Eskimos to raise Grey Cup banner at season opener
Club will bid farewell to their 2015 championship run before the game
It will be a banner day when the Edmonton Eskimos open their 2016 season schedule against the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday.
But before this year officially gets underway, the club will spend a moment bidding farewell to their 2015 championship run, as they unveil the Grey Cup banner at Commonwealth Stadium prior to opening kickoff (5 p.m., TSN, 630 CHED).
“It will be awesome, I’m never going to downplay something like that,” said Eskimos linebacker J.C. Sherritt. “That’s a huge deal to be a part of. That was my main goal as soon as I walked through these doors. I know the history of this organization, I know the guys who got to raise that Cup, so to be a part of that is huge.
“But at the same time, I don’t want one, I want to be part of that next group. That elite group that’s won multiple.”
It’s a sentiment echoed throughout the locker-room.
“It’s history definitely made,” wide receiver Derel Walker said of Saturday’s banner unveiling. “And we plan on making more history.”
With opening-day rosters finalized and preparations begun in earnest with Day 1 of regular-season practice Saturday, they will take their first step toward the goal of repeating as champions. But not before their first banner goes up. Or 14th, depending where in club history you’re coming in.
While the Eskimos’ coaches weren’t part of last year’s Cup run, new head coach Jason Maas had the honour of contributing to the two previous banners in the building as a quarterback.
“It’s special every year you raise one, it’s for your organization,” said Maas, who won in 2003 and ’05. “It’s the last kind of time you look back, at all. Our whole organization’s not looking back, I can assure you that, but it’s one nice send-off before the game starts to get a quick, good memory and then move on.
“But it’s always special. To win a championship’s hard to do, and any time you do it and you celebrate it the next year, it’s always special.”
Of course, with everything about to get underway on the gridiron, the unveiling ceremony is more for those in the stands at this point.
“It’s great for the city,” said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly, No. 1 on TSN’s list of the top 50 CFL players for 2016. “It’s great that we were able to bring the Cup back for them and that’s what we were extremely excited about. They’ve shown a ton of appreciation and support and I’m sure Saturday will be no different when they raise that banner.”