Close To 10 Million Viewers For The 103rd Grey Cup

You don’t hear anyone talking about the obvious hold that occurred on Edmonton’s second offensive touchdown.

Audiences for the 103rd Grey Cup presented by Shaw peaked at 5.5 million viewers late in the game as Edmonton scored a clutch goal line touchdown to take the lead for good in the fourth quarter.

“Every team in this league is disappointed except for Edmonton this year”, said Campbell.

Edmonton Eskimos head coach Chris Jones celebrates on the sidelines during his team’s victory over the Ottawa Redblacks …

Now, we’re not saying Saskatchewan president and CEO Craig Reynolds is the Dallas Cowboys owner and GM, but the Roughriders are the CFL’s flagship franchise and are currently without a GM and head coach.

The game-deciding drive came with two huge pass interference penalties.

“I’m just here thanking God for giving me the opportunity to be able to play in this game”.

So the Redblacks were still in the lead until Reilly threw deep for Walker and the penalty on Sermons put the ball on the Ottawa 10.

But the 2015 campaign was a tale of two seasons for the Eskimos.

It was a dramatic finish for the Investors Group Field sellout of 36,634, the second-smallest Grey Cup attendance since 1975.

But Edmonton exorcised those demons this season, finishing tied with Calgary with a CFL-best 14-4 record but garnering first in the West by virtue of winning the season series 2-1. The winner’s share for the Eskimos is $16,000 while the Redblacks picked up $8,000 each… But after falling behind 13-0 early in the first quarter, the Eskimos outscored the Redblacks 26-7. The game-time temperature was -5C but the 15-kilometre-an-hour wind created a windchill of -10C.

“Those guys are tough players, man. All those guys made my life tough, but, you know, we played just a little bit better”, said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly, named the game’s most valuable player after throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and running for another 66 yards on 10 carries.

Centre Jon Gott, top, and punter Ronnie Pfeffer of the Ottawa Redblacks exit the plane in Ottawa after returning from a loss in the Grey Cup game at Winnipeg. The CFL has not had a repeat champion since the Montreal Alouettes won their second in a row in 2010…

“A new standard has been set for Grey Cup festivals and for the festivities on Grey Cup Sunday”, Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller wrote in an e-mail on Monday. There’s not many people who can say they’ve won a Grey Cup.

“You learn to respect a man a different way when you see him at his lowest point and that’s where you really see character”, Chambers said. But obviously heartbroken, disappointed, all those things.

“Both teams should be very proud of their remarkable seasons – they have taken their fans on a wild ride over the past six months”.