What started as a crappy football game turned out to be the best Super Bowl ever!
Photo from tsn.ca
I wonder what kind of champagne Don Shula's drinking now?
Extra note: the game was broadcast in Canada on CTV. In Manitoba west through to Alberta, the Grey Cup episode of Corner Gas aired right after the Super Bowl coverage ended. Whoever runs programming for that network is a genius.
Is that even in the NFL Rulebook?
Ben Dreith in 1986
Ron Cherry last Saturday
The November 26, 2007 edition of the 'Riderville' Leader-Post
I still can't believe the Riders won the Grey Cup last night. It is the first title win since 1989, eighteen years ago today, and third championship total in the 97 years the club's been around.
Twas the night before Grey Cup, and all through the Dome,
Not a creature was stirring, but the gophers back home.
The players were nestled and snug in their beds,
While visions of Grey Cup Rings danced in their heads.
When out on the field, there arose such a clatter,
Kent sprang from his bed to see what was the matter,
Away to his window, he flew like a flash,
Threw aside the Green Curtains, and Silky White Sash.
And what did he see with his wondering eye?
But a sea of Green Revelers and a furry brown guy.
“That looks like Dominguez, and Flick and Fantuz!”
“Its way after curfew! Do they want us to lose??”
So, out of his room and down to the field,
Coach Austin stormed out with a fury to wield.
As he went through the tunnel, the ground shook with a beat,
From the dancing and prancing of ten thousand feet.
“Hey Coach,” cried a voice, “Whatcha doing down here?”
It was Szarka and Schultz, and they were handing out beer!
Chucky and Chick were grilling up Dogs,
With Burgers being served by O’Day and the Hogs.
Crandall cooked Hot Wings, Joseph grilled steak,
While Cates, Holmes, and Hughes helped Makowsky serve cake.
“This is nuts!” Austin shouted, “It’s one-thirty AM!”
“I expected some revelry, but this is mayhem!”
Eric Tillman tapped Austin, “ You’re not Eagle Keys -”
“But I’m not Berry, or Gotta, or Gregory – so PLEASE!”
“You’re all waddling around here like Wascana geese!”
“And in need of a dance coach like Donald Narcisse.”
“Now, you’ve all had your fun, so back to your rooms.”
But then Austin’s nose picked up the barbecue fumes.
Then Green Is The Color rang out through the air,
As Congi and Boreham played Banjos with flair.
On Davis, on Johnson, on Coach Ritchie Hall,
Even old Alex Smith flashed a smile after all,
On Lloyd, on McCullough, on Hunt and on Perry,
On Kornegay, Frazier, and yes, even Kerry.
The skydome then filled with a soft greenish glow,
And the whole Rider Nation set poised for a show.
An S and a wheat sheaf then formed in the air,
And a smile took the place of Coach Kent Austin’s glare.
Then everyone there, the players, the fans,
They formed a big circle by all holding hands,
Then right in the centre appeared the Grey Cup,
Which Fairholm and Ridgway and Elgaard picked up.
They handed it over to Ritchie and Kent,
Who called Kerry and Eddie, and off the Cup went.
It was passed round the field, past heroes to present,
While Gainer dug holes for the Blue Bomber Pheasants.
That music was heard coast to coast people say
And they say Rider Pride grew three sizes that day.
Everyone left there dreaming of Blue Bomber doom.
And they sent all the Banjos to Troy Westwood’s Room.
GO RIDERS!
The Barenaked Ladies will sing the National Anthem at the Grey Cup.
Just thank goodness it's not this guy...
Update on Nov 21: This is actually what woke me up this morning. I heard it just before 6:30am on Magic 97. Chris Martens played it on the radio.
While almost 1000 people greeted the Riders at the Regina International Airport when they got back from the west final in BC.
Compare that to just 250 at the Winnipeg Airport who saw the Bombers much earlier
The Poppy Quarter - FlickrIt seems that last weekend was a bad one for the sports teams that I support.
The Riders had their regular season finale against Toronto last Saturday in Regina and dropped it by a painful 43-13 score. That phoning-in gave the Argos first in the East, and has us Rider fans on the downs heading into the west semi-final against Calgary.
The Broncos lost twice, 5-3 on the road in Brandon on Friday, and 4-3 after a shootout against Edmonton at home on Saturday
The Canucks are horrible at home with a 1-6 record at GM Place. They won against Colorado on Saturday, but that was on the road. That doesn't make me feel any better
Probably the worst was the Colts-Patriots game on Sunday. I was actually excited and pumped for the game, something I don't usually feel for a regular season NFL match, and I slept through it, the result of me being up since 3:00am on Saturday and Sunday. Adding insult to injury, the Colts lost 24-20, and I woke up just in time to see the Patriots with the ball at the 2-minute warning, with Colts with no time-outs.
Not to sound like a bandwagon jumper, if things don't get better soon, I might have to question my allegiances, or do my best to not sleep during major sporting events.
Oh, one more note, the Hamilton Ti-Cats fired their GM, Marcel Dejardins, at around 11:00pm EST last night. I kinda know the time because I got the text alert from TSN just after 10:00pm. I mean, why fire a guy so late at night? Why not wait until the next morning? It'd be one less sleepless night for him.
Chris Szarka, a popular player for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, may be done for the year after injuring himself while working with, of all things, a table saw.
The good news is, he still has all his fingers, but think of how this may have been prevented if he upgraded his tools and used a hot dog.
