Canadian Football Really Shows Me Something

Big thanks to He Who Hits, and Hits Bombs for handing me today's talking points on a platter. He posted the following to Friday's article last night:

As much as your humble, plump little tush didn't want to watch your alma mater in the Vanier Cup, it turned out to be quite the game. Any change of heart?

And for the culminating CFL game, do we congratulate the win? I mean, winning is winning. At the end of the day, winning is what it's about, but there's also something to be said about losing a game.

Should Rider Nation demand answers? Whose fault was it they had 12 men on the field? Or should we take the high road and high five the Al's for a great comeback win, and leave it at that?

Unfortunately, my humble, little tush was busy on Saturday trying to further my entertainment career and become gainfully employed, something a miscreant like HWHaHB knows nothing about. Therefore, I did not witness the terrific comeback by Queen's University.

But the Grey Cup was basically the same game as the Montreal Alouettes did their best Queen's impression by snatching victory from the jaw of defeat with a furious second half comeback of their own (down 14 at halftime and, more amazingly, down 16 in the fourth quarter).

Before addressing the weird finish to last night's contest, I want to discuss the little things that make Canadian football so quirky.

In the interest of full disclosure, last night was probably the first time in my life I ever watched a Grey Cup game in its entirety, so I really noticed the nuances that make the CFL so uniquely Canadian.

First, how big is that field? It looks like an airport runway. On TV, it appears to be as long as it wide (that's what she said). I'm pretty sure I could throw for at least 200 yards given the opportunity.

I like three down football. It makes the game move so much faster and provides more opportunities for offensive explosions. Also, it ensures that no fourth quarter lead is safe (with last night providing a perfect example).

How do the final three minutes of the game work? Sometimes the clock would stop on a running play in bounds, but start up again before the ball was snapped? The clock appeared to stop after every down no matter what happened. Can someone please shed some light on this for me?

How great was Blue Rodeo in the halftime show? They are a terrific band and played a tremendous set last night. Give me a band like Blue Rodeo any day of the week and twice on Sundays over the formulaic pop drivel pumped out by our friends to the South.

The performance had an intimate club feel, right down to the small crowd congregating around the stage. There was a moment during 'Lost Together' that was quintessentially Canadian: a close-up of a husband and wife combo slow dancing to the song clad in full Riders regalia.

Back to the game, I say we congratulate Montreal for the win. Just so my other readers don't think you're an idiot HWHaHB, if the Riders indeed only had 12 men on the field, then we would be talking about a Saskatchewan victory right now. The Riders had THIRTEEN men on the field in the dying seconds.

I don't know who is to blame for such an egregious mistake, nor do I want to point fingers. But I love how the Riders handled that very question in the postgame interviews. Amidst a crushing defeat, it would have been easy to start throwing guys under the bus but the Riders handled the situation with great class.

They basically intimated that they made the Grey Cup as a team and they will lose as a team. Would that ever happen in the 'me-first' NFL? Not likely. I have officially adopted the Saskatchewan Roughriders as the official football team of Talkin' with Tewks. Pass the watermelon.

And, as a nation, let's pat ourselves on the back for a great weekend of football.