Congratulations to the Grey Cup champions, the Calgary Stampeders, victors over the Montréal Alouettes 22-14 Sunday night at Olympic Stadium in Montréal.
The game was close most of the way, tied 13 at the half. But longtime Montréal quarterback Anthony Calvillo threw a couple of crucial interceptions in the second half. The Alouettes are 1-5 in Grey Cup games with Calvillo, though as one of the best QBs ever in the league, it's really difficult to put the blame just on him.
Calgary won its first Grey Cup since 2001, ironically also in Olympic Stadium. The Alouettes were hoping to be the first team to win at home since the B.C. Lions won the Cup in 1994 in Vancouver.
This year, the game was on TSN for the first time. In the U.S., Versus carried the game, showing the TSN feed. Having watched the game in a huge crowd, I can't speak to how TSN did. I could hear the audio of the announcers, something that previously was an issue. And I applaud Versus not only for carrying the game, but also broadcasting the last 30 minutes of the pre-game show. Kudos!!
The halftime entertainment was Theory of a Deadman, Suzie McNeil, and Andrée Watters. All are Canadian artists, a typical element to the halftime entertainment. Though last year's musical guest, Lenny Kravitz, has no Canadian connection, other than covering the Guess Who's song "American Woman." (Yes, Guess Who is Canadian.)
Next year, the game will be in Calgary. The first Grey Cup game was in 1909, so this will be the 100th anniversary of the first game. Tonight's game was the 96th Grey Cup (the Cup was suspended during World War I.)