Stamps’ horse will trot into Chateau Lacombe
Calgary Grey Cup boosters ride north up QEII for some ‘friendly cajoling’
It may seem like they’re going into enemy territory, but when Calgary ’s Grey Cup committee arrives in Edmonton this week ahead of Sunday’s championship clash, it will feel more like a family reunion.
For the third year in a row, the Calgary Stampeders will vie for the 106-year-old trophy, facing the Ottawa Redblacks in a rematch of the 2016 classic that saw the Stamps fall short in overtime. That painful loss was followed by another gutwrenching defeat at the hands of the Argos last November.
Sunday’s game will mark the first time the Stamps have played at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium for the Grey Cup championship, but for Sandy Dubyk with Calgary’s Grey Cup committee, it will feel more like home field than the last two finals held in Toronto and Ottawa.
“The Grey Cup committee is excited to be back out west. It’s in Alberta and for us it will be more like a family gathering,” said Dubyk.
“I know there’s a rivalry but when it comes down to it, it’s more like friendly cajoling.”
Calgary’s football boosters have become experts at hitting the road to cheer on their team, with the Horsemen competing in six of the last 11 Grey Cups. Next year’s championship will be held in Calgary.
“It’s really a wonderful community and it’s like family regardless of what team they’re supporting,” said Dubyk, whose 50-member team will rub shoulders with its Spirit of Edmonton counterparts as well as contingents from each CFL city, and even some of the former American communities that previously hosted expansion teams.
“They ’re our neighbours — it’s all about good clean fun and having a good time.”
The Calgary crew will host two Stampede breakfasts on Friday and Saturday at Telus Park, part of the Jasper Avenue Grey Cup festival, and their contingent will include the Calgary Stampede’s queen and princesses as well as its First Nations princess, house band High Steppin’ Daddy, the Calgary Stampeders’ Outriders and mascot Charlie Horse.
In a tradition that according to legend dates back to the Stamps’ first Grey Cup appearance in 1948, Tuffy the horse will trot into Edmonton’s Chateau Lacombe Hotel on Thursday afternoon.