All that is to say that I tried to soak in as much of the Grey Cup as I could, and that included sticking around to see the winners celebrate their trophy.

 

 

Same here.  While It was mostly Edmonton fans left in the stadium, not everybody took off.  I was happy for guys like Watson & Greaves, who were good players for us, and wanted to see them get their moment.

 

It made getting out of the stadium much easier too! 

[bearpants]

The half time show came off really good on tv,   not sure if it was as good live as a few friends complained about the sound. 

That's how I saw it... the sound wasn't great at the game... mostly overshadowed by the fireworks.... I pvr'd and rewatched the game yesterday... it sounded great on TV

 

Reilly on the other hand brought his A-game when the chips were down.  After a shaky 3rd quarter he marched his team down the field - assisted by two justified pass interference calls - and passed for the winning TD and 2-point convert.  He also had a good drive late in the third quarter but Whyte missed a chip shot field goal.

that was the nice part... both of those PI calls were justifiable and seemingly obvious... the only disappointment was that is wasn't called correctly on the play and had to be reviewed...

 

linebacker j.c. sherret is 5 foot 9, and weighs all of 200 pounds. his defence.... no 1 in league.

 

but lot of people here think our mlb at 220, is too small.

2 things... Sherrit is 220... and no one think our MLB is too small, just too slow...

 

On Tv it sounded like the crowd slightly favoured Edmonton.  For those who were at the game, who did the crowd appear to favour?  Was it 50-50?  60-40 Ottawa?  60-40 Edmonton?

probably depended where you were sitting... we had some Esks fans around us, but didn't see any RB fans in our section... mostly neutrals....