Jim Lang
CFL.ca
It would be hard to imagine a more perfect setting for a football game than the 98th Grey Cup at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. The weather was 100 percent better than the sub-arctic chill that had gripped Alberta the week before. The Snowbirds looked magnificent as they flew over the stadium in their usual perfect unison. The fans were ready, the teams were ready and Randy Bachman was ready.
Playing before a sea of Rider green, everything seemed to be going Saskatchewan’s way. But once the game got underway, the Alouettes methodically went about the business of winning their second straight Grey Cup. Roughriders fans can’t complain about a 13th man or a lack of fan support; the bottom line is that they got beat fair and square by a better team. The Alouettes were seething all week long about bad hotels and a lack of respect and they let out their frustrations on the turf at Commonwealth Stadium.
You can break down the Als’ 21-18 victory over the Riders many ways. But the bottom line is that Anthony Calvillo outplayed Darian Durant and he didn’t throw away the game.
When it came down to crunch time, Durant made a decision he will live to regret when he tried to throw the ball out of bounds, only to have it picked off by Billy Parker. When it came down to crunch time for Anthony Calvillo, he hit Jamel Richardson with a crucial 37-yard pass that set up the game winning touchdown.
Now that he has three Grey Cup rings with the Alouettes in the last nine seasons, Calvillo has to be considered as one of the great quarterbacks the CFL has ever seen. Not too shabby for a guy who started his career with the Las Vegas Posse way back in 1994.
Once again, Durant and the Riders have to re-group mentally after losing the Grey Cup. Unlike last year, there is no “13th man” storyline for the team and the fans to rally around. Instead the Riders and their fans are left with a hollow feeling that their best just wasn’t good enough to beat the Alouettes.
Star of the game – Als receiver Jamel Richardson. One of the top receivers in the CFL all year long, Richardson took his game to another level in the Grey Cup. Richardson had eight catches for 109 yards he set up the game winning touchdown with a highlight reel 37-yard reception. Richardson has now established a well earned reputation for being the best big game receiver in the CFL. In his last three Grey Cups, Richardson has 22 receptions for 345 yards and one touchdown.
The unsung hero – Billy Parker receives some votes for his game saving interception of Darian Durant as the Riders were driving for a potential game tying field goal at the end of the fourth quarter. For Parker, that was his first interception since September the 11th. Maybe the ultimate unsung hero has to be Anthony Calvillo. To play half of a football season after hearing the kind of frightening medical news that Calvillo received just raises the level of respect football fans all across Canada have for the man.
What we learned – Well, we definitely learned that Marc Trestman is one hell of a coach. Trestman has been in the CFL for three years. In that time Trestman has led the Alouettes to the Grey Cup three times and they have won the last two. We also learned just how special of an athlete Anthony Calvillo is. Outside of his family, nobody realized exactly what Calvillo was dealing with as he led the Als to their second straight Grey Cup title. After the game, the 38-year-old Calvillo announced that he is scheduled to have surgery to remove lesions on his thyroid. If this turns out to be Calvillo’s final game, he will have gone out like the champion that he is. For the Als organization and CFL fans all across Canada, we can only hope Calvillo bounces back and returns to play at least one more season. We also learned that it is possible to squeeze 63,317 fans into Commonwealth Stadium.
What is next – After their Grey Cup parade on Wednesday and a few more victory celebrations, the Alouettes and the rest of the teams in the CFL will begin the process of building towards next year’s game in Vancouver. Teams all across the league have some very tough personnel decisions to make in the off season, including the defending Grey Cup champion Alouettes. But that will have to wait a few days because there is a party going on in Montreal.