Sorry I haven't updated this weekend, I was pretty much glued to my chair watching television.
Last Thursday, I got the SaskTel Max DTVR and a new box, a $10.00/month rental, and I must say it is paying for itself so far. The recording functionality is working great, I already have my favourite shows queued up on it, but I still have to get used to the fact I can pause and rewind actual television.
One of my favourite features so far is the replay button, where you can skip back 10 seconds on a live or recorded program. I was watching the Sunday Night Football game (Patriots and Chargers), and early in the fourth quarter, the Chargers made a touchdown pass, even though the receiver (Antonio Gates) went out of bounds before the line. I hit replay, and found that the ball crossed the line when Gates reached forward with his hand just as he was going down. The Chargers still lost 38-14.
Another good feature is the picture-in-guide. Before, when I hit the guide button, the sound and picture shut off as the guide took up the full screen. Now, when I call up the guide, the current channel shows in a window on the top right corner of the screen, thus ensuring you don't miss anything, and you can still rewind the show when you go back, as long as you don't change the channel.
But, it has it's bad spots too. Not too often, the recordings start a few minutes late, or not at all. You have a choice of giving extra time to the recording, but it's in 15-minute intervals, and I would prefer it to be one minute at a time, and if I had HD (the box takes HD as long as you have it, by the way), I can't tune to another channel if I am recording something in High Definition, as there is only room for one HD stream into the home.
Sure, I've been talking about SaskTel a lot lately. I am not being paid by them, nor am I an employee of them. I am just a common customer in good standing, but I seriously recommend this to anyone who is able to get it.
Now another topic. I think in football, the ball and the man must cross the line together to count a touchdown. Discuss.
Brad Wall, leader of the Provincial Opposition, has just launched his party's response to the NDPs "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" ads.
I must say, I'm impressed. A mature, dignified response to the NDPs attack ads. It's too early to tell if it will be successful, but good on them for trying.
The Riders' final play on offence. Saskboy, once again, responsible for the video
Yesterday's Labour Day Classic, where the Riders defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 31-26, was a game worthy of its label. In fact, it may be the best Labour Day game at least in my lifetime. The game had seven lead changes, and the Riders was actually close to losing this time, but it was settled with a 27-yard run by QB Kerry Joseph, right up the gut of the Bomber defense, who, like us, probably thought the Riders would only try for a good field goal position. Not this time.
What I'll remember most about this game was the hype surrounding it. Sports writers, broadcasters, even me, were all billing this as a Grey Cup preview, as this game featured the two teams at the front of their divisions. If this is the game we expect in the 95th Grey Cup final coming up at the Rogers Centre, where the Riders last won the cup in 1989, well then I can't wait until November.
Oh, speaking of that. When the CFL blacked out the Riders-Eskimos game in July (in which I got around by watching their broadband stream on tsn.ca) TSN showed CFN's broadcast of the 1989 Grey Cup. The Riders won that game against the Eskimos 54-14, and have won four more since.
Also, get a load of those throwback sweaters and lids the Riders sported. It honestly felt like I was watching a game from the 70s on ESPN Classic, rather than live on TSN. Also Kerry Joseph is also looking more and more like Ron Lancaster each and every game.
What's in store for the next one at CanadInns Stadium? The Banjo Bowl if you will. If you go, remember to hang a right on Milt Stegall Drive.
Game highlight film from the CFLs YouTube Channel
For the first time since 1976, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have a 6-2 record, and are now statistically the best team in the Canadian Football League. And it took a very wild and eventful contest against the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday night to earn that distinction. The game was played during, DURING, a thunderstorm. Heavy rain, lightning, and a power failure at the stadium caused a 55-minute weather delay in the 4th Quarter with the Riders trailing 32-27. When play resumed, the Riders scored a field goal and a touchdown to win the game in front of several thousand brave fans at Mosaic Stadium
I didn't go to the game, and a early morning kept me from watching all of it, and let me say, I will regret it for the rest of my life. But many other people did and they all have their opinions, especially about CBC (the channel that telecast the game, and I remind, are on their final year of the national CFL contract), who didn't return to the game in all areas of the country but Saskatchewan (the blackout was lifted) after the delay ended.
Rod Pedersen (of course he was at the game, he's the radio voice of the Riders)
News Talk Radio's Green Zone had a whole bunch of audio interviews about the game and the delay, especially with Rider CEO and President, Jim Hopson, who said they were very close to calling the game.
Globesports.com had a press release from the CBC about their handling of the game broadcast
Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy was at the game, with a camcorder that recorded the very moment the power failure hit the stadium, and in a move that now puts his blog on my Links that I Like, posted the video.
Jon Keen, newsroom colleague, took time out of his impressive coverage of Bronco Training Camp to give a tip of the hat to the Riders, and a wag of the finger to the CBC
James Whittingham, one half of Cable Regina's James and Kevin Show, showed his displeasure to CBC HD's coverage
The Leader-Post, who put a photo that even Joe Rosenthal would be envious of, on the front page of today's paper
USA Today, yes, that USA Today, had a story about CBC showing Nick Nolte's The Good Thief instead of the end of the football game and compared it to the infamous Heidi Game
And speaking of the Heidi Game, the CBC will forever be publicly connected to it by Wikipedia
Rogers Sportsnet confirmed last night a biopic about star quarterback Joe Willie Namath will be made.
I wonder if this will be part of the story...
