The Grey Cup was pretty cool. I’m not sure it was worth the bucks, but it was an enjoyable time and a decent game. The stadium was full, which made seating a little uncomfortable, but it was such a novel experience (the last time the stadium was full was in 1988 when the Blue Bombers won with Bob Cameron running for his life out of the endzone) that no one seemed to mind. The weather held, the people partied, and the organisation behind the events was excellent. People moved in and out with ease, and I think it’s fair to say a good time was had by all.
Some things I noticed:
- No ticket required! At no point were we asked for our tickets. We walked in, got a half-hearted patdown attempt from security, and away we went. I guess they figured if people were in our seats, we’d deal with them. Huge points for focusing on making it easy to get in.
- The big fat guy in the blue ball cap and the “Ottawa AAA Canadians” jacket with the moose logo yammering on his cel phone during the national anthem. Take off the hat, shut the fuck up, and respect the flag and everyone around you. Moron.
- Kickers who were so afraid to actually hoof it to the return teams that they, by and large, fucked up their kicks and gave the other team awesome field position every time. It was a very poor display, especially because once they actually kicked away, the coverage teams were excellent and held the returns to minimal yardage.
- Happy, drunk people everywhere. Waaaaaay different from drunk people at other sporting events I’ve been to, where they tend to be assholes more than anything else. It was cool, and no one bugged anyone who was drinking liquor that came from outside. How totally Canadian.
- BC’s complete inability to adjust to Toronto’s passing game. I’ve never seen the same play work so many times with a team other than the Renegades. I think the Argo’s ran a 10-yard sideline sit-and-hit eight or nine times in the last three drives, and each time it resulted in huge gains.
- Little brown Bailey’s bottles littering the ground. Who needs hot pockets when you’ve got booze?
- Damon Allen playing like he did a decade ago. I’m not his biggest fan, but he deserved the MVP at the end of the game, and he sure looked happy at the end. Oh, and he’s a grandfather playing a professional sport.
- Fans dressed in their team colours, regardless of who was actually playing on the field
- Weather that decided to wait until the game was over to turn really chilly
- Stuntman Stu. He’s actually really good at announcing/MC’ing.
Oh and, despite the provocation, I didn’t kill Beaudette.