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| Grey Cup |
In late afternoon I took the media bus to Taylor
Field where the Grey Cup game, the championship of the Canadian Football
League, was being contested between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the
Hamilton Tiger Cats.
Saskatchewan has hosted three Grey Cup games but
this was the first time the home team, the Roughriders, had played for the Cup
in their own Stadium.
My thoughts on the game are set out in the column I
wrote which can be found on the Melfort Journal website at http://www.melfortjournal.com/2013/11/25/surreal-sunday.
The level of excitement in Saskatchewan over the
Rider victory has never been matched in our history.
It has become a tradition, better described as a
superstition, for professional football players not to touch the Grey Cup
unless they have won the Championship. (The same tradition applies in hockey
for the Stanley Cup.)
After winning the Cup it is a happy tradition for
the winning team to drink from the Cup and the Riders were certainly following that
tradition in their dressing room after the game.
As with most Canadian sports fans I believe having
a cup for the winner is much better than the sculptures used as trophies by the
NFL and Major League Baseball. Drinking from a Cup is far more a celebration
than getting your photo taken holding the trophy.
The winter will not be as long in Saskatchewan with
the Riders winning the Cup.
Bill - Congratulations to the Riders! How exciting for all of you and I'm so glad you were able to see the game. There's nothing like seeing it in person is there?
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. It was exciting. You lose the emotion of the game when you just watch on T.V. Sitting in the stands with Jonathan watching the Riders win was very special.
ReplyDeleteBill, good for the Roughriders! I assume they drank champagne from the Cup. After victory in a major tournament, cricket teams often pop champagne and hose one another with it. What a waste!
ReplyDeletePrashant: They certainly did drink champagne from the Cup. I expect they sprayed more around the room than they drank. I missed most of the spray. Nothing fizzes better than champagne!
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