O'Leary: The 111th Grey Cup, A to Z

11/11/2024 12:44 PM

The 111th Grey Cup — an event that has been a year in the making on the football field and years in the making from a planning perspective — is finally upon us.

Football fans from across the country are making their way to Vancouver, as the city and the BC Lions play hosts to Canada's largest annual sporting event for the first time in 10 years. This is far from an unfamiliar thing for Vancouver, though, as this year's game will mark the 16th time the city has hosted a Grey Cup game.

Hosting a Grey Cup is about much more than solely what happens on Sunday when the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers kickoff at BC Place. The week leading into the game is a celebration of Canadian football and its fans, many of whom make this an annual trip, reuniting with likeminded friends and fans from across the country..

With that in mind, CFL.ca presents a very Vancouver-themed list of all things Grey Cup, A to Z (be sure to pronounce it zed, or we’re sending you home).

111th GREY CUP
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A — ATLANTIC SCHOONERS PARTY

It may not be the rowdiest party, but the Atlantic Schooners can proudly say they have the most unique team party at the Grey Cup every year. Founded by John Ryerson, the party commemorates the franchise that was granted to the Atlantic region in 1984, but unfortunately didn't get off of the ground. Despite the team having never played a game, the seeds of fandom were planted for Ryerson and the celebration of the franchise that goes undefeated (0-0) every season — and of Canada's maritimes — is now an embedded tradition in the Grey Cup celebration.

B — BRENT JOHNSON

Johnson is one of the Lions' all-time great players, having suited up from 2001-2011. The d-lineman is the Lions' all-time sack leader, at 89 and was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2006. He was the league's Most Outstanding Canadian in 2005 and 2006 and was a three-time All-CFL selection (2005, 2006, 2008). A 2018 inductee to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Johnson lives in Vancouver.

C — CUBS

The Vancouver Cubs were an amalgamation of amateur football players including players from the University of British Columbia, the Meralomas junior football club and Canadian players. The team competed in a league in 1953 as training for the Lions team, which would join the CFL in 1954. The Cubs went 7-1, with its players forming the structure of the first Lions lineup.

D — DAVIS SANCHEZ

The 111th Grey Cup marks a homecoming for Sanchez, who was born in Delta, B.C. This week, he'll be an impeccably dressed, outspoken and entertaining presence on the panel for the CFL on TSN. Next week, he'll be back on NFL duties for the network, while offering up sports betting insight for TSN Edge. Sanchez became a household name to Canadian football fans through a 13-year pro career that saw him become the first Canadian to start as a cornerback in the NFL and CFL. He won Grey Cups with Edmonton in 2005, with Montreal in 2009 and with his hometown Lions in 2011.

E — EMPIRE STADIUM

Empire served as the Lions' home from 1954, when it was opened to host the Empire games (today known as the Commonwealth Games). The Lions played there 28 years, before making the move to BC Place in 1983. Empire held the distinction of being the first stadium in the West Division to has a Grey Cup, in 1955. The stadium was the site of six more Grey Cup games, bringing the Grey Cup across the country, making it a truly Canadian event.

F — FARHAN LALJI

One of the nation's best-connected football reporters and the face that many Canadians tie to their CFL-viewing experience, Lalji will work this Grey Cup from his hometown. The sideline reporter/panel host/play-by-play man will also mark his 27th year at TSN by being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame's media wing (along with fellow Vancouverite and the CFL’s associate vice president of football analytics, Steve Daniel) on Sunday morning. A longtime football coach in Vancouver and a proud Simon Fraser University alum, Lalji is embedded into the fabric of football in Canada, but first in Vancouver and B.C.

G — GEROY SIMON

He's worn different uniforms and sat in different offices around the CFL, but when you think of Geroy Simon, your mind should still go to him in BC Lions' orange. Through a 15-year CFL career and 12 seasons with the Lions, he made insanely athletic plays en route to becoming the CFL's all-time leader in receiving yards (16,352). Simon was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2006 and won three Grey Cups in his career, with the Lions in 2006 and 2011, then with Saskatchewan in 2013. In his post-playing days, Simon has moved to the front office, starting with Saskatchewan, then spending five years with the Lions before moving to Edmonton in 2022. This season, he was named the Elks' interim general manager.

