Football fans showing true colours ahead of Grey Cup
Fans from every CFL city have descended on Ottawa for Sunday's final between the Stamps and the Argos
Sunday's Grey Cup final in Ottawa will see the Calgary Stampeders and Toronto Argonauts vie for Canadian football's holy grail, but you wouldn't know it from the fans wandering the city's streets.
Thousands of visitors from across the country have descended on Ottawa for the Grey Cup party, and very few seem to care whether their team's playing or not.
"This is what Grey Cup is all about," said Argos fan Craig Ono as he posed on Parliament Hill in front of the Canada 150 sign alongside Saskatchewan Roughriders fan Sally Brock from Saint John, N.B., Calgary fan Mike Hassel and B.C. Lions fan Bill Dick of Vancouver.
It's Ono's 18th Grey Cup final. Brock said her husband proposed to her at the Grey Cup in Toronto in 2012. "Grey Cups are kind of a marital obligation," she said.
Proving that there are stronger bonds than team allegiance, Brad (Argos) and Valerie (Stamps) Grainger are looking forward to Sunday's game, whoever wins. "We survived the 100th Grey Cup when Toronto won [against Calgary], so we'll survive this," said Brad.
Redblacks fans are also out in force, even after their team's disappointing finish to the season. David Young said he wished Ottawa had a dog in the fight, but he's become a big fan of the Grey Cup spirit anyway.
Diehard Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan Rene "Junior" Denbrok said he doesn't really care who's playing in the final match. He just likes the way the final brings fans from across the country together.
"That's what makes being in Ottawa for the 150th birthday a no-brainer."
Hamilton Tiger-Cats fans Evelyn and Ken Martin drove six hours from Port Elgin, Ont., just like they did to watch the 2004 final in the old Frank Clair Stadium. "It was horrible," said Evelyn. "It wasn't so bad," countered Ken, who nevertheless admitted he's looking forward to seeing the renovated TD Place.