GREY CUP’S THIRD TEAM
TSN will have over 200 players: Jones
The first team arrived for the 106th Grey Cup game in Edmonton Monday.
Paul Graham’s TSN team is four times the combined size of Dave Dickenson’s Calgary Stampeders and Rick Campbell’s Ottawa Redblacks.
“We have just over 200 people accredited for the game, roughly 130 technical personnel and 70 on the production side,” said Graham as his team that will also deliver the game to RDS and ESPN audiences and be available in 150 countries began checking in to Grey Cup City on Monday.
“This is the biggest single-day annual sporting event held in Canada, so we are all hands on deck.
“Our team has been working hard since pre-season in June. Most of our people are travelling (Monday) after the two huge games we produced Sunday in Ottawa and Calgary. When you include preseason, regular season and the playoffs, the Grey Cup will be our 90th telecast game of the season.”
Putting a major sports event together is a lot more involved than a football coaching staff game plan.
Graham, the Edmonton product who will be inducted to the Football Reporters of Canada wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on the morning he leads the TSN team to Commonwealth Stadium to televise the game, will be just as busy this week as either head coach.
“My week is a full out blitz. We start setting up Tuesday and my main responsibility is making sure all areas of execution are moving along as planned,” he said of all the usual aspects of producing a game plus working with Patrick Roberge Productions on opening ceremonies, halftime and closing as well as panel setup and any other issues that come up on game day.
“Planning for the Edmonton Grey Cup has been going on for the last 12 months. We’ve had several on-site surveys, meetings with the CFL, the Grey Cup committee and our technical supplier, Dome Productions.”
It’s not like they’re parachuting into unfamiliar territory, however.
“We do have an advantage in familiarity with all the CFL stadiums and this is our 11th consecutive year producing the Grey Cup, so we are confident in our blueprint.”
Graham’s outfit has also brought more equipment than the two teams. They’ll use 40 cameras including, for the first time, a RefCam. Three additional cameras will be up on the west lighting grid.
“They ’ll be way up there to show a great overview of the field and goal lines. Those cameras will also give us a new view of the Edmonton skyline. I have been wanting to put cameras up there for a long time.”
TSN will also have a wireless field camera and super slow motion cameras.
“The isolation cameras are a real strength of our coverage,” said Graham. “We don’t want to miss anything and those cameras ensure we have all angles covered.”
A cable cam over the field is also involved.
Graham will have to make several lineup changes with his regular season teams.
Former CBC Edmonton announcer Chris Cuthbert has been assigned Grey Cup play-by-play duties for the 20th time and will work with his regular colour commentator, Glen Suitor.
Rod Smith will host the main panel with Matt Dunigan, Milt Stegall and Henry Burris, while James Duthie will be with Jock Climie and Davis Sanchez offering analysis in a different format.
Sara Orlesky and Mathew Scianitti will report from the sidelines while Dave Naylor and Farhan Lalji have been assigned roles as the insiders.
Kate Beirness, Darren Dutchyshen and Derek Taylor are part of the Saturday and Sunday pre-game package. Duthie and Natasha Stanszewski will host Thursday’s CFL Awards show, while Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole will host Friday ’s Grey Cup Gala.
“We have an exceptional group of commentators in Edmonton but the real stars are the members of the crew in the truck and in the stadium,” said Graham.
“Our senior producer, Jon Hynes, will be producing his 11th Grey Cup alongside award-winning director Andy Bouyoukos and Alise Wilson. Our technical producers, Chris Bell and Shawn Taylor, have the best group in Canada on the job and working in conditions that we all know will not be ideal.”
The forecast calls for -4 C temperatures for the game.