Looks like we’ll have Montreal for the east, and Saskatchewan for the west.
If Montreal plays like they did in today’s game against BC, they’ll be tough to beat. But Saskatchewan worked hard to earn their victory today over Calgary, and I think they’ll be prepared. Difficult to say which way it will shake out though.
CFL fans: any thoughts?
Actual sign seen during the Western Final: “Stick your Grey Cup in your Regina”
For some reason the camera didn’t linger very long on that one. 
Since half the people in Calgary are from Saskatchewan to begin with, and half of Saskatchewan will be trying to figure out a way to get to the game, it’s going to be pretty much a home field game for the Riders.
Green is the colour.
Hoo-ee!
Now that was a game! To start with, perfect weather for a game in late November - blue sky, no wind, about 6 Celsius.
And then, the crowd. Just me, Mrs Piper, and 30,000 of our close personal friends, all dressed in green, all excited at the prospect of a home berth for the Western final - first time in 33 years. I was in high school the last time this happened.
But I had a sick feeling in my stomach by the end of the first quarter - the Riders were flat, flat, flat. The Stamps were in control, both on the offence and the defence, ending the quarter with a 0-3 lead and one sack on Darian Durant. It didn’t really feel like the Riders were all that interested in the game.
But then, the Riders started coming back… that’s what they do! Tied score by the end of the first half, and a 3rd quarter where they were completely in control. Hank & Co only scored 1 point in the third. Followed by a 4th quarter where Hank, um, well, is “just fell apart” tactful enough? Three picks and four sacks…that’s the key to winning against Hank - a sack, a pick, and you’ve got him rattled.
Riders are off to the Grey Cup, for the second time in three years! Woo-hoo!
1 2 3 4 F
Calgary 3 7 1 6 17
Saskatchewan 0 10 14 3 27
I think it’s fair to say that the Riders are the under-dogs going into the Grey Cup against the Als, but anything can happen. And, they do have home field advantage at Taylor Field West.
I didn’t get to see more than a few CFL games this season (Comcast Sports Net often shows them on tape-delay on Saturdays), but I’m happy to see Saskatchewan make it to the Cup game. As a Packer fan, I like to pull for the team from the little town. 
After a while, during yesterday’s game, I began to wonder what province I was in. I went off to the local sports bar, and it was full of Rider fans, all in green! Had no idea there were so many of them here in Alberta, especially since we’re just down the road from Calgary.
Wonder if the fact that Old Style Pilsner was born and raised in Lethbridge has anything to do with it? 
Nice analysis, Northern Piper; that’s exactly how I’d describe things too: Calgary “just fell apart.” It was a game in the first half, but wasn’t much of one in the second. That is, in the sense that Calgary couldn’t get any momentum going, and that Burris got rattled by the interceptions and the sacks. Saskatchewan continued to play; Calgary did … something else.
The Alouettes will devour the 'Riders, same as they did the Lions! They are just that good…La Coupe Grey is coming home to Montreal!
pft. Lions. Wally’s world hasn’t been working this year. When you’re playing your fifth starting QB of the year in the division final, you know you’ve got problems.
As opposed to DD in Saskatchewan - who started in all of the regular season games and the Western Final.
So, any news from Calgary dopers - is the downtown green? Apparently they’re all sold out of watermelons, but Safeway has arranged for a special shipment of watermelons from California, and Loblaw has sold between 6,000 to 10,000.
Mrs Piper and I looked into going, but just weren’t able to swing it.
Ditto! Us fans of community-owned, small market teams have to stick together. Plus, the Packers have the good sense to wear green!
If you’re interested in CFL games, TSN posts them on the web after the game is over.
Anthony Calvillo.
Enough said.
Enough said indeed. What is he, 1-5 in Grey Cups?
Not in Calgary, but we get their news. Local media seems to be trying to be as neutral as possible (let’s face it, the team that defeated their Stamps is coming to town), and has shown Montreal fans and Saskatchewan fans in Calgary about equally.
