Hamilton threw a wild Grey Cup party and the Montreal Alouettes ended up being guests of honour
Cara Nickerson | CBC News | Posted: November 19, 2023 11:21 PM | Last Updated: November 20, 2023
The 110th Grey Cup kicked off in Hamilton at 6 p.m.
It's been a wild Grey Cup week in Hamilton and visitors from across Canada will know one thing for sure — Hamilton knows how to throw a party.
Anne Lowry had the noisiest neighbour in the city, living steps away from Tim Hortons Field.
She loves it.
"You don't move to this neighbourhood without knowing this is going to happen," she said while holding her seven-month-old son as music and horns blared in the background.
Trish Jacobs, a season ticket holder, says she's excited to feel the atmosphere and hear the fans roar.
"It's a big party and a great community event," she said.
Jonathon Noel and over 20 family members came from Montreal to watch the game and one particular player — his cousin, Alouettes defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy.
"He's worked hard all his life and we're all behind him," Noel said.
For the Bombers, Sunday night was their fourth consecutive title game.
Green Day rocked the halftime show
Green Day rocked the Grey Cup on Sunday with a powerful four-song mini-set complete with fireworks and audience participation.
After the players left Tim Hortons Field with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers leading the Montreal Alouettes 17-7 at the half, the stage was readied under the scoreboard in the north endzone.
"Can you hear me? This is Canada," said a voice from a darkened stage, with an F-Bomb thrown in for good measure.
Then the stage was lit and the band — singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool plus two guitarists — opened with "The American Dream Is Killing Me," the first single from their upcoming January album "Saviors."
Then it was a diet of past hits with "Basket Case" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," during which Armstrong took a phone from a fan, holding it high to film as he sang.
"Get your lights up now. Are you ready," Armstrong then yelled as fans around the stadium lit up their phones.
After fireworks shot high in the dark, the band finished with "Holiday."
Fajardo named most valuable player
Cody Fajardo was named the Grey Cup's most valuable player after leading the Montreal Alouettes to a 28-24 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Alouettes quarterback threw 290 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 21-for-26 completions to help Montreal win its first CFL title since 2010. It was Fajardo's first title as a starter.
The championship win was Montreal's eighth consecutive victory and included a 38-17 upset of the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division final on Nov. 11. Uguak had a tackle in that game and said that he was motivated by everyone who doubted the Alouettes.
"It feels great because a lot of people wrote us off from the beginning of the season," said Uguak, who joined the team midway through the season after he was drafted. "We stayed the course, we took the coaching every single week, we got better and now we're champions."
Grey Cup took over Hamilton last week
Grey Cup festivities took over Hamilton in the days leading up to the game, with thousands of football fans coming in from across Canada to watch.
Hamilton's Grey Cup celebrations included a holiday for high school and elementary students, a naval escort bringing the Grey Cup into town, a free breakfast for fans courtesy of the Calgary Grey Cup committee, as well as a beer garden, food trucks, inflatables, a Christmas market, giveaways, games and more.
Grey Cup events took over James Street North all week.
There was plenty of music alongside the football fun including the SiriusXM Kickoff Party with Hamilton rock band, The Dirty Nil and NOBRO, a new-age punk band from Montreal.
Other performances included Steve Strongman, HacheyTheMouthPEACE, The Hot Karls, and Matty Simpson Band.
On Thursday night, reggae legend Shaggy played the OLG stage in Niagara Falls and Carrie Underwood performed on Friday night at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton.
The game was a sellout with 28,808 people in attendance. It marked the second time the Grey Cup game was played at Tim Hortons Field in three years. The contest was also held here in 2021, the year after the CFL resumed play after cancelling the 2020 season due to the global pandemic.
But in 2021, social-distancing protocols were in place. The CFL awarded Hamilton the 2023 contest to give its organizing committee a better opportunity to stage a full Grey Cup festival.