CHAMPIONS!!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the Calgary Stampeders successfully held off a team from Montreal to win this year’s Grey Cup. They are the CFL champions, for 2008.

The CFL is the Canadian Football League, and of course, many people are quite surprised to discover that Canada even HAS a football league. Well, we do, and we even have a number of teams in the league.

When I lived in Winnipeg, I rooted for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They were neither blue, nor bombed anything (aside from their seasons on occasion), much like the Green Bay Packers, who to the best of my knowledge don’t just pack green bays. It’s simply a name.

When we lived in British Columbia, I rooted for the B.C. Lions, while secretly carrying my torch for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Not that a torch (even if it had been a real one) would have ignited the Bombers, even though sometimes they may have needed that sort of motivation.

Now, living in Alberta (yes, this is a bit of a Canadian geography lesson this morning), I root for the city where we live – Calgary, and the CHAMPION Stampeders.

There are CFL teams in Saskatchewan, Ontario, umm…other provinces – but none yet in Nunavut. Which is a real place, on real maps. Just without either a CFL team, or even an NHL team.

Nunavut is so remote, only Sarah Palin could feel at home there.

Nunavut is so remote, they get their Starbuck’s coffee by dogsled, after lumberjacks clear away boreal forest tracts.

I suspect there will be a parade soon, for the Calgary Stampeders. I must bring my long underwear to the drycleaners, to prepare…

Chow for now!!