KCU Vanier Cup Preview - UBC v. Montreal

[aklawitter]

instant classic finish brewing

[aklawitter]

unreal turnaround as Blake Nill takes a 2-6 team last season to Vanier Cup champs

[SammyGreene]

Vanier Cup champs!!!! Blake Nilll with one of the most remarkable turnaround seasons I have ever seen in any level of sports.

Fantastic game and this young UBC team is a dynasty in the making.

[TheLionKing]

UBC National Champions

[Robbie]

I'm sure some of us are UBC alumni, so congratulations!!!




After blowing leads of 16-0 and 23-10, it's good that the Thunderbirds came out in end. After the Thunderbirds penultimate drive that resulted in a 10-yard loss on a 3rd down and not getting at least a field goal, I was apprehensive that Montreal will drive down the field with the championship drive with 1:32. But amazing....after the Thunderbirds defence was totally flat in the 2nd half they came up big with the interception to give UBC possession again and this time, there were no mistakes.

This will be their fourth Vanier Cup after winning it in 1982, 1986, 1997, and now 2015.
Who remembers November 1997 - the last time the Thunderbirds won the Vanier Cup?

Tom Renney was the coach of the Canucks and the team went through a 10 game losing streak and as a result Pat Quinn and Tom Renney were fired and that was the 2nd of 4 consecutive seasons the Canucks didn't make the playoffs. Lions were not good at 8-10 but qualified for the crossover, and lost the EDSF to the Alouettes. And despite the fact that UBC won the Vanier Cup, all the media attention was focused not on the win but because of a negative incident - the protests at UBC where they hosted the APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings as they disliked Suharto and the RCMP had to use pepper spray to deal with the protesters.

[Big Time]

Very proud of my alma mater today! Well done T-Birds!!!

[Robbie]

Very proud of my alma mater today! Well done T-Birds!!!

Oh, I didn't know you were a UBC alumni. Will you buy a lot of souvenirs now from the UBC bookstore?
And given the fact that it was not a blowout and that Montreal fought back to tie the game....did you almost suffer a heart attack again like the 2004 WDF?

[B.C.FAN]

Very proud of my alma mater today! Well done T-Birds!!!

X2

[WestCoastJoe]

Very proud of my alma mater today! Well done T-Birds!!!

X2

X3

Moi aussi.

Well done, Blake Nill. And Steve Buratto.

[TheLionKing]

Very proud of my alma mater today! Well done T-Birds!!!

X2

X3

[Robbie]

When it comes to athletes who share not-so-popular surnames, I've always if they are related and in this case, there is a relation. Thunderbirds coach Blake Nill is the brother of former Canuck Jim Nill, who scored a 2OT goal in the 1982 Campbell Conference finals against Chicago, and whose stick was used by Roger Neilson to hoist a white towel.

By kicking Vanier Cup championship field goal, will Quinn van Gylswyk will become a household name 10 years from now?

Unless he goes on for a long career in the CFL...unfortunately not.

QB Michael O’Connor was named MVP of the game and Stavros Katsantonis was named defensive player of the game. Let's see which team will draft them and if they will have careers in the CFL.

------------------------------
Good to see that the local media, CBC, Province, Sun, all immediately put the win as their headlines:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ ... -1.3341943
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/foot ... story.html
http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html


The only thing that wasn't all that good was the attendance of 12,557 at Telus Stadium at Laval University.

[Blitz]

What an exciting game and a thrilling finish. Congrats UBC - you played your hearts out to win it all.

UBC had a very talented young quarterback, some very good receivers, a gutsy running back and most importantly they played as a team.

But quite frankly Montreal had way more talent and size, especially on the defensive and offensive lines, where UBC was badly undersized.

This was a game that showed how important coaching is. In fact UBC`s successful turnaround this season shows how important coaching is. They believed in their coaches and they had good reason to believe in them. Great game plan, excellent scheming and play calling, as well as playing with tremendous heart led to a national championship victory.

It was a treat to watch.

[Rocko604]

Congrats UBC!! Momentum was clearly with Montreal in the second half, so glad they hung on.

Also, how in the hell, in a Quebec stadium with a Quebec team playing, does the game get officiated by a crew from the Quebec conference? That was unbelievable. They should have been from the OAU or AUS.

[Big Time]

Very proud of my alma mater today! Well done T-Birds!!!

Oh, I didn't know you were a UBC alumni. Will you buy a lot of souvenirs now from the UBC bookstore?
And given the fact that it was not a blowout and that Montreal fought back to tie the game....did you almost suffer a heart attack again like the 2004 WDF?

Do you have some sort of problem with me?

[Robbie]

Very proud of my alma mater today! Well done T-Birds!!!

Oh, I didn't know you were a UBC alumni. Will you buy a lot of souvenirs now from the UBC bookstore?
And given the fact that it was not a blowout and that Montreal fought back to tie the game....did you almost suffer a heart attack again like the 2004 WDF?

Do you have some sort of problem with me?

No, not at all. Just making friendly conversations about the past and the present.