ALL BUSINESS
Veteran Stampeders looking to help ‘young guys’ shut out Grey Cup distractions
CALGARY — They arrived Tuesday in Edmonton mostly in business attire.
Quite fitting. Especially for a team looking to avenge two straight losses in the Grey Cup.
It is, to a man, a business trip for the Calgary Stampeders.
“It’s not all fun and games,” said Stampeders offensive lineman Derek Dennis.
“It’s a business trip. I’m focused on locking in and letting the younger guys who haven’t been here before know what it’s like.”
What the week is like is nothing like anything else in sports.
Grey Cup Week is party after party, celebration after celebration, well before the championship game is even played.
Each of the CFL teams host some sort of party — usually several — throughout the week-long event. Even the Atlantic entry has something in the works for Grey Cup Week.
Fans line the streets of the host city throughout the day and party during the nights leading up to the championship game.
Live bands, frosty beverages and stimulating conversation help keep spirits high.
It’s a scene, man.
“Our mentality is to help the young guys understand the circumstances of the entire week,” said Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. “(We have to help them understand) that if you’ve never been here — which we have three times — that there’s a lot of media and a lot of fans, and if you’re walking around in anything Stampeders, they are going to ask for a picture or for an autograph. Understand that even going out with your family for dinner can turn into an event.”
With the game hosted just hours up the QEII Highway, there’s belief that quite a few more Stampeders fans will make their way up for Grey Cup festivities.
And the Stamps don’t mind that at all.
“I believe so,” said Mitchell about whether he expects to see more Red & White faithful on the streets of Edmonton. “Honestly, the Stampeders fans have always had respect for us being out there. When I’ve seen Stampeders fans, it’s more of a ‘Good luck, go get em’ when we’re walking by. It’s usually other team’s fans that probably don’t ever get to see you in that point of view — up close and all that — that want to get pictures.
“I’m kind of a hermit crab,” Mitchell continued. “I try to stay in my room for that week and get ready for a game.”
But there are a few obligations for the players during Grey Cup, which makes it different than a usual week away from home.
Luncheons, media day and the CFL Awards Show are among the must-attends on the agenda.
“There’s a lot of distractions and a lot of different events we have to attend to,” said Stamps defensive back Brandon Smith, a veteran of six Grey Cups. “Just enjoy it, but you just have to know what you’re really there for. We have one game, so we can’t let all the outside distractions get in the way of the task at hand.”
The other longtime veterans of the club agree.
“Make sure the young guys understand this is a business trip — that your family can wait until Christmas to see you,” Mitchell said. “Get them out there, get their travel going and get their rooms ready, but understand that if you go out for dinner with them and all that to prepare the same way that you prepared for the (Western Final) week. If we do that, we’ll be alright.”
Monday was the day for making plans.
The Stamps were busy packing away their equipment and getting hotels and such organized for family and friends.
But when Tuesday hit, they were told to focus on one thing only — that’s Sunday’s game and the coveted shot to win the Grey Cup.
They climbed aboard the bus to Edmonton with only business on the brain.
“We’re actually going up there on a business trip,” Smith said. “This is my sixth Grey Cup, so I’ve seen one, I’ve seen them all. We’ve just got to stay focused and not let the game get too big — this is the biggest game only because it’s the next game.”
And even though the next game is in Edmonton rather than Toronto or some other more exotic locale, it can’t be
overlooked as a place without distractions.
In fact, Edmonton is known for throwing among the best of Grey Cup parties.
And the championship week in a smaller centre than … say … Toronto means more people packed into a smaller area.
It’ll be festive, no question. “It’s the CFL, so they’re going to bring the party to Edmonton, for sure,” Smith agreed. “There’s going to be a lot going on the whole week. We just have to make sure we know what we’re up there for. It’s a road game, and we’re only up there for one reason.
“The partying is for the fans and the family and everyone else.”