Hall: 7 iconic Grey Cup moments in history

11/13/2024 10:00 AM

The story assignment arrived via email from the esteemed Kristina Costabile.

"We had an idea for you that I'm hoping you could tackle for us," she wrote. "Can you do seven of the most iconic Grey Cup moments?"

Absolutely, I thought, closing my eyes and flicking on the video highlight reel in my brain of Grey Cups from coast to coast.  The energy, the hype, the dreams realized, the hopes dashed…

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Well, about that last part.

"Question for you," I typed, tentatively. "The 13th man?"

"Yep," she replied. "Definitely."

So, with apologies in advance to the Saskatchewan Roughrider faithful, here are seven of the most iconic Grey Cup moments — of the modern era, in no particular order — through the eyes of your faithful scribe.

2019, 107th GREY CUP: WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS 33, HAMILTON TIGER-CATS 12 AT MCMAHON STADIUM IN CALGARY

When I started covering the CFL back in 2001, Canadian-born players faced all kinds of barriers when it came to starting at some "skill" positions — especially quarterback and tailback.

That historical context makes the performance of Andrew Harris in the 107th Grey Cup even more impressive.

In 2019, the Winnipeg-born running back became the first man to win both Most Valuable Canadian and Most Valuable Player in the Grey Cup as the Blue Bombers ended a 28-year championship drought.

As Harris hoisted the Grey Cup — high above his head in a sea of blue-and-gold confetti — it signified the beginning of the ongoing era of dominant football played by the industrious, old-school Bombers.

That era — engineered by hard-scrabble head coach Mike O'Shea — continues this Sunday with the Bombers meeting the Toronto Argonauts in the 111th Grey Cup.

2017, 105TH GREY CUP: TORONTO ARGONAUTS 27, CALGARY STAMPEDERS 24 AT TD PLACE IN OTTAWA 

Talk about peak Canadiana.

With all due respect to the players, Shania Twain riding onto the field, in a snowstorm, via dogsled — and then escorted to the stage by a team of red-suited Mounties — is the lasting memory burned into my brain from this wondrous night in the nation's capital.

The five-time Grammy-award winning artist delivered a three-song set in a blizzard, starting with That Don't Impress Me Much and finishing with Man, I Feel Like a Woman.

At 52, Twain brought it at game time, despite the conditions.

Doesn't get more Canadian than that.

2023, 110TH GREY CUP: MONTREAL ALOUETTES 28, WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS 24 AT TIM HORTONS FIELD IN HAMILTON

Cast aside by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, quarterback Cody Fajardo seriously considered retirement prior to the 2023 football season.

Instead, Fajardo followed his old boss Jason Maas – also summarily dismissed by the Riders — to Montreal. Together, they authored a comeback story for the ages.

The day before the Grey Cup, the clean-speaking Fajardo channelled his inner Maas with a profanity-laden speech on the importance of teamwork and proving the doubters wrong.

Inspired by their quarterback, the Als upset the heavily favoured Bombers thanks to a Fajardo touchdown strike with 13 seconds remaining to Canadian receiver Tyson Philpot.

Sweet, sweet redemption.

2014, 102ND GREY CUP: CALGARY STAMPEDERS 20, HAMILTON TIGER-CATS 16 AT BC PLACE IN VANCOUVER

With Calgary clinging to a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter, the electric Brandon Banks scampered up the sideline all the way to the end zone for a 90-yard punt return touchdown.

Sheer elation morphed into utter heartbreak in an instant. Banks looked back and realized the officials threw a flag all the way back at the 22-yard line. The pint-sized speedster crumpled to his knees, dropped his head and punched the turf.

The culprit? Hamilton's Taylor Reed, called for an illegal block on Karl McCartney. No touchdown. The infraction pushed the Tiger-Cats back to the Hamilton 12-yard line. Five plays later, the game was over.

"I didn't see the flag but everybody on our sideline was pointing back at it," Calgary quarterback Drew Tate told reporters. "And that was the game, because there's no way they were going to go 100 yards on our defence in 30 seconds."

2022, 109TH GREY CUP: TORONTO ARGONAUTS 24, WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS 23 AT MOSAIC STADIUM IN REGINA

It took five tries, but we finally witnessed a happy ending to Speedy B's story of perennial Grey Cup heartbreak.

The diminutive receiver and return specialist hoisted the Grey Cup for the first time at Mosaic Stadium, thanks to a game-saving field goal block by defensive lineman Robbie Smith with 1:12 left on the clock.

"It means everything to me," Banks said after the game. "It's what I worked hard for. I've been saying all year I've got nothing to prove except prove to be a champion. Now, I proved I'm a champion."

2009, 97TH GREY CUP: MONTREAL ALOUETTES 28, SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS 27 AT MCMAHON STADIUM IN CALGARY

We're fast approaching the 15th anniversary of the 13th man — not that anyone in Saskatchewan needs reminding of the heart-breaking loss seared into the collective conscience of an entire province.

With just five seconds left on the clock, and Saskatchewan leading 27- 25 lead, Montreal kicker Damon Duval attempted a field goal from 43 yards out. The ball sailed wide right.

On cue, the Saskatchewan bench erupted… until fluorescent orange scraps of fabric littered the turf.

13 Roughriders players had lined up for the scrubbed field goal. The 13th man, in the form of the green-clad masses in the stands, was supposed to provide the edge that pushed them over the top. The 13th man ended up costing them a championship as Duval split the uprights to give Montreal the 28-27 victory.

I'll never forget the scene in the Rider dressing room. A couple players were screaming at no one in particular. Others openly wept. Many sat in their locker stalls, staring into space.

"The disappointment of this loss is going to last each and every one of us for as long as we’re on this planet,” said Saskatchewan’s then-head coach Ken Miller, who passed away this summer at age 82. ”Everyone knows — and even in our locker-room — that we should have won the football game.”

2013, 101st GREY CUP: SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS 45, HAMILTON TIGER-CATS 23 AT TAYLOR FIELD IN REGINA

Geroy Simon understood that much of the CFL world thought he lost his superpowers back in 2013.

At age 38, the man they called ‘Superman’ plugged away in the background for much of the season with the star-studded Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Then came the 101st Grey Cup at Taylor Field — arguably the biggest moment on Saskatchewan soil since Tommy Douglas invented Medicare.

Simon struck his trademark Superman pose in the end zone twice as the Riders defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 on home turf.

"Age means nothing," Simon said as green-and-white confetti rained from the sky. "I can still play football. I’m still one of the best receivers out there. They can talk about that age stuff all they want. But when it comes down to it, I make plays.”

As the final seconds ticked down, I stood in a crowd of reporters waiting to go on the field to interview Simon and his fellow Grey Cup champions. The reporter in front of me wiped tears from his eyes.

I found it jarring, at first. After all, journalists are paid to be unbiased observers. That's important.

But they're also human. So human.

"I wish my dad could see this," he said, his chest heaving under his winter jacket. "I wish he was here."