Will weather be a factor again at Grey Cup?

The first question that comes to mind when one hears the Grey Cup will be played in Edmonton, is what will the weather be like?

My first Grey Cup was 1974 when it rained cats and dogs in Vancouver, as linebacker Wally Buono’s Alouettes downed Edmonton 20-7. Calgary in 1975 (Eskimos 9, Montreal 8) and Winnipeg 1991, (Toronto 36, Calgary 21) tied for the coldest. It snowed heavily in Hamilton in 1996 when the Argos beat Edmonton 43-37. It was so windy in Regina in 1995, the league considered evacuating south end-zone fans to the Agridome. Baltimore defeated Calgary 37-20, the first time the Grey Cup went south of the border. The 1976 game was bitterly cold with the rain and wind blowing in from Lake Ontario. The day ended in despair when Tony Gabriel caught a last minute touchdown pass as Ottawa defeated Saskatchewan 23-20.

Funny thing, though, when I look back at those games, I don’t think the weather had much if any affect on the outcome. In ’74, Lark Johnny Rodgers ran wild on a sodden turf. In 1975, it came down to a botched field goal attempt. In 1976, poor coaching decisions were to blame for the loss; special teams were the difference in 1991 and ’95. The following year in terrible weather, Toronto and Edmonton scored 50 points in the first half, including an Eskimo 64-yard touchdown connection from Danny McManus to Downtown Eddie Brown. Said the quarterback: “I just threw it up high and as far as I could. I really didn’t see how he caught the ball until we watched the game film, I saw it kicked off his heel.”

After Toronto’s win in Winnipeg, Argo offensive lineman Dan Ferrone observed, “When you’re winning, it’s not as cold.”

The weather wasn’t a factor in the four games played in Edmonton. The City of Champions first hosted the national championship in 1984 with Winnipeg defeating the Ti-Cats 47-17. The game time temperature with the windchill was -20 C. After a slow start, Bomber quarterback Tom Clements lost a contact lens and was replaced by John Hufnagel who managed to put a few first downs together. Clements got another lens and went back in, continuing the momentum. After watching a somewhat boring game from the comfort of the Commonwealth Stadium press box, I somehow got back to the hotel before sons David and Rob and city council colleague, the late Lyle Flynn. When they arrived they were frozen stiff. They didn’t thaw until about Calgary on our drive back home.

Next up was another cold one, -7 C in 1997 when the 8-10, third-place, Ragtag Roughriders shocked the CFL by laying football Alberta waste, winning the West semifinal 33-30 over Calgary and the West final 31-30 over Edmonton. They were led by a quarterback named Reggie Slack who had no notable achievements before or after that incredible year. But they ran into one of the greatest CFL champions of all time, the Argos, coached by Don Matthews and led by Doug Flutie who won 47-23. Explaining the loss later, Saskatchewan assistant Cal Murphy summed it up succinctly, “Too much Flutie.”

The weather was 0 C with 15 kilometre per hour winds in 2002 when Matthews returned to Edmonton with the Alouettes to face the home town team that had fired him in training camp the year before. From the stage at the league awards Eskimo president and CEO Hugh Campbell said, “All is forgiven.” They say revenge is better taken cold. The conditions were ideal for that and the Don won his last Grey Cup, 25-16.

The last time the national classic was in our provincial capital was 2010, Saskatchewan versus Montreal. It was -5 C, 9 km/h winds. Again a coaching error affected the result. Ken Miller wouldn’t allow quarterback Darian Durant to run to keep drives alive. Alouette boss Marc Tresman took the leash off Anthony Calvillo, who ran for key first downs, winning 21-18.

The forecast for Sunday is 5 C.

Attendance at Commonwealth Stadium was over 60,000 for their four Grey Cups. Capacity this season is 55,819 of which more than 52,000 tickets were sold before the season started. No matter what the weather, the 104th Grey Cup will be sold out.

Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 46 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.