Before we get to the massacre in Calgary, let’s focus on the fun part, shall we?

The Eastern Final had all the elements you want from a great game, starting with the elements. Nothing gives a football game an aesthetic boost quite like several inches of snow on the ground. I love it when you have no earthly idea where a team is on the field because who can tell what yard line anyone is on when the game looks like it’s taking place in the North Pole? I don’t know what it is but every football game immediately becomes 25 per cent more interesting when snow is a major factor.

Next up you had the rise of the unsung hero, I mean who doesn’t love the unknown underdog grabbing the hero mantle? And when that star in the making played his college ball in Manitoba, well, that just makes Kienan Lafrance’s 157 rushing yard day that much more special. No one and I mean no one expected that sort of day out of a player who hadn’t had a carry since Week 14 when he amassed a Ricky Ray-like six yards rushing and came into the game with 180 total yards on the ground. Lafrance was important early as he was the key cog on Ottawa’s first two touchdown drives, accounting for 85 yards, and was a force on Ottawa’s final drive that included leaping over Neil King on a 17-yard run and his won’t-be-denied 20-yard touchdown run to seal it.

THROUGH THE LENS
The best images from Sunday’s Division Finals

Finally, you had a really sweet moment when Nicole Burris found herself in the middle of her husband’s post-game interview. I credit TSN’s Matthew Scianitti for rolling with it and asking her how she was feeling after the REDBLACKS win. It was a sweet, humanizing little moment.

But more than the snow, the underdog story or the Burris family, what I appreciated the most about this game was Ottawa was clearly the better team. I haven’t been shy about the fact that I’m just not a fan of teams with losing records making the playoffs let alone getting home field advantage against a 10-win Edmonton squad. But on this day, the Redblacks were far and away the better team. They dictated the play at the line of scrimmage; Burris made brilliant throws on both his touchdown passes; and the defence, beyond that Adarius Bowman late 57-yard touchdown, held the Eskimos in check.

The most telling moment may have been the start of the third quarter. If Edmonton had any chance trailing 17-3, it would need to generate something and needed to do it quickly. Instead, Mike Reilly and his array of weapons scratched together just one first down on three drives and allowed a 76-yard punt return touchdown by Tristan Jackson. Ottawa, despite its regular season, deserves to be in the Grey Cup.

Here’s how good the Calgary Stampeders are: not only did they beat the second-best team in the league by 27 points but they permanently destroyed the cliché of too much time off being a negative come playoff time. They didn’t even need four quarters to wipe that media gasbag talking point from the Earth. It was eliminated the moment Jamar Wall picked off the most ill advised of ill advised passes Jonathon Jennings can make and raced 41 yards to the end zone, giving Calgary an insurmountable 32-0 lead.

Oh hell, let’s be honest, that cliché died on DaVaris Daniels’ 76-yard touchdown catch as the announcers were lauding Bo Levi Mitchell and his receivers for having “fresh legs” and a “jump in their step.” It wasn’t just about all the yards or touchdowns produced by Calgary’s offence; it was the ease in which the Stampeders scored. Rarely did Bo Levi Mitchell find himself in second and long in that first half. If you want to know who the Calgary Stampeders are, go back and watch their touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that pushed their lead to 39-7.

Jerome Messam celebrates with family following the Stamps’ Western Final win (The Canadian Press)

MORE ON THE DIVISION FINALS:
» Highlights: EDM @ OTT | BC @ CGY
» MMQB: Statements made in Ottawa and Calgary
» Analysis: Is Bo already one of the greats? | LaFrance seizes the spotlight
» Buy: Grey Cup Tickets in Toronto

The drive was about one thing: complete physical domination by the Stampeders’ offensive line as Jerome Messam and Roy Finch constantly ran up the gut, hammering the Lions’ defensive line. On one Finch run, Adam Bighill had a clean shot at Finch and just bounced off of the second-year pro as Calgary mercilessly marched down the field munching up time while ruthlessly collecting first downs. If Bighill had been rendered as an afterthought, what chance did the rest of the team have? Watching this one-sided affair I felt both a sense of disappointment that we as fans were not given a better game, but at the same time, how could you not be impressed with just how clinical Calgary is?

As for the Grey Cup, the storyline is a simple one: can the Ottawa REDBLACKS pull off the upset? Can Burris, who is going back to his third Grey Cup in the past four years, put a final exclamation point on his Hall of Fame career? A Grey Cup win for Ottawa would be the ultimate highlight for Burris and would represent one of the biggest upsets in CFL history.

In a year in which the Cubs won the World Series and a reality TV star will soon be President of the United States, anything is possible, especially in a one-game setting. I’m curious about what result the majority of you are hoping for. A Calgary win would represent the finishing touches on the greatest single season in CFL history. An Ottawa win would be a hell of a story — the ultimate David over Goliath.

Obviously my head says Calgary wins. My heart just wants a good game.