H — HORSE IN THE HOTEL

At the 1948 Grey Cup game in Toronto, a Calgary Stampeders fan wanted to make an impression and let the city know that their team was in town to win a championship. So they rode their horse into the lobby of the Royal York Hotel. It was a scene, in the sophisticated, expensive hotel. It also apparently brought the Stampeders luck, as they downed the Ottawa Rough Riders 12-7 for the win. With that, a tradition was born. The Calgary Grey Cup Committee has seen to it to bring a horse into a hotel in the host city of every Grey Cup since. Today, it's a full ceremonial moment, complete with the obliging hotel often covering its lobby in plastic wrap, bracing itself for any possibility a nervous horse might present. It's the kind of thing that you have to see in-person at least once. So why not this year in Vancouver?

I — IMPOSSIBLE ODDS, INCREDIBLE OUTCOME

Five games into the 2011 season, the BC Lions looked down and out. At 0-5, things were bad and on the verge of getting bleak. What followed was entirely unpredictable: from 1-6, the Lions ran off eight consecutive wins and finished 11-7 on the season, landing in first place in the West Division.

Hosting the Western Final and then the Grey Cup a week later, the Lions became the first team in CFL history to lose their first five games and win the Grey Cup.

J — JONAS BROTHERS

Nick, Joe and Kevin are ready to play a key part in the 111th Grey Cup. The Jonas Brothers will take to the stage at the Twisted Tea Grey Cup Halftime Show on Sunday. The group's presence at the game is a big draw to its rabid fan base. The group returns to Vancouver for the second time in almost a year, after they performed there in November, 2023 in support of The Album. The group has sold over 20 million albums globally and has had 26 Billboard Hot 100 hits, three consecutive No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200 and two Grammy nominations.

K — KATO

His full name is Ken Kasuya, but within the walls of the BC Lions' organization he was known simply as Kato. A 13-year-old volunteer ballboy when he joined the Lions in 1980, Kato became the Lions' equipment manager in 1996. In his 40-plus years with the Lions, he became an institution, one of those seen-everything figures who experienced all of the highs and lows of the organization and the many people that came through its doors in that time. Kato passed away on April 24, 2020. He's a member of the Lions' wall of fame and is in the B.C. Football Hall of Fame.

L — LUI PASSAGLIA

There are many reasons to talk about Pasaglia. A legendary local product who served as the Lions' kicker from 1976-2000, he retired as pro football's all-time leading point scorer and is unquestionably one of the greatest players to ever take the field in the CFL. For our purposes, we'll look at one of Passaglia's most consequential made field goals, which came in the 82nd Grey Cup, held at BC Place in 1994. His last-second make lifted the Lions over the Baltimore Stallions, denying their opponents the chance to become the first-ever non-Canadian team to win the Grey Cup (the Stallions did win the Grey Cup a year later over the Calgary Stampeders, but we're keeping the focus Vancouver-based here).

M — MERALOMAS

Originally named the mermaids, appropriately for a swim club, the Vancouver Meralomas grew in the 1920s and 1930s as a broad sports factory that let people swim, play rugby and eventually Canadian football as we know it, as well as other sports. The program produced numerous players who went on to suit up for the UBC Thunderbirds, the Lions and across the CFL. When the Lions were formed and joined the CFL in 1954, they wore the Meralomas' burnt orange and brown, which today stands as the orange and black that epitomizes the franchise.

N — NORM FIELDGATE

Fieldgate is THE original BC Lion, signed by coach Annis Stukus and played linebacker for the team's inaugural season in 1954. While he waited to join the Lions, he suited up for UBC for two months and played for the Vancouver Cubs. He played his entire 13-year CFL career with the Lions, retiring in 1967. A tough, versatile player, he missed just one game in that run, while playing linebacker, defensive back, defensive end and tight end. He was a co-captain of the Lions' 1964 squad that captured its first-ever Grey Cup. A member of the Lions' Ring of Honour, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the B.C. Football Hall of Fame and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, he has his No. 75 retired by the team.

