The Cup, the snow, the kooks: It’s Canadian, and it’s personal
The Grey Cup is Canada’s annual family reunion, an outdoor shindig when the nation’s kooky relatives arrive early, party hard and clean out the fridge.
Fairly quickly Sunday afternoon, I met a hydro lineman from B.C. wearing an orange mohawk, a Toronto Argonaut fan who brought his dog, a band of Saskatchewan men with Shrek DNA, several men wearing fulllength furs or capes, a couple of guys with chainsaws, and the world’s arm-wrestling champ.
There was a football game, apparently, but it hardly seemed to matter. In truth, Lansdowne Park was an absolute carnival Sunday afternoon, with tens of thousands of people filling every corner with mayhem, wearing clothing that gets you arrested in Kanata.
Even the Glebe threw off its clogs to get into the act.
On Third Avenue, here was Mario Kontolemos, 39, who by day is a physician, but on Grey Cup weekend is a master griller.
In his driveway, there was an elaborate rotisserie, at least a metre long, cooking marinated pork. “I just got my hands on one and decided to bust it out for Grey Cup.”
How’s this for a small CFL world? His brother-in-law is Montreal Alouette QB great Anthony Calvillo, the CFL’s all-time passing leader, who was somewhere in the crowd past the smoking grill and stack of plates.
He decided to have a party because the Cup is a personal tradition but also to get the neighbours together. “I think, really, it’s the fact that it brings Canadians together from all over Canada.” He estimated 50 guests had dropped by.
Jason Earle, 45, was draped in B.C. Lions orange, including a spiky Mohawk wig that looked welded to his head. Though the family lives almost four hours from Vancouver (in Princeton), they are season-ticket holders and all four travelled to Ottawa for the game.
“It’s been awesome. I can’t describe in any other way,” he said, explaining how they just hop on a bus from their accommodation right on Bank Street, and never need a car.
“Hats off to the R-Nation and the City of Ottawa. They nailed it. We’ve just been givin’ ’er.” Added his daughter Destiny: “Football is life.”
Among the most amusing things along the alley of entertainment outside the Aberdeen Pavilion was the Freedom Mobile booth and its arm-wrestling contest. Fans were invited to take on a rugged-looking man in an orange T-shirt.
The winner was to get free mobile service for life. There was only one catch. The man in orange was Devon Larratt, 42, the reigning world arm-wrestling champion. He took on allcomers, right or left arm, usually toying with them before bringing down the hammer. (Forget his biceps, the man has fingers like a bunch of bananas.)
Josh Dagg, 39, is a chainsaw carver from Aylmer and an artist at that. He was busy putting the finishing touches on a five-foot wooden version of the Cup, made in about nine hours from eastern white pine. He got done so early, he decided to start a second one.
Watching it unfold was Alain Boisvert, 56, a meteorologist wearing a full-length raccoon coat and mittens. He did look as though he’d just crawled out of bear’s den and pronounced himself “nice and toasty.”
He was checking two items off his bucket list Sunday: seeing his first Grey Cup live and watching Shania Twain, the halftime attraction.
“I’m having a great time. Canada is here. Canada is exactly what is happening here.”
Say this about the Cup: it’s one of those rare times a Canadian can dress like a freak and be rewarded for it.
Trevor Stoddard, 51, who lives in Saskatoon, was wearing his KISS-style face paint and a white-and-green wig, in addition to green everything, from head to toe. With three friends similarly dressed, it looked like a trolls’ picnic. He’s been to every Cup since 2005 and might spend $3,000 on this annual outing.
“Ottawa and the Redblacks put on a spectacular showing here. For those who didn’t come, you lost out.”
The quartet couldn’t go five steps without being mobbed for photographs and selfies.
John McNair, 60, wife Charlene and son Gordie, 15, travelled from Toronto, arriving at TD Place bedecked in Argo blue, while taking their pooch Pepper out for a little air.
“It’s the only thing we have left in Canada that celebrates us as Canadians from way back,” said McNair. “It’s not just about the game. It’s about getting together with the rest of the people from your country and celebrating that too.”
Absolutely. And a little while later, as if to add to the craziness, it began to snow, magically knitting the crowd, the game, the city, the country really, together one more time.