Matt Cauz
CFL.ca
As a semi-unbiased observer, usually at the end of any big game, I have a fairly well defined opinion about what I just saw. Most of the time it’s easy to come up with the main storylines that I want to hit on for my column. But not this week, not after that crazy ending.
Part of me feels robbed, but really does that emotion make any sense? The 97th Grey Cup was an unbelievably exciting football game (At least after a rugged first quarter). You had everything you could want in a game:
(1) A big underdog pushing around the perennial favourite.
(2) A packed house full of crazy fans that kept the energy level to 11.
(3) The classic Veteran (Anthony Calvillo) vs. Up-and-Comer (Darian Durant) angle was all over the field.
(4) Redemption for said veteran who was forced to listen to critics say, rightly so, that he could not win the big game.
(5) And finally the game was in doubt right till the very end.
Really what more could you want? So how come I feel a little empty?
I hope I don’t upset any Montreal fans when I say I wish that call had never been made. I wish Saskatchewan hadn’t made the greatest mental blunder in the history of the Canadian Football League. I guess what I most wanted, was the Grey Cup to not be decided by a yellow flag.
If Damon Duval’s first field goal was good that would have made for a great storyline: Montreal rallying from the dead (With a big assist from Durant’s two second half interceptions) and Calvillo’s legacy as one of the Top 5 players of all time would have been cemented. Heck the debate of whether or not Calvillo will eventually go down as the greatest of all time would have picked up steam.
Now on the flip side if the Roughriders had managed to remember how to count then we would have been treated to the classic David over Goliath story, Durant would be the early favourite as the 2010 CFL MOP, plus 5,456,235 different shots of delirious men and women clad in green and white. Good times all around.
Either one of these scenarios would have been fantastic, but instead I can’t shake that nagging feeling that we were robbed from a 10 out of 10 game. Hey I guess I am greedy, but considering how that last quarter played out I think we all deserved a no doubt all-time classic ending.
Overall the game still gets a solid 8.5 out of 10; but that too many men on the field penalty has slightly tarnished what was a classic game.
If you’re an Alouettes fan, congratulations on an unbelievable season. We can debate which team was the better one last night but there is no debate the Alouettes are the best team in Canada. The win stamps them as one of the great dynasties in CFL history. The scary thing is I don’t see it coming to an end. As long as Calvillo is under centre Montreal will go into the 2010 season as the favourite to repeat.
If you’re a Roughrider fan, well there is nothing that I can say to make you feel any better. I am struggling to come up with a more heart wrenching defeat. At least the Red Sox had a chance to win Game Seven after the Bill Buckner error. Take comfort in knowing your team should be even better in 2010 with a whole season of experience now under the belt for Durant.
Here’s hoping for a rematch in 2010.
