The CFL has awakened from its deep slumber to remind us of the good times of Grey Cup Week. The celebrations are often more memorable than the game itself. The Atlantic Schooners don't even have a team yet they show up in style.
There is no 2020 Grey Cup. Grey Cup Unite will be virtual and hopefully a reminder of great times in the past and more in the future.
CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie moves up his traditional state of the league speech to today to kick off Grey Cup Unite. The event features a special virtual town hall to update fans on the league’s future plans.
There will be a Diversity Is Strength: Racial Justice Roundtable on Wednesday. Donnovan Bennett, host of the CFL Waggle podcast, will host the roundtable.
The CFL will unveil an All-Decade Team on Thursday. Fans can vote on the Game of the Decade.
There will be media availability for the league’s 9 head coaches on Wednesday and top CFL players on Thursday.
Ambrosie said that Grey Cup Unite is "a week of virtual and safely distanced events that will reconnect our fans with our league and with each other. We may not be able to gather for a traditional Grey Cup week but we can still stand united.”
You can find out many more details at GreyCupUnite.ca.
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Grey Cup Unite is a nice gesture to a fan base that has suffered without its sport and watched as other sports limped through the pandemic yet have championships to celebrate.
Even in the early stages of the pandemic, the CFL could have drawn more attention to itself while helping others. CFL and Purolator work toward contributing food to the needy during the season. Canadians were certainly hurting for food during the pandemic.
The same league that came out with Diversity Is Strength hid as much from the limelight through the spring and summer. The NHL once talked about North Dakota and the NBA had eyes on Las Vegas. We knew that wasn't going to happen; the leagues did get some publicity.
The CFL geared up for a possible Winnipeg bubble but that was months after momentum would have helped the league's cause.
The CFL has a fan base starved for anything league- and football-related, so the fans, even the Atlantic Schooners crew, will be excited.
This feels like crumbs after what little the league has done since the pandemic hit in March. They should have more in mind between now and next spring/summer.
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The 2020 Grey Cup Unite activities won't be the same with the loss of David Braley and Joey Moss. Moss, 57, was the long-time locker room attendant for the Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton CFL team. He passed away last month. A beloved figure in Edmonton sports, Moss will be greatly missed.
Braley owned the BC Lions from 1997 until his death late last month, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1989-1990, and the Toronto Argonauts from 2010-2015. Braley served as an Interim Commissioner of the CFL and Chair of its Board of Governors. He won Grey Cups as an owner of the BC Lions (2000, 2006, 2011) and Toronto Argonauts (2012).
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
Way back in the before time, a lot of quarterbacks went down with injuries in the 2019 season. Teams were seemingly desperate for arms. Any quarterback would do, unless they were a … Canadian quarterback.
Brandon Bridge got the hint and shifted his career to being a police officer with the Peel Police Department in Ontario. On the surface, Bridge giving up football to be a police officer might have been an unconventional choice.
With his old CFL teammates scrambling for work, Bridge made a smart decision in the short term, if not longer.
Bridge discussed his desire for stability and more in an episode of the Waggle podcast with host Donnovan Bennett. They talk about policing as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.
You can find the Waggle podcasts and locate Episode 230.
Davis Sanchez is no longer on the Waggle podcasts. The podcast hasn't found a replacement for him so far. Sanchez is still involved with the CFL on TSN.
photo credit: CFL
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