Nov
Stamps share cup with fans
Courtesy Calgary Herald:
The reception line awaiting the Grey Cup champions crossing a cordoned-off Macleod Trail was two and three deep, as the honoured guests exited stately old City Hall to begin the short walk to Olympic Plaza.
Signs were held aloft in support (All-Star is an Opinion; Champion is Forever). The chant of “MVP! MVP!” bubbled up often in tribute to quarterback Henry Burris.
Highlights from Sunday’s Grey Cup game were broadcast stage-side. Salutations were forthcoming from 1948 Grey Cup winner Normie Kwong (“Yaaaaaaaay!”) and Mayor Dave Bronconnier (“Booooo!”).
A reported 12,000 of the diehard and the curious flocked to the Plaza on Tuesday to share a moment with this city’s sixth Canadian Football League championship team.
Nik Lewis borrowed a TV camera and began filming proceedings. Flags waved and the Olympic flame burned brightly atop Calgary Tower.
Coach and GM John Hufnagel, the suntanned Svengali behind this astounding transformation, received a huge cheer when he told the crowd: “This is a team they said couldn’t win the big game. Well, I can tell you now that this is a team that doesn’t lose the big game.”
Burris triggered an even more volcanic response with: “I always said you can mess with me, but don’t mess with my teammates or my town!”
In four years, from Laugh-In to Love-In. That’s quite the little turnaround.
“It’s so great,” said Burris, “to be able to give the people here something to feel good about. We’re in the midst of a recession right now, so it’s great that us winning the Grey Cup can, at least for a little while, overshadow the problems with the economy.
“We have the best fans, and this is the best place to play in the league. The guys here can’t wait for next year, and the Grey Cup being here in Calgary. Already, our mouths are watering.”
This celebration was nothing these Stampeders didn’t deserve, not half. Even Burris briefly dredging up the worn-out, over-used, by-now-numbing topic of ‘disrespect’ one final (?) time couldn’t in any way diminish the cameo-keepsake moments from Tuesday’s rally that’ll find safe haven in every red-and-white fan’s memory album.
None more arresting, perhaps, than the unforgettable sight of six-foot-five, 310-pound defensive tackle Eddie Freeman wearing the traditional Calgary white stetson.
“I’m 30 years old, and I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve ever had one of these hats on,” admitted Eddie the Entertainer. “But when you’re a little kid, five years old, we all used to pretend we were cowboys, right? Everybody knows John Wayne. The Duke. Who didn’t want to be the Duke?
