Hear the 112ᵗʰ Grey Cup this Sunday on SiriusXM Canada Talks 167
With all due respect to the game of hockey, the most Canadian trophy that is up for grabs in professional sports up here in the Great White North is the Grey Cup. And it’s up for grabs again this Sunday, on the frozen tundra of Manitoba.
The hated Saskatchewan Roughriders (or as us long-time Ottawa Rough Riders’ fans like to call them…the Prairie Dogs) travel to the home of their bitter rivals (the Blue Bombers) to take on the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup.
East meets West.
And may that never change, even after the tsunami of major rule changes next season that are poised to transform the Canadian Football League into a stronger, more marketable game…or changes that will begin the slow and painfully inevitable stripping away of what makes the 3 down game unique and fiercely loved by those who bleed Grey.
Will we have another mesmerizing Clements-to-Gabriel touchdown late in the 4th quarter (1976)? Will it be an ice bowl like at Olympic Stadium (1977)? This being Winnipeg, will it be as cold as the 1991 Grey Cup, when Rocket Ismail dodged a frozen beer can lobbed at him en route to an Argonauts’ Grey Cup win for owner John Candy? Maybe it’ll be a snowy as the 1996 game in Hamilton, when Doug Flutie won it over Edmonton in an absolute back-and-forth classic. Or the snow globe game in Ottawa (2017)? So many great Grey Cup memories from over the decades.
Annually, the most-watched sporting event in Canada (though it may be difficult to top the still-fresh-in-the-mind Blue Jays’ run to Game Seven of the 2025 World Series), the Grey Cup is a great excuse for a party. Having attended six such events (1988, 1989, 1992, 1996, 2012 and 2017), Grey Cup week remains one of the truly pan-Canadian events on the calendar. Anybody up for the Spirit of Edmonton room? Of course you are!
Like its cousin, the Stanley Cup, the Grey Cup was initially intended to be presented to amateurs, specifically the best amateur rugby players in the Great White North. Donated by Governor-General Albert Grey (not the guy the tea is named after), the Grey Cup was first competed for in 1909. Eventually, rugby evolved into football, and the different football associations across Canada merged (which explains why there were two Rough Riders/Roughriders for a while); the newly formed Canadian Football League took over stewardship of the shiny bauble in 1954.
Last year’s champions, the Toronto Argonauts, have won the Grey Cup the most…19 times. Only one American-based team has ever carted off the Cup; the Baltimore Stallions in 1995, during the league’s short-lived expansion into the United States. Montreal (who were once Baltimore after they relocated to Montreal…it’s complicated) has won the Grey Cup on eight occasions, also coming up short in the championship game 11 times. Saskatchewan has only won it all four times, and has been the bridesmaid on 15 occasions, the lowest Grey Cup winning percentage (.211) of the current nine CFL teams.
For this Sunday, it’s the first time in half a decade that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will not be participating in the big game, thus missing out on the opportunity to win it all in front of their loyal fans. In the long, storied history of the CFL, the Grey Cup has rarely been won in front of the faithful.
In their place stand the rival Saskatchewan Roughriders, who probably felt no need to bring along their banjos for this game. The Riders won the West this past regular season after sporting a 12-and-6 record, and then withstood a furious attack by star Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke and the B.C. Lions in the Western Final, taking it 24-21 in an absolute classic of a game.
The Montreal Alouettes booked their ticket to Winnipeg by kicking a last-second field goal in Hamilton, edging out the hometown Tiger-Cats 19-16 in an entertaining Eastern Final. The Ti-Cats currently have the longest Grey Cup drought in the league, not having hoisted the big mug since 1999.
Montreal last won it all in 2023, defeating the Blue Bombers 28-24, while Saskatchewan last took home the Cup in 2013, when they downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23. That win did come in front of the loyal fans.
The last time the Alouettes and Roughriders met up for all the grey marbles was in Edmonton in 2010. The Als took that game 21-18. They also met up the year earlier in Calgary, with Montreal also winning that showdown, 28-27.
It’s that 2009 Grey Cup game that’s remembered for all the wrong reasons, if you’re a Roughriders fan.
November 29th, 2009. Saskatchewan was nursing a 16-point lead over the powerhouse Alouettes with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. It appeared that they were about to win their second Grey Cup in the past three seasons.
But the Alouettes finished 15-and-3 that season for a reason, and guided by future Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback Anthony Calvillo, the Eastern Champions methodically and clinically worked their way back into the game.
It all came down to a final field goal attempt by kicker Damon Duvall from the 36-yard line. A makeable kick from that distance, but this was the Grey Cup. All the pressure. Everything on the line.
The kick was wide right. Saskatchewan returned the ball out of the endzone, took a knee, and the celebrations began!
Not so fast. The orange officiating flags littered the field at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The Roughriders had proudly referred to their rabid fans as being “The 13th Man” all season (Canadian football utilizes 12 men on the field, as opposed to 11 in American football). Trouble was, the Riders actually employed 13 men on that final play.
One too many guys. So it wasn’t the final play. Duvall and the Alouettes were handed a reprieve, and a do-over, and he didn’t miss the second time.
Cue the celebration…for the Alouettes.
Even after the Roughriders won it all four seasons later in front of the home fans in the blowout win over the Tiger-Cats, this 2009 loss still stung in Rider Nation. It still does today.
So this Sunday is a rematch on many fronts and promises to deliver a number of heart-stopping moments along the way, as you devour your chicken wings. Who’s the favourite? Probably the guys in green. However, the beauty of football lies in its one-game scenario. You gotta bring the goods on this day. This isn’t best-of-seven. There is no tomorrow.
This time around, will there be more wonderful, wacky moments, more CFL history made? Keep in mind this is the final Canadian Football League game under the current set of rules. Beginning in the 2026 season, a myriad of major rules changes will begin to be implemented. Thus, this match serves as a final fond farewell to a game that begins just as spring begins to warm up across Canada. A game that gets us through some hazy summer nights. A game that really kicks into gear with the various Labour Day Classics that almost always deliver the goods.
A game that is distinctly Canadian, even though many of the players originate from American colleges.
A game that has survived against all odds, against all the (usually Toronto-based media) naysayers. A game that has survived various franchise troubles, ownership challenges, attendance concerns, shortsighted TV blackout rules, COVID, and the Gleibermans.
Whether the upcoming rule changes will usher in a new golden era for the league remains to be seen. On the surface, it does appear as though this is a not-so-subtle decision to Americanize the game (the moving of the goal posts to the back of the end zone…something the mighty NFL did for good beginning in 1974). The shrinking of the 120-yard field seems unnecessary, unless you’re preparing your various stadiums to host more NFL pre-season games.
The tweaking of the Rouge (or what we always just called the single point) for missing field goals is one change most CFL fans appear to be on board with. The changing of the game clock threatens to alter the complexion of how CFL games conclude, and the CFL outperforms the NFL in exciting, last-second finishes.
All that is for next June. Right now, get your chicken wings ready. Pour yourself a cold beverage, and see if that #77 Tony Gabriel jersey still fits. It’s Grey Cup 112 from Winnipeg, between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes.
East versus West. The way it’s supposed to be.
Long Live The CFL.
Hear the 112th Grey Cup between the Montréal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, live from Mosaic Stadium in Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, on SiriusXM Canada Talks 167. Tune in starting at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT.
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