The 2016 Grey Cup was a story of 3s: third time teams had tied in the regular season and played in the Grey Cup; third time a team with a losing record has won the Grey Cup; third ever OT game in Grey Cup history; and third year as a RedBlacks franchise. Heck, the Tenors, who sang O Canada before the Grey Cup, went from 4 to 3 after the All-Star Game controversy.
The Ottawa RedBlacks won the 2016 Grey Cup 39-33 in OT, giving the franchise its first CFL championship and the 10th in Ottawa, the first 9 with the Rough Riders. This was the first Grey Cup for a team in the nation's capital since 1976.
The Calgary Stampeders ran off to a 15-2-1 record. When the Stamps pulled back a bit in the season finale, the team said the emphasis was on the Grey Cup. Despite a beautifully executed 10-point comeback in the final 2 minutes, the team had difficulty for most of the contest, especially poorly timed interceptions.
Henry Burris became the oldest CFL quarterback to win a Grey Cup at 41 years, 177 days. Damon Allen was 61 days younger when winning the 2004 Grey Cup for the Toronto Argonauts in 2004. Burris threw for 461 yards, 4th best in Grey Cup history. His left knee started acting up in the warmups but Burris didn't play like that knee was a concern.
Burris won the 2008 Grey Cup for Calgary. As for the current Calgary quarterback, Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 391 yards, but the 3 interceptions were a drawback.
Ernest Jackson, the East Division finalist for Most Outstanding Player of the year award, caught the game winner in OT for the RedBlacks.
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
Winnipeg under Head Coach Bud Grant won the 1961 Grey Cup in overtime 21-14 over Hamilton. Like the 2016 contest, there was only a single score to win the game. After both teams scored touchdowns and the Esks added a field goal, the 2005 Grey Cup had a bit of overtime oddity in that Anthony Calvillo threw a pass that was batted down by an Edmonton defender. Calvillo then illegally threw a second pass that was dropped in the end zone. That was one of the first Grey Cups I remember watching; the crowd was upset that the receiver dropped the ball in the end zone not realizing that even if the receiver was successful, the play would not count. The lasting memory was Calvillo kicking the ball down the field in desperation to keep the play alive but Edmonton recovered the ball to win the Grey Cup.
---
I did note that 2-point conversions could make the difference in the CFL playoffs. The RedBlacks missed the 2-point convert in overtime; had Calgary scored in the OT, the Stampeders could have won with a successful 2-point convert. In overtime, teams are required to go for 2-point conversions after touchdowns.
Both teams missed an extra point convert in the 4th quarter. The points accumulation was very straightforward: no rouges or single points in the whole contest.
---
7 of the 9 CFL teams have won a Grey Cup in the 21st century. In fact, those 7 teams have won a Grey Cup in the 2010s. The last 7 Grey Cups have been won by a different team.
Ottawa (2016); Edmonton (2015); Calgary (2014); Saskatchewan (2013); Toronto (2012); B.C. (2011); and Montréal (2010).
Hamilton (1999) and Winnipeg (1990) remain the exception. The Tiger-Cats were in the 2013 and 2014 Grey Cups while the Blue Bombers were in the 2011 and 2007 Grey Cups.
The announced attendance was 33,421 at BMO Field. Ticket prices had been reduced. Pizza fans in Hamilton were able to pick up a limited supply of Grey Cup tickets for a lot less, er, dough.
The Toronto Argonauts could have used more time before having to work on a Grey Cup with its new ownership. The city doesn't have a great reputation for CFL enthusiasm.
We'll see how Ottawa does next year in what will likely be fewer seats than BMO Field this year.
Edmonton and Ottawa played last week and the 2015 Grey Cup, but the TSN crew had the teams playing last night. Twice at halftime, Edmonton was listed as the Ottawa opponent.
That's really bad.
ESPN2 started the telecast on time. The channel wasn't scheduled to carry the pregame. A shame that the pregame can't be streamed via ESPN3. We are only suggesting that for the playoffs. TSN has some really nice CFL coverage that would enhance the CFL viewing experience south of the border.
The feed was lost close to the end of regulation. Given the fact that the feed cut out at 10 pm Eastern, the issue could have been on the U.S. end. The coverage would have gone past 10 pm for the unveiling of the Grey Cup so an arbitrary time should not have been in place. We've seen TSN cutouts throughout the season.
I relied on the CFL Game Tracker. I was led to believe that Rene Paredes had kicked a game-tying field goal. A very bad time for the tracker to be incorrect.
---
Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor called the 104th Grey Cup on TSN1/3/4/5 and ESPN2.
The 105th Grey Cup will be on November 26, 2017 from TD Place in Ottawa. This will be the first Grey Cup in the nation's capital since 2004.
---
photos credit: CFL/TSN/ESPN2 except for Pizza Pizza shot, courtesy of http://forums.cfl.ca/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=102929
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.