Western Final - Remember to stay for the Trophy Presentation

[Robbie]

Another picture of the trophy can be seen on the CP article on the Lions web page that describes their WDF win. The same article and picture appears on the CFL page.

http://www.bclions.com/index.php?module ... &nid=13571

http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=news ... &nid=13566

[B.C.FAN]

I stayed for the presentation, and there were a lot more fans who did than in 2004, but it was a bit of an anticlimax. There was a lot of waiting around, and it was several minutes before the trophy made an appearance, being carried by two Mounties. At one point Wally implored the league to hurry up but they may have been waiting for the TV audience to return. Mark Washington was the first player in the fenced-off area for the presentation. He seemed the most anxious to get his hands on it. A few players passed it around afterwards and took a little jog with it outside the fenced area but I sensed they had their eyes on a bigger prize.

It was nice to see a couple of players toss their conference champion hats to the fans after the game. They've interacted well with the fans all year, and showed true appreciation for the boisterous support they received.

[Robbie]

Thank you for the description, B.C.FAN. I assume some people left the stadium early before the end of the game as the outcome was no longer in doubt, so they missed it too. And with regards to the delay, it must have definitely been for the CBC TV audience as CBC went to a long commercial after the game before coming back to show the presentation. And the telecast of the trophy was only done very briefly before the program ended.

[Rammer]

Carl Kidd brought the trophy to the fans, a nice gesture as well. Enjoy today Lions, for tomorrow your work begins.

[Robbie]

Carl Kidd brought the trophy to the fans, a nice gesture as well.

Yes, that was very nice of Carl Kidd. Here he is holding the trophy.

[img]http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d ... 12_375.jpg[/img]

[Lions_Fan_4_Life]

I stayed but it was boring, because we had to wait 10 minutes, and being in section 17, it was at the other end of the field, so i left before they were done on the field passing the trophy around.

[Robbie]

A good picture taken by Rik Fedyck showing two mounties holding the West Division Championship Trophy.

http://www.sportsshooter.com/port_popup ... _id=514522

[MacNews]

Javy ran around with it and was very excited. I think they need to tell people over the PA about the trophy because most people leave as they don't know.

[TheZeppo]

I stayed but it was boring, because we had to wait 10 minutes, and being in section 17, it was at the other end of the field, so i left before they were done on the field passing the trophy around.

You got bored because you had to wait for 10 minutes? And why
didn't you get up and walk down to the other end of the stadium?
The place was 90% empty.

[Lions_Fan_4_Life]

I stayed but it was boring, because we had to wait 10 minutes, and being in section 17, it was at the other end of the field, so i left before they were done on the field passing the trophy around.

You got bored because you had to wait for 10 minutes? And why
didn't you get up and walk down to the other end of the stadium?
The place was 90% empty.

No, I was bored because the presentation didn't interest me that much anyways, and waiting didn't help.

I had a grumpy little brat with me so that didn't help me move around.

[Robbie]

yeah thanks Robbie!

Good call, Robbie.

So, Dan_Payne_fan and bc49, since you both acknowledged my suggestion, did you take it up? If you did stay for the presentation, what was your experience and did you take any pictures?

[sj-roc]

I noticed from the closeup on the video screen that the last two trophy winners -- us in 2004 and Edm in 2005 -- were engraved on the top section of the three layered metallic base. I wonder what they'll do when they fill out all three tiers -- add a larger fourth section and just keep adding until it's almost as large as the GC, perhaps?

The long wait for the presentation really was a nuisance, and why couldn't they have done it at midfield like with the GC last year?

[Robbie]

I noticed from the closeup on the video screen that the last two trophy winners -- us in 2004 and Edm in 2005 -- were engraved on the top section of the three layered metallic base. I wonder what they'll do when they fill out all three tiers -- add a larger fourth section and just keep adding until it's almost as large as the GC, perhaps?

They will probably remove that section of the base, place it somewhere special like the CFL Hall of Fame, and add a new section for engraving. That is what is done on the Stanley Cup when it runs out of places to engrave on the trophy - the ring is removed and a new ring for engraving is added. Either that, or they will retire the trophy completely. Perhaps that is why the old Neil J. Piffles Taylor trophy was retired as it ran out of places for engraving.

The long wait for the presentation really was a nuisance, and why couldn't they have done it at midfield like with the GC last year?

The presentations was done near the end zone in both 2004, 2005, and now this year too. I guess the reason is because the organizers know that not too many people will be staying for the presentation, so they don't have to bother in wasting any more time by bringing the trophy to midfield. We've discussed this before, but if you think that's bad, how about the fact that the 1994 Grey Cup wasn't even presented on the field?

And for those of you who attended any of the home West Division Finals in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1999. Was the trophy presentation done on the field at all?

[B.C.FAN]

Midfield is the worst place for a trophy presentation because it's at least 40 yards from the nearest fans. It becomes strictly a televised event. In the end zone, thousands of fans crowd around the sections above the dressing rooms to interact with the players before and after the game and at halftime. The players acknowledge the fan support, exchange words and smiles, give autohraphs and toss their gloves and hats into the stands.

[sj-roc]

I noticed from the closeup on the video screen that the last two trophy winners -- us in 2004 and Edm in 2005 -- were engraved on the top section of the three layered metallic base. I wonder what they'll do when they fill out all three tiers -- add a larger fourth section and just keep adding until it's almost as large as the GC, perhaps?

They will probably remove that section of the base, place it somewhere special like the CFL Hall of Fame, and add a new section for engraving. That is what is done on the Stanley Cup when it runs out of places to engrave on the trophy - the ring is removed and a new ring for engraving is added. Either that, or they will retire the trophy completely. Perhaps that is why the old Neil J. Piffles Taylor trophy was retired as it ran out of places for engraving.

Yeah -- the topmost (i.e., the oldest) of the bottom five identically-sized bands is removed when the newest one gets filled up, and the four remaining bands each get promoted one tier with a new one added to the bottom. I remember that they added a new band in 1994 when the Rangers won, and the band that was removed was the one that recorded their previous championship way back in 1940. That band must be close to, if not totally, filled out by now.

As far as the WF trophy goes, it's not nearly as big or heavy as Stanley, so I don't see any reason not to add a fourth tier when the time comes.

The long wait for the presentation really was a nuisance, and why couldn't they have done it at midfield like with the GC last year?

The presentations was done near the end zone in both 2004, 2005, and now this year too. I guess the reason is because the organizers know that not too many people will be staying for the presentation, so they don't have to bother in wasting any more time by bringing the trophy to midfield. We've discussed this before, but if you think that's bad, how about the fact that the 1994 Grey Cup wasn't even presented on the field?

That was different -- tonnes of fans were running onto the field that day and the Stanley Cup riot, just five months previous, was still fresh in the minds of security. I was disappointed by that decision but understood it under the circumstances. The GC last year was presented at midfield and while my quibble is only minor compared to the total game day experience, I don't see why they couldn't have done the same on Sunday, especially with the delay. The mounties were holding onto that trophy so long I was beginning to think that they'd won it.

And for those of you who attended any of the home West Division Finals in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1999. Was the trophy presentation done on the field at all?

I was only there for the 1999 playoff and don't remember; I left as soon as the game ended, what with the result.

Since I mentioned game day experience, I'll comment on two other things. One was the kiss cam -- it's starting to get a bit old for me as a screen novelty at sporting events but I'd never noticed it before at BC Place and it still seems to be a crowd pleaser that can fill the timeouts. The other was the raise the trophy bit with the GC superposed on a live audience shot -- I liked that and some of the people on camera got into the act, trying to line their arms with the cup, but others just had no clue what was going on.