By: Izzy Cheung, Sports Editor and Kaja Antic, Sports Writer
Although the BC Lions encountered an early exit in the CFL playoffs this year, Vancouver still got to enjoy the energy of playoff football. From November 10 to 17, Vancouver hosted the Grey Cup Festival, highlighted by the CFL’s championship game on the 17. This year’s matchup pitted east-division champion Toronto Argonauts (Argos) against west-division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The last time Vancouver hosted the Grey Cup was in 2014, with the Calgary Stampeders fighting off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a close 20–16 game. Vancouver was the first to host the Grey Cup in western Canada and has hosted 17 Grey Cups in total. The Lions won their first Grey Cup in 1964, beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 34–24. The last time BC took part in the Grey Cup at their home stadium was in 2011, when they beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34–23 to win their sixth and most recent CFL championship.
The Grey Cup was commissioned in 1909 by then-Governor General of Canada, Lord Earl Grey. The trophy was meant to be for the senior amateur hockey championship, though the Allan Cup had taken that place, so Grey decided to instead donate the Cup to the Canadian amateur rugby football championship. The Toronto Varsity Blues from the University of Toronto won the first Grey Cup in 1909. The first western team to win was the Winnipeg ‘Pegs — an early rendition of the modern day Blue Bombers — when they defeated the Hamilton Tigers 18–12 in 1935.
Here’s our breakdown of Grey Cup week in Vancouver.
A rainy media day
“It still feels a little like home,” Argos defensive coordinator Will Fields told The Peak of being back in Vancouver. Fields started as a scout with the BC Lions in 2013, before taking a position within SFU’s football department in 2014. He returned to the Lions in 2015, acting as a defensive back coach. With drops of rain thumping against the building on media day, the defensive coordinator joked that “the rain made it feel more familiar.
“I had a great time at SFU. It’s a beautiful school,” Fields said. “I even thought about having my son attend.
“We actually won a few games when I was there,” he chuckled, poking fun at the high-intensity competition that the team faced as part of the NCAA. “But I did enjoy my time and it was a good experience.” He added that he “wouldn’t take it back for anything.”
Also making his return to Vancouver was Winnipeg Blue Bombers wide receiver Lucky Whitehead, who played with the BC Lions from 2021 to the end of the 2023 season. He was named the team’s most outstanding player in 2021, and earned himself spots on the West Division and CFL All-Star teams. With three years’ worth of memories, Whitehead had a lot to reflect on from his time in BC.
“We used to always prep and plan touchdown celebrations, and just ways to have fun with football,” he reminisced. Whitehead also recalled his trademark game-day entrances, noting that his favourite was when he “came in on the horse.”
Whitehead wasn’t shy to express how nice it was to be back in Vancouver, as well as how nice it was to see his teammates’ reactions to the city he once called home.
“It’s funny just to hear my teammates rave about it,” he added. “I’ve seen it before. So I’m glad, I want y’all to enjoy it.
“It’s a special week and a special moment, especially for the young guys at this time, and for me, my career being 32,” Whitehead said, thinking about the significance of competing for the Grey Cup. Thinking back to his time in BC, formerly as a Lion and now as a Blue Bomber with his eyes set on a championship, he made one more statement of thanks to BC fans.
“For the constant cheers and the love that I received — and just the memories,” he said. “It was a lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of injuries, but they always accepted me for me, and with complete open arms. So I just want to say thank you and see y’all on Sunday.”
BC’s award winners
The CFL Awards took place on November 14 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, with BC Lions owner Amar Doman receiving the Commissioner’s Award and Carolyn Cody being awarded the Jane Mawby Tribute Award. The Commissioner’s Award is given to an individual who has had a profound impact on the league, as named by CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie. The Jane Mawby Tribute Award recognizes the efforts of the CFL’s unsung employees.
Doman purchased the Lions in 2021, and has since elevated the team’s presence within the city. In Doman’s time as owner, the Lions have welcomed artists such as OneRepublic, LL Cool J, and 50 Cent for their annual Concert Kickoff games to start their home campaign. This year, the Jonas Brothers headlined the Grey Cup halftime show at BC Place, adding to the hype surrounding the championship game.
“The CFL is about community, it’s about sport, it’s about people, and it’s about athletics,” Doman said, his newly-earned trophy beside him. “We really believe that we’re stewards of this franchise for the next couple of decades.”
Cody, the vice president of Marketing and Business Operations for the Lions, won the second award for the Lions. Her tenure with the Lions dates back to 2013. Since then, she’s helped spearhead the team’s growth in corporate and social fields.
“This weekend is such a great example of how we’re trying to do things differently,” she noted in a press conference post award-victory. “We’re making strides with integrating Punjabi radio broadcasts to every single one of our games. We’re bringing new Canadians to all of our games.”
A quick game recap
The matchup between Toronto and Winnipeg swung heavily in the latter’s favour. In their semifinal matchup against the top-of-the-league Alouettes, the Argos lost starting quarterback Chad Kelly to a leg injury. As a result, backup quarterback Nick Arbuckle slotted into the position. On the other side of the field, Blue Bombers fans got to see veteran quarterback and three time Grey Cup-winning Zach Collaros.
Toronto revved up the offence with a field goal to put the Argos up 3–0 a little short of eight minutes into the first quarter. The Blue Bombers fired back with a touchdown late in the first, giving them a 7–3 lead. A Winnipeg field goal brought their lead up to 10, showing promise for an eventual Grey Cup victory. Two more field goals by Toronto brought the point margins closer and closer.
Scoring was somewhat even throughout the bulk of the game, as the Argos trailed 10–9 going into halftime. After a touchdown and a couple field goals, it was Winnipeg’s turn to chase a lead, as they were down 17–16 by the final 10 minutes of the game. After that, Toronto’s offence exploded, racking up a grand total of 24 points in five minutes of game time. The Blue Bombers’ inability to make up for the influx of offence came due to an injury to Collaros, which he sustained towards the end of the third quarter. Winnipeg scored one more touchdown with less than a minute left before the game concluded in a 41–24 victory for the Argos.
Speaking on SFU football
We can’t wrap this up without addressing the fact that we’re writing about football to students of a school that currently doesn’t have a football program. The cancellation of the program was wildly unpopular, not just for students, but for alumni, staff, and the community as a whole.
“I was pretty upset about it as well, even though I only spent the year there,” Argos coach Fields expressed. “I felt so bad for the players.” Despite the cancellation happening over a year ago, he hopes that the players can “get that piece of themselves that they need.
“I always say this — if you love football enough, you can go seek it out. There are a million other places to play football, and you should want to be where you’re wanted.”
Lions owner Amar Doman, who has been “very vocal” about his support for the program, addressed the issue after winning the Commissioner’s Award.
“We’re not going to go away on that file whatsoever,” Doman pressed. “It’s another storied franchise [ . . . ] that we want to help.” He also noted that, while there hasn’t been much talk of a solution recently, Doman is still trying his best to get the program back.
“I just know that I’m going to roll it over as far as I can to make that happen, whether it’s financially, or whatever it is, to get football back out at SFU where it belongs.”
