Despite a shivery, rainy night on Nov. 18, Stampeder fans and players were warm and cheerful after the Calgary Stampeders’ defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bomber, 22-14 at McMahon Stadium, which will take them to the 106th Grey Cup final.
Calgarian Malcolm Walker and his wife Denise have been attending Stampeders games since 1960.
“Denise was actually the babysitter for one of the quarterbacks at that time,” says Malcolm Walker.
Malcolm ranks this win among the best he’s ever seen.
“Oh it’s so exciting, so exciting. What a wonderful game.”
The Stamps’ Alex Singleton was a standout linebacker during the game, able to pick up eight tackles and make an amazing catch on an onside kick to secure the victory.
Calgary wide receiver Eric Rogers was another shining star, scoring all three of the Stampeders’ touchdowns, making six catches and averaging 10.2 yards a catch.
James Yu, an avid football fan who played throughout high school, knows the challenge of sub-zero conditions.
“It’s super cold out and the ball is probably as hard as a rock,” says Yu.
While Stampeders fans were waving their cowbells and chanting with their arms in the air, Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans reacted to the loss with everything from tears to jeers.
Blue Bombers fan Richard Bezemer, who lives in Calgary, says this was not the outcome he was hoping for.
“It’s kind of disappointing,” says Bezemer after the game. “They had a pretty good year and to end like this, with no offence, wasn’t very nice, but living in Calgary I’m not too disappointed.”
Bombers’ star running back, Andrew Harris, led the league in rushing yards this regular season, but the Stamps’ defence, led by Alex Singleton, was able to shut him down, only allowing 71 rushing yards this game, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Nabeel Samnani is not someone who pays much attention to the CFL, but he went to today’s game to show support for the city he lives in.
“I don’t generally watch football, but because it’s such a big moment for the city and for the community here, I’m real happy about it so I just came out to support my city,” says Samnani.
The Stampeders will now prepare to battle the Ottawa Redblacks on Nov. 25, and hope to finally redeem themselves as Grey Cup champions for the first time since 2014.
Editors: Colin Macgillivray & Nathan Kunz | cmacgillivray@cjournal.ca & nkunz@cjournal.ca