Rob Ford jokes aside, for an American who had previously seen 5 CFL games live in person, the chance to see 2 CFL games in back-to-back days was exciting.
Okay, so this guy saw all 4 games in person last week, one more than Chris Cuthbert saw. Still, two games in two days in two different cities is still rather impressive.
The quirk in Edmonton is that tickets are cheaper the day before than the day of the game. This required a separate trip to Commonwealth Stadium, yet an excuse to see the CFL's largest regular stadium.
Turns out you have to go next door to get the tickets. The Montréal Alouettes fans I ran into at Commonwealth helped me figure that out. Can't believe we were the only ones who made that mistake.
The CFL is a rather friendly league. I was standing with some Alouettes fans when one of them called out to Sean Whyte (left), Montréal's kicker and punter. Whyte came right over and signed for the guy and his kid.
The guy only asked once from some considerable distance, and Whyte came over right away. Have never seen anything like that at any professional sporting event.
Commonwealth Stadium has been around since 1978, so if you ever saw footage of Warren Moon from his Edmonton years, you saw Commonwealth Stadium. You knew the game wouldn't be a sell-out because of the high capacity.
As we noted on Wednesday, getting to the park is easy. Take the LRT to the Stadium stop. Some buses also run to the stadium, including the #5 bus. Gates open 1 hour before game time.
Every seat in this stadium has great sightlines. My ticket was in the upper deck but didn't feel like sitting there, so I settled in toward the top of the lower deck. I was warmly greeted by the people around me. One woman signed up for the credit card and gave me the free Edmonton T-shirt. Much thanks.
Was hoping for an excited gung-ho crowd, but I learned that the opponent made a difference. The Saskatchewan Roughriders bought a billboard outside Commonwealth. This is a sign of an intense rivalry, and this wasn't even the provincial rival. The consensus in both Calgary and Edmonton was that Saskatchewan had the worst acting fans.
Montréal got off to a 28-0 lead. When Edmonton finally scored a single, the crowd let out a sarcastic cheer. The home team made it close in the second half, but the 38-25 final score wasn't as close as you would think. Even when the Alouettes had a punt blocked for an Edmonton TD, no one thought this would be a comeback.
The weather was lovely, facing west you could see the sun going down. The weather could be the reason why the crowd wasn't as excited. Colder weather unites the fans more than warm weather.
The LRT was quite crowded after the game. Metallica was playing at Rexall Place, one step before ours. People weren't happy about the crowded trains, though I had to smile. A Red Line train after a Cubs game was way more crowded with more stops to travel.
Ricky Ray's first visit to Calgary in a Toronto uniform seemed to be a high selling point, though the crowd wasn't as excited about that as I thought they would. I didn't buy a ticket until I got to the game, even with a smaller capacity at McMahon Stadium. Roll the dice, you never know. Turned out to be great advice.
An older gentleman asked me if I only needed one seat. His daughter wasn't able to make the game. He said I have a $35 seat; he offered me $15. This required a leap of faith, though maybe not a large leap. Was selling tickets even at less than face value a crime? He looked honest. I saw the ticket; this was actually a $39 ticket. "45 yard line," he noted.
What the hell. I bought the ticket. He even gave me change for a $20. The ticket was legit, and he sat beside me the whole game. Nice guy.
His neighbors to the right were so nice that they invited me out after the game. I was feeling a little off, so I hope they know I appreciated their generosity, even if I seemed a little out of it. They drove me to a famous drive-in where I got another dose of chocolate maple milkshake (which made me feed better).
As for McMahon Stadium, this was the second of the two stadiums that held NHL regular-season games in Canada. Both facilities would have been perfect for NHL and CFL. We were pretty high even with the $39 ticket. The Olympic Volunteer Center to my right, and the series of garages to my left.
Those garages look silly on TV and look even sillier in person. Someone noted that the changing rooms were there; I would hope the Stampeders have better facilities.
McMahon Stadium was home for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics. Take the C-train northwest to the Banff Trail stop. Walk over a bridge and you are on the grounds.
The game was kind of a snoozer. Field goals dominated the scoring with the Argonauts finally ending its own TD drought. The Stampeders finally scored a TD with 12 seconds left.
When Calgary scores a touchdown, a rider and white horse ride through to the opposite end zone and waits until the conversion and then they ride back to the garages. That was fun to watch, though waiting that long proved frustrating.
The 5 p.m. Mountain Time starting time made for a sunnier time. The sun was still up as the game ended. I had to take off my shirt because of the heat, though elevation may have played a role. The stadium requirement that no plastic bottles could be brought in, even though they sold plastic bottles, didn't help.
I was hoping for a more excited crowd in Calgary as well. The warm weather, Toronto as the opponent, and an ineffective offense didn't help the excitement levels.
If Montréal and Toronto played each other and Calgary and Edmonton battled against each other, the crowds would have been more exciting and the atmosphere would have been rather exciting. Games in October would have been more nail-biting. Still, I enjoyed both games, even if they weren't that close. The CFL blogger who saw all 4 games saw the most exciting game of the week: Hamilton at Winnipeg. But that was more about the game on the field.
Still, great facilities, easy transportation, and beautiful weather made for two nights of tremendous fun. CFL in the Western plains was absolutely fun. The only two active markets I haven't seen are Winnipeg and Saskatchewan. Those might be the most fun, but Edmonton and Calgary did just fine in representing Western Canada.
photos credit: me
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