Heard about the lack of watermelons on the morning news. I’m picturing a bunch of Californians scratching their heads and wondering why Canadians would suddenly want watermelons in November…
Bah. That was then, this is now.
But if you need more:
Bédard, Martin
Bekasiak, J.P.
Boulay, Étienne
Bourke, Josh
Bowman, John
Bratton, Brian
Brodeur-Jourdain, Luc
Brown, Jerald
Cahoon, Ben
Campbell, Darrell
Carter, Kerry
Chiu, Bryan
Cobourne, Avon
Cox, Chip
Desriveaux, Danny
Diedrick, Dahrran
Dix, De’Audra
Duval, Damon
Emry, Shea
Estelle, Mark
Ferri, Diamond
Flory, Scott
Green, S.J.
Guzman, Ramon
Hawkins, Andrew
Huclack, Cory
Lambert, Paul
Leak, Chris
Mayne, Shawn
McElveen, Jermaine
McPherson, Adrian
Parker, Billy
Perrett, Jeff
Proulx, Matthieu
Richardson, Jamel
Sanchez, Davis
Spencer, Walter
Stewart, Anwar
Taylor, Larry
Watkins, Kerry
Whitaker, Brandon
Williams, Keron
Wilson, Eric
Woldu, Paul
Woodruff, Andrew
Better than Saskatchewan most offense and defense categories, and let’s not forget to mention those two drubbings you guys had at the hands of the Als during the regular season.
Oh, and fans that aren’t dumb enough to wear watermelons on their heads. I think that’s gotta count for something!
GO ALS GO!!
And let’s not forget the other national football championship this weekend: Cha Gheil! Cha Gheil! Cha Gheil! Go Queen’s!
OIL THIGH NA BANRIGHINN A BANRIGHINN GU BRATH!
OIL THIGH NA BANRIGHINN A BANRIGHINN GU BRATH!
OIL THIGH NA BANRIGHINN A BANRIGHINN GU BRATH!
Cha Gheill! Cha Gheill! Cha Gheill!
As to the pro game, I don’t think I can recall a championship contest in any sport in recent memeory where I so much wished both sides could win. I always have a soft spot for the super-small-market Roughriders and their impossibly dedicated and wonderful fans. On the other hand the Als are such a fantastic CFL success story and a wopnderful organization and really don’t deserve to be regarded as chokers.
I just hope it’ll be a fantastic game. Of course, it usually is.
The Alouettes deserve to be playing today, no doubt. But in terms of eastern teams, I kind of wish Hamilton had been able to be there. Not sure why the Ti-Cats impressed me this year, but they did. Oh well–it will definitely be a fantastic game; that’s for sure.
Agreed. It’s always good to see a cellar-dwelling team claw back to respectability. (Being a Riders fan, I should know. )
Gotta like that first half, though I kinda wanted them to go for it on that last play. Taking the points probably the smart move, though.
17-3 Riders on top at the half.
Crap. How the hell do you have too many players on the field on defense when the other team misses a last second field goal? :sad:
That was some end to the game. I had almost given up, the RR had played a great game, imo, and then to turn around and make that kind of mistake, unbelievable! Western fans must be heartbroken.
Here in Montreal, we’ll welcome the win. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, I guess.
A friend and I agreed that it was a “high school football” mistake. Lacking the direction and the experienced knowledge of where they should be–on the bench or in the play–players are unsure whether they should be on the field or not. So they’re not definitively heading anywhere, and–boom–there’s a “too many men on the field” flag.
Did Montreal get the Grey Cup this year? Yes, definitely. Did Montreal win the Grey Cup this year? Well, I don’t know. I’d like to see the game decided on something other than a technicality. Even an offside would have been a potentially play-affecting penalty. Montreal certainly played well, especially in the fourth quarter, but if Saskatchewan hadn’t made a boneheaded, “high school football” error that (from what I could see) really had no outcome on the play, then it might have been a different story.