By AL RUCKABER -- Calgary Sun

David Braley wore this ear-to-ear smile as he glided around the victorious B.C. Lions locker room.

Finally, the B.C. owner had won that elusive Grey Cup.

Braley had taken over a financially chaotic situation four years ago and since then, has seen his fair share of heartbreak.

Like in 1999, when Vancouver hosted the Grey Cup and the Lions finished in first place, only to lose the Western final to Calgary.

He's also endured four years of low attendance and significant financial losses.

But last night, when the final gun had gone at McMahon Stadium and the Lions were on the winning end of a 28-26 score against the Montreal Alouettes, Braley had finally been rewarded.

"I'm very proud of this team. It's an exciting, marvelous thing to happen," Braley said.

"We went through so much this season. We had so many injuries and we changed coaches. It was the kind of year where, when you finally get it together, you have a special pride in what the team has done."

Braley was high in praise of head coach Steve Buratto, who took over the team at mid-season when Greg Mohns resigned to take a position with the XFL.

"Within 30 minutes of Greg's resignation, I had a new head coach," Braley said.

"Steve was the guy, no question, to lead us."

When informed that the 8-10-0-1 Lions were the first team in recorded CFL history to win the Grey Cup with a losing record, he said, "we probably wouldn't have had a losing record if we didn't have all those injuries. We came into the season rated first or second in the West. Things just didn't work out at first but then it sure did when it counted -- in the playoffs."