Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
With two more wins in 2016, this season’s edition of the Calgary Stampeders can put themselves in the same conversation as some of the greatest CFL teams of all-time.
The way Calgary dominated the regular season is something we haven’t seen in a long, long time. If the Stamps are able to cap their 2016 campaign with a Grey Cup title, they truly will cement their place in history. If they don’t, unfortunately, their outstanding year won’t be remembered the way it should.
Simply put, no one came close to Calgary’s dominance and level of play during 2016. The Stamps went without a loss from Week 2 all the way to their relatively meaningless season finale in Week 19. That’s right; Calgary literally went more than four months without a loss during the season. Their regular season run is truly one for the ages and one we won’t see in this league for a long time.
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To cement that, let’s run down the list of historic marks the Stamps have already ticked off.
Calgary now holds claim to the longest single season win streak at 14 games; thanks to a Week 3 tie, they also possess the longest single season unbeaten streak, too, at 16 games. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell even set an individual mark for the most consecutive wins by a starter, also at 14.
It’s not just what the Stampeders accomplished during the regular season that puts them in the all-time conversation, it’s also how much better they were than everyone else. Calgary finished three games clear of the BC Lions for the best record in the regular season and took two of three in the head-to-head matchup. The final meeting between the teams was an absolute romp for the Stamps, as they trounced the Lions 37-9 in Week 9. I can’t ever remember a margin between the top team and the rest being as massive as it was in 2016.
Here’s the problem, though: if Calgary gets beat in the Western Division Final or the Grey Cup, it’ll be all for not. Very few people remember the 1989 season for how good the Edmonton Eskimos were. Nope, instead we remember Dave Ridgway’s iconic game winning field goal to give the Riders a 43-40 win over Hamilton.
In reality, though, the Eskimos had a season for the ages in 1989. They set a still-standing CFL mark for wins in a season by going 16-2. No one touched them during the regular season and they finished four games clear of the Tiger-Cats, who had the next best record. History should probably remember how good Edmonton was that year, but without a Grey Cup, that’s just not the case.
Calgary should be considered the overwhelming Grey Cup favorite as we enter final four weekend. They were the clear-cut best team during the regular season and it’s hard for me to believe anyone can beat them if they’re at their best. This is football, though.
In a single elimination format, anything can happen and sometimes the best body of work doesn’t win when it matters most. It would be too bad if that were to happen for the Stamps, because it truly would spoil a date with history.
