Mark Masters
CFL.ca
The 97th Grey Cup was an imperfect game, but in many ways it was the perfect way to complete the 2009 Canadian Football League season.
The ending will be forever remembered because of one of the most boneheaded penalties in the history of championship games. That the Alouettes, the league’s best team led by the league’s most outstanding player, even needed the blunder to clinch their second title of the decade is amazing.
But all I could think about in the aftermath of this thrilling contest was how in so many ways the game did not go to script. It was not a perfect game for either team, but it all added up to something special.
Let’s start with the finish that will live on forever.
Perfect imperfection #1 – The goat is the hero
The game-deciding penalty allowed Alouettes kicker Damon Duval to morph from the goat to the hero in a matter of seconds.
Duval missed a 43 yard field goal with no time on the clock that seemed to hand the Roughriders the Grey Cup. But a penalty to Saskatchewan allowed Duval, who struggled punting the ball during the first half, another shot at glory.
If Saskatchewan did not take the too-many-men on the field penalty then Duval would have been blamed for Montreal’s latest Grey Cup setback. Instead, he makes the kick that wins them the game.
In sport you rarely see someone get a second chance like that and we saw it at McMahon Stadium at the most crucial moment.
Perfect imperfection #2 – The 13th man cost Saskatchewan the game
The Saskatchewan Roughriders fans are among the most passionate and dedicated in all of sport. They came to Calgary in droves to ensure their team had a home-field advantage at the neutral-site championship. They also ensured a tremendous atmosphere at the game.
And until the final fleeting moment they appeared set to revel in their franchise’s most unlikely title win ever. Then disaster struck. A 13th man on the field of play cost the Roughriders the game.
Fan support can only take you so far as Montreal learned last year when they failed to take advantage of a partisan crowd at Olympic Stadium. Saskatchewan was forced to stomach that reality on Sunday.
Perfect imperfection #3 – Neither quarterback takes over
In the first half, Anthony Calvillo played like a quarterback who was afraid to lose. He fumbled and bumbled his way through the opening 30 minutes just two nights after being named the best player in the league. Then, somehow, he found his way.
Darian Durant, making his Grey Cup debut, looked poised during a mistake free first act. Then the moment seemed to hit him. Two interceptions and a brief loss of focus opened the door to the Alouettes.
The plot should have been reversed, but it wasn’t. Both pivots played well, but neither seized the moment. It was fitting because …
Perfect imperfection #4 – The running backs ruled
Avon Cobourne picked up the slack for his faltering team mates. In a league known for its pass-happy nature it is a running back who is the biggest game’s most outstanding player. How perfect for that to happen in a year where extraordinary tailbacks stole the spotlight.
Wes Cates was the only starting running back this season who didn’t hit the 1,000-yard mark. Then he played the best game of his season during the Grey Cup gaining 125 yards combined on the ground and through the air.
Cates was almost an afterthought in the lead up to the game on Sunday, but he proved instrumental to the Roughriders hopes.
The game was billed as Calvillo vs. Durant, but it was more Cobourne vs. Cates.
Perfect imperfection #5 – The forgotten Canadian
The Canadian receiving corps in Regina is the envy of the league. Andy Fantuz, Jason Clermont, Rob Bagg and Chris Getzlaf helped carry the Roughriders to the Grey Cup game.
In a year where debate over Canadian-content rules emerged it was this unit that helped prove Canadian kids can shine and they can do it in one of the most important positions on the field. And the group continued their fine play on Sunday combining for 13 catches and 155 yards.
But it was a Montreal receiver who was named the game’s most outstanding Canadian. Ben Cahoon caught five passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. He now holds the record for Grey Cup receiving yards.
With a group of an up and coming Canadian receivers emerging it was Cahoon with one more superb effort coming out on top.
Perfect imperfection #6 – The best team wins ugly
The Alouettes end the season with a 17-3 record and will go down in history as one of the best team’s the CFL has ever seen. The whole campaign was quite nearly a devastating disappointment.
If Montreal had lost to Saskatchewan then all anyone would remember was that the Alouettes choked again on the grand stage. Who knows what Jim Popp would have done in the off-season.
But Montreal did win to cap a season where they dominated the league in nearly every statistical category.
A lot of the time the best team will not win a championship for a variety of reasons. Not in the CFL this year. The best team won and they did it in a way that showed their character more than their talent.
Final perfect imperfection – The CFL
This is a league that has had its share of troubles and still does. Grey Cup week included chatter about the Toronto Argonauts ownership situation and Canadian-content quotas.
By Sunday’s final play, however, the only thing that mattered happened on the field. The game grabbed our attention and held it. Players stepped up and made plays that we will recall for years.
It was an imperfect game. Just ask Riders Nation. But it showed us all why we love the CFL. For all its imperfection the CFL is a beautiful game where the unexpected can happen. Where comebacks from certain defeat can happen and where one game can give us a shared moment.
A perfect way to end the season.
