Best Grey Cup Game Ever?

[Belize City Lion]

What is the best Grey Cup game you have ever seen? Not necessarily your favourite in terms of who won, but simply what was the best Grey Cup game ever played.

I'm voting for 1987 Edmonton over Toronto. While 1994 is probably the greatest CFL experience of my life (seeing Lui kick the winner live!), if I was to pick a game based on how exciting and well played the entire game was, I'm going with 1987. In fact I would argue that it may have been the greatest football game ever played, in any league.

My runners up would be 1989 Saskatchewan over Hamilton, 1996 Toronto over Edmonton (gotta love a Grey Cup played in a snow storm!), and 1994 BC over Baltimore.

What's your pick?

[Solar Max]

Either 2005 Edmonton/Montreal or 1976 Ottawa/Saskatchewan.

[Tighthead]

I wasn't a big fan of the 2005 game, because I don't like the OT format, especially for a playoff. 1996 had Fluties non-first down. I would likely go with 87 or 89.

[notahomer]

I went with Hamilton/Sask. IIRC, Tony Champion had a monster game in a losing cause. 83 points scored in a championship game and it's not like the defences didn't come to play.

[Dan_Payne_fan!!]

2005 it was fun to be a part of

[Rammer]

94 had the run of Edmonton and Calgary leading up to the TEAM AMERICA, that the Lions won the battle in the trenches was simply amazing in itself. Had to vote as that game had more on the line than just the GC, it had Nationalism under tones that we will never see again.

[TheLionKing]

I'm with Rammer on this one.

[WestCoastJoe]

1994

Danny Mac to Darren Flutie with the snow falling to win the playoff game.

Then Ray Alexander flying through the air like Bob Beamon and making that incredible catch (legal by the rules of the time) in the Grey Cup game.

Then Lui kicking the winning field goal.

Everything coming together in a magical way. It was both improbable, but somehow, not unexpected.

Beating the dreaded Baltimore Stallions with their American-loaded roster made it even sweeter.

To the 1994 Lions ...

[Belize City Lion]

I remember 1976 being a great finish, but I was too young to really remember if it was a great game. I know a lot of people will select 1994 for obvious reasons, but I agree with jcalhoun that 1987 was an absolutely amazing game.

In 1987 the CFL was already starting it's slide into the "dark days". The TV contract was a mess, and I think that is when CFN was created to try and salvage games after CTV bailed out on the league. Rather than bringing revenue to the league, CFN was underwritten by the CFL and ultimately folded do to losing too much money for the league.

Anyway, even though public and corporate confidence in the CFL was low in those days, the 1987 Grey Cup showcased just how good our game could be. Especially compared to the annual snooze-fest the Super Bowl was producing during that same time. I feel that 1987 may have in some ways saved the CFL. For years to come, no matter how apathetic Canadians appeared to be about the regular CFL season, they always came back for the Grey Cup. If we had lost interest in that annual event there may not be a CFL today.

1994 was an extremely important Grey Cup as well, for reasons that Rammer has pointed out, but I can't say that the game was actually better than the 1987 version. If you knew nothing about the circumstance surrounding each game, and just watched both games from a purely objective point of view, I think you would have to say that 1987 was a better football game.

[hoonsagain]

I was at all those games, and being a BC fan, I loved the magical run of three miracle finishes in 1994. That said, the best Grey Cup game of all time had to be 1989, followed by 2005.

I'd rank them like this:

1) 1989
2) 2005
3) 1994
4) 1987
5) 1960
6) 1976
7) 1983
8) 1972
9) 1954
10) 1996

hoons

[No Ordinary Joe]

1996 was a fantastic game. One of my favorite CFL memories ever. As exhilarating as 1994 was, I think '96 was just as good a game but the snowstorm really seemed to add to it, plus Eddie Brown's catch was unbelievable!

[hoonsagain]

That play by Eddie Brown has to be in the top 3 Grey Cup plays ever!!! The snowstorm made that game very special, as well. Maybe I rated that game too low, come to think of it.



hoons

[Big Time]

Just as an aside, isn't it just fantastic how many different choices their are for best Grey Cup game of all time? If you were looking at the Super Bowl, the pickings would be extremely slim.

My picks would be 1994 then 2005. There have been so many great memories but I'm biased towards the games that have meant something to me. 2000 because of the Lions win and the missed 2 point convert at the end to tie, 2006 because of the overall dominance. Even 1990 which was a complete blowout for the Bombers was special to me because it was my first Grey Cup that I attended and we got to jump on the field after the game. I still remember high fiving Greg Battle as he was passing the Cup around

[nelson95]

1987 then 1989 are the best I've watched

1994 was the best I've been too(out of 8)