Burris happy to pass Grey Cup torch
OTTAWA — Henry Burris says he has “itching” for this year’s Grey Cup championship game on home turf — even if he won’t be among the players battling for championship rings.
Burris, who led the Ottawa Redblacks to victory last year against Calgary before announcing his retirement from the Canadian Football League in January, watched while standing among dozens of fans Tuesday as the famous trophy was returned to the nation’s capital to kick off the 105th Grey Cup festival.
“You will get an itch for a game like this, just as I got an itch for all the playoff games,” Burris said as the Cup was carried to Parliament Hill atop a Canadian Forces light armoured vehicle.
While the Redblacks were defeated in this year’s Eastern semifinal by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said the city is still captivated by football and is embracing fans from Toronto, Calgary — the cities whose teams will battle for the CFL championship — and from all over Canada.
Regardless of where the fans reside, football is a uniting force, even a “religion,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said as he officially welcomed the Cup to Parliament Hill and joined in starting the festivities.
Trudeau recalled how his uncle Tom Walker, who was also his godfather, spoke on many occasions about his time playing defence in the 1960s for the B.C. Lions.
For Burris, though, this Sunday’s contest will give him a chance to view the game he knows best not as a quarterback focused on winning, but as a spectator joining a city in celebration.
“For me to be able to experience the game from this standpoint, it’s something that I’ve always looked forward to and I’m really looking forward to that moment.”