O — OVERTIME

BC Place housed an all-time great Grey Cup game in 2005, when Edmonton topped Montreal in a double overtime thriller. Ricky Ray and Jason Maas both saw time at QB for Edmonton, while Anthony Calvillo led Montreal's offence. The game ended with Calvillo actually punting the ball away on third-and-33, desperate to keep his team's drive alive. Edmonton won 38-35, marking the first Grey Cup to go to overtime in 44 years. We have seen overtime games since in 2016 and 2021.

P — PAUL MCCALLUM

Another Vancouver-born kicker, who came to the CFL via the Surrey Rams of the Canadian Junior Football League, McCallum won Grey Cups with BC in 2006 and 2011, highlighting a 24-year CFL career. McCallum's first professional sports experience came as a soccer player in Scotland when he was 19. On the gridiron, he's won a World Bowl with the Scottish Claymores in the World League in 1996. As a member of the Las Vegas Outlaws, he kicked for the first points recorded in XFL history, in 2001. McCallum was the Most Valuable Canadian of the 2006 Grey Cup and the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2011.

Q — QUARTERBACKS

Spoiler alert: Zach Collaros gets his love a little further on here. For now, let’s focus on arguably the most important storyline of this week, in Argos’ QB Nick Arbuckle. The 31-year-old has been a backup for the majority of his six-year career. When Chad Kelly went down with a leg injury in the third quarter of the Eastern Final and left the game on a stretcher, Arbuckle was thrown into a high stakes situation and coolly delivered. His resume is thin compared to Collaros’, but through his six years he’s come to know the CFL well. What he lacks in starting experience, he makes up for with that understanding of the Canadian game and his opponents over the years. Arbuckle was a member of the Calgary Stampeders’ Grey Cup-winning squad in 2018; on Sunday, he has an incredible opportunity to win one as a starter.

R — ROAR YOU LIONS, ROAR

In the spirit of the Grey Cup bringing people together, consider that the Lions' fight song was written by an Edmontonian. Peggy Day-Miller, who wrote scripts for programs and sponsors at radio station CJCA, wrote Edmonton's fight song and was later asked to come up with lyrics for the Lions. For local flavour, the song is performed by Vancouver's Dal Richards' big band.

S — SPIRIT OF EDMONTON

We opened this list with a shoutout to the Atlantic Schooners' party, which is a must-attend. If you want to go to the one Grey Cup party where memories are made and very often forgotten by morning, the Spirit of Edmonton is for you. It's not just Green and Gold in this party; this is a nation-wide celebration of the Elks, of the CFL and of anyone who joins the party. Stay there long enough and you're bound to run into former players, coaches or staffers who are there to see some friends or to just help out behind the scenes.

T– TYRELL FORD

If you don't know Ford's name yet, you haven't been paying attention to the West champion Blue Bombers. The 26-year-old had a breakout season as the Bombers' starting cornerback. In just his second year with the club, the 2022 CFL Draft pick pulled in seven interceptions this year, earning himself the first All-CFL selection of his young career. He'll be a player to watch on Sunday, as the Bombers look to win their first Grey Cup since the 2021 season.

U — UBC FOOTBALL

The Thunderbirds have a proud history, having won the Vanier Cup four times in their 101-year existence. The program has produced numerous CFL players in that time, with seven former T-Birds on CFL rosters in 2024. In Sunday’s game, linebacker Daniel Kwamou will rep UBC for the Toronto Argonauts and defensive tackle Kyle Samson will do the same for the Blue Bombers.

V — VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES

Your first thought will likely go to the short-lived NBA franchise that relocated to Memphis in 2001 (while still occasionally wearing those phenomenal teal and white uniforms today). Long before the hardcourt Grizzles existed, we had the gridiron version, playing in red and gold for one year in 1941. The team was Vancouver's first professional football squad and was led by Greg Kabat, who had come to Vancouver from Winnipeg to serve as a player and coach. Like the basketball team, wins were hard to come by for the Grizzlies, who went just 1-9 overall in the Western Inter-Provincial Football Union, with a pair of exhibition games included in its record. The Second World War forced the team of 31 players to disband.

W — WALLY BUONO

Likely the most obvious name to include in this list, Buono is simply the godfather of football in Vancouver. Already a legendary figure in the CFL by the time he made the move to the Lions in 2003, Buono guided the team to an extended period of success, going 101-60-1 as a head coach, with the team winning the Grey Cup in 2006 and 2011. Upon his retirement, he had the CFL record for most wins by a head coach (282), most Grey Cup wins as a head coach (five) most Grey Cup appearances as a head coach (nine), most seasons coached (25) and most games coached (450). He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2014. Buono will be a presenter at the CFL Awards presented by Securian Canada on Thursday.

X — Xs AND Os: CFL COACHES

The game is about the Xs and Os, but a good coach — one that works at the professional level — works like a conductor to ensure that their team makes music and stacks up wins on the field. On Sunday, we'll see two of the league's best go into battle.

For Winnipeg, Mike O'Shea is coaching in his fifth consecutive Grey Cup game; a feat that hasn't been accomplished since Hugh Campbell led Edmonton through its dynasty from 1979-1983. The 2024 season may have been his most challenging year of work thus far, after his team started 0-4 and was 2-6 before winning eight straight games to climb back into its familiar place atop the West Division.

For Toronto, Ryan Dinwiddie steered his Argos through an uneven season to play its best football of the year in its final eight games. He's playing in his second Grey Cup game in three years and will face a unique challenge this week, as Nick Arbuckle will start at quarterback, after Chad Kelly suffered a season-ending injury in the Eastern Final in Montreal.

Y — YARDS (10 IN THREE DOWNS, 150 x 65)

This week is full of festive vibes and at the root of it is our uniquely Canadian game. Football is the king sport in the United States and the American game provides the CFL with some of its best players. But there's almost always a learning curve for non-Canadians who come to this league and sometimes that curve is insurmountable. We've seen many well-known former NFL players come to Canada and not have their immense skill sets translate to this fast, cardio-testing version of the game. For many Canadians, nationalism doesn't come easily. Grey Cup week helps fire up those feelings in a not-too-showy way, which in itself is perfectly Canadian.

Z — Z PART ONE: ZACH COLLAROS

We can't end this list without talking about Collaros, who will take part in his fifth consecutive Grey Cup this week. His time in Winnipeg found him when his career seemed to be in flux, with him starting the 2019 season in Saskatchewan, getting injured then traded to Toronto, where he wasn't healthy enough to get on the field in his second stint as an Argo. The Bombers acquired him in the final minutes of the trade deadline and he led them on an improbable Grey Cup run, ending an almost three-decade-long championship drought in Winnipeg. Since then he's won a pair of MOP awards, a second Grey Cup and has been the steady, unflappable face of the franchise that whether he wants to think about these kinds of things or not, is a surefire entrant into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

PART TWO: ZIP LINES (TWO OF THEM!)

We also just don't want this list to end, so let's talk about one more fun thing that's available this week in Vancouver. The Grey Cup Festival gets underway on Wednesday, Nov. 13 and the eye-grabbing item in it is the *pair* of zip lines that are available to fans.

"It's (zip line) been done before, many Vancouverites and Canadians would remember the 2010 Winter Olympics. Edmonton had done it, but no one's done two of them," 2024 Grey Cup Festival director Riley Wiwchar told BCLions.com

"No one's done one over the water either. So, we've had this idea we can do it and once we figured we can pull it off, we've been excited to let people know they'll have two chances: over the water and on the street."

The RBC Harbour zip line will take fans from the Convention Centre East to Convention Centre West, where all of the Grey Cup parties will be taking place this week. The CarStar Street zip line is also there for fans to use, in front of the Convention Centre buildings.