GREY CUP 2018
Will Redblacks win another one?
A visitor to the Grey Cup street festival gets a bird’s eye view of the river valley from the zip line Thursday. The big game takes place Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium.
Teams that win multiple Grey Cups gain a special status.
In Ottawa, there was the Rough Riders, back-to-back champions in 1968 and 1969. Guys like Russ Jackson, Ron Stewart and Whit Tucker became local legends.
Sunday in Grey Cup 106 in Edmonton, players like Brad Sinopoli, Greg Ellingson and SirVincent Rogers — prime-time players who joined the expansion Redblacks the year after their 2-16 first season to make it to three of the last four Grey Cup games — could have the same thing happen to them.
Yet when I interviewed them Thursday, they seemed oblivious to what could happen to them if they win another one Sunday.
And then there’s quarterback Trevor Harris. He just had the game of his life. Now he’s about to play in the game of his life.
After you talk to him for a few minutes, you’d swear he’s actually taking his record-setting six touchdown, 29-for-32, 367-yard performance to beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in stride.
What you think you see is what you get, said head coach Rick Campbell.
“Everything you said is true,” he said of growing up watching players become local legends for life with so many members of his dad Hugh’s five-in-a-row dynasty team of Edmonton Eskimos.
“But, like those guys, what I like about Sinopoli and Ellingson and that core group of guys is that they don’t think of it in the moment.”
And trying to explain the even keel of his quarterback in this situation, even Campbell admits, is a study.
“I’m happy for him. I think he took way too much grief. People were saying that he couldn’t win a big game. I get criticism. I didn’t get that. I thought it was unwarranted because the guy had only played one playoff.
“The thing that bodes well for Trevor is that he is so consistent in his work ethic. Every game matters to him. Regardless of the circumstance, he’s a competitor and he’s going to get ready to go. He’s not going to flip a switch and say he’s going to try harder because it’s the Grey Cup.”
Sinopoli says the Redblacks are all on the same page.
“We’re not trying to win two in three years, we’re just trying to win this game.”
Ellingson said if they thought about it, it’s there. But they’re not thinking about it.
“If you think about it, I guess, you could kind of go down in Grey Cup history. Getting to three of the five years of the team’s existence is pretty special in itself.
“With me personally, what I’m thinking about is being in my fifth Grey Cup. I lost two playing with Hamilton. I definitely want to do it again.”
As for their quarterback, they have interesting thoughts.
“I’m happy and proud for him,” said Sinopoli.
“I heard a lot of negative stuff said about Trevor and as a teammate, I took it personally. So part of me is kind of happy that he’s kind of stepped up to that pressure. But the other part of me isn’t surprised. When you work that close with someone, you understand the work they put in and what they are capable of.”
Offensive lineman Rogers was with Harris when they were Argos. “As someone who watched him progress when he was a backup to Ricky Ray, I knew when he got the opportunity that he would make the most of it.
“Man, that was one of those alltime performances. I think it was one of the greatest performances that the game has seen. I don’t know if people really grasped it that way, but I think we’ll look back at that game. I mean, a 90 per cent completion rate, six touchdown passes and nearly 400 yards passing in a playoff game to get to the Grey Cup.”
His teammates believe Harris has a lot of great games in his future. “When you do what he did in that playoff game, it just doesn’t go away,” said Ellingson. “He has an opportunity to do it now on the biggest stage and I know he’s excited about it.”
It’s been a long and winding road for Harris.
For several minutes, when Henry Burris tweaked something in warm-up, it looked like Harris was starting the 2016 Grey Cup. Then Burris appeared just prior to kickoff, good to go.
“Roller-coaster,” said Harris of his emotions that day.
“At the same time it was kind of fitting for how that year went with Henry getting hurt, myself playing. Then I got hurt. Henry went back in. He got benched. I got benched. He played. Then we got to the Grey Cup and, OK, I’m playing now. Then I’m not.
“It’s been a strange journey. I’ve been a backup on two Grey Cup teams. In 2016, it was an especially strange year. I was the Eastern Division all-star quarterback. I didn’t play in the Grey Cup because Henry and I went back and forth. But this year has been a very big year for my growth in terms of being the franchise guy and the leader of the team.”