THE CANADIAN PRESS
Mark Stephen wrote earlier this week about the relative lack of recent playoff success for the Calgary Stampeders. For fans and observers of the Stamps, there’s no doubting that is the dominant storyline heading into Sunday’s Western Final against the Edmonton Eskimos. However, I think there’s one other very important factor to weigh: the motivation of Calgary’s northern neighbor.
There are two words that you’ll see used frequently for the rest of this column: motivation and belief. The combination of the two come Sunday at McMahon Stadium could be quite powerful for the visiting Eskimos.
Edmonton knows better than anyone what happened during the regular season. The Esks lost all three of their meetings with the Stampeders, which is going to serve as motivation for anyone going into a playoff game against the same team. The fact it’s their provincial rival only serves to heighten that drive.
The motivation side of things is actually pretty self-explanatory. It’s the belief element that really fascinates me.
| The Battle of Alberta: Always better live! |
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 The Stamps swept the three-game season series, but the Eskimos can settle the score with a playoff victory. On Sunday, Nov. 23, the Battle of Alberta adds another chapter in the Western Final at McMahon.
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Let’s take a look at the overall body of work when these two teams were on the same football field in 2014. The first meeting came on July 24, when the Stampeders took a thrilling 26-22 win at Commonwealth Stadium in a game that was full of surprises. Remember, that was the game when Eskimos Head Coach Chris Jones called the unsuccessful fake punt in the shadow of his own endzone that led to a Calgary touchdown.
It was a game that Edmonton truly had a chance to win, and it was the only game in which the Eskimos had Mike Reilly at quarterback. The two losses Edmonton suffered in the Labour Day home-and-home set came with Matt Nichols behind centre. Now Reilly is back, and that could very well be a rallying point.
If I’m Chris Jones, I’m selling two things right now. First, I’m selling how close my team was in July, and how one or two small things going the other way would have led to a win for my team. And second, I’m driving home the point that Reilly is back, John White is in, and that the Stampeders haven’t played this version of the Eskimos yet.
In reality, Calgary should be the favorite in Sunday’s Western Final, and I’m choosing the Stampeders to win the game. Through 18 games for both teams, the Stampeders were the better team by a decent margin, and they obviously have the head-to-head success to back that up. But I don’t think this is going to be the lopsided Calgary win some want to make it out to be.
Edmonton is ticked off to have lost all three times to Calgary, which goes without saying. However, I also get the feeling the Eskimos truly believe they are in the same league as the Stampeders. And that’s where things get interesting.
The Eskimos are a good football team. They’ve got an outstanding defensive unit, the league’s leading receiver, a dynamic runnigback, and an explosive quarterback. At their best, they’re not eons away from what the Stampeders are at their best. But, with both teams at optimum, you likely lean in Calgary’s direction more often than not.
But this is a one game showdown, and weird things happen. Sometimes, a motivated team that truly believes it’s not an underdog can tilt the scales just enough. We’ve seen it many times before, and it’s why I think the Western Final could be a true CFL classic.
