Monday, November 29, 2010

The Grey Cup

Last night was the 98th Grey Cup – the championship game in the CFL (Canadian Football League). It’s Canada’s version of the Super Bowl, in about the same way the Gemini awards are our version of the Oscars. And just like you will watch cross-country skiing during the Olympics, a lot of people watch the Grey Cup every year who don’t normally pay any attention to the CFL.

This year’s match did have quite a bit of drama. The same two teams that played last year – the Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders – were facing each other again. Last year the Roughriders only needed to kick a field goal to win the game. They did, but someone got confused and wandered into play when he shouldn’t have, so they got a penalty for having too many players on the field and had to redo the kick. This time they missed, handing the victory to the Alouettes.

Needless to say there was a lot of build up (as much as there ever is in Canadian football) heading into yesterday’s game. The Roughriders have been haunted by that play and desperately wanted to erase the memory with a victory, while the Alouettes were eager to prove that they were champions, rather than just a team that benefited from their opponent’s mistake.

Darian Durant
So what happened? Well, the Alouettes won on yet another heartbreaking play. With about a minute to go and the Roughriders storming down the field (a touchdown would have won them the game, a field goal would have tied it and sent it to overtime), Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant got into some trouble. With the Alouettes bearing down on him he attempted to throw the ball out of bounds, but instead threw it directly into the arms of an Alouette player. It was the only turnover of the game, and a costly one. The Alouettes were able to run down the clock and became Grey Cup champions for a second year in a row.

You may hear people talking about this game today, so now you’re prepared. But rest assured, by tomorrow all talk of the CFL will be suspended until the 2011 Grey Cup, taking place next November in Vancouver.


The Alouettes celebrate their win

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