The Grey Cup Returns to Ottawa For The First Time in 40 Years

The Ottawa RedBlacks did it. In only their third year of existence, the RedBlacks won the Grey Cup with a 39-33 overtime victory over the Calgary Stampeders. It was the first time a Grey Cup championship game had gone into OT.

Rough Riders QB Henry Burris became the oldest QB to win a Grey Cup and the first to win one in three different decades. The 41-year old Burris won his previous Grey Cups with the Stampeders in 1998 and 2008, respectively.

Although the RedBlacks have enjoyed immediate success, it is the first time in 40 years Ottawa has celebrated a Grey Cup champion. In 1976, the Ottawa Rough Riders beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 23-20.

When I arrived in Ottawa in the early 1990's the Rough Riders were the laughing stock of the CFL. Twenty years ago, the Rough Riders disbanded. In the early 2000's, the Renegades came and went after four undistinguished seasons.

So I'm glad there is triumph in my old stomping grounds.