Top Ten from one hundred games

[David]

The fact that so many people stormed the field after the game that the Grey Cup presentation had to be moved into the locker room. Were you disappointed that there was no on-field presentation?

Guilty as charged. Something I'll admit I hadn't done before or since, but I was young and foolish and caught up in the pandemonium. I was simply delirious with excitement with what transpired. Seeing everyone else do it, I decided to join the impromptu celebration at mid-field and over the fence I went.

I later snuck into the Lions locker room long after the trophy presentation but that's a story for another day...

DH 8)

[CB123]

wow, I have no clue how many games I have been to. Good job keeping track.

[TheZeppo]

sj-roc:

You described the 1994 Grey Cup very accurately. I've asked this question on previous posts before, but I'd like to ask you now. Since you attended the 1994 Grey Cup, what did you think of:

1. The fact that so many people stormed the field after the game that the Grey Cup presentation had to be moved into the locker room. Were you disappointed that there was no on-field presentation?

Ah, not-so-sweet memories. The aftermath of the '94 Grey Cup Game will
forever be remembered as Vancouver paranoia at its worst. Not only was there no Grey Cup presentation on the field, leaving 55,000 people with a
weird sense of emptiness after such a moment of elation, but outside the
stadium it was like some sort of police state. It was very clear that the goal of the VPD that night was to get people off the street and out of the downtown as quickly as possible. If you stopped moving towards your car or the skytrain for even a few moments, you were likely to get a not so gentle prod from one of the boys in blue. What a difference in atmosphere the 2005 Grey Cup had both pre and post game. It was nice to see how much Vancouver had grown up in 11 years,

[TheZeppo]

The fact that so many people stormed the field after the game that the Grey Cup presentation had to be moved into the locker room. Were you disappointed that there was no on-field presentation?

Guilty as charged. Something I'll admit I hadn't done before or since, but I was young and foolish and caught up in the pandemonium. I was simply delirious with excitement with what transpired. Seeing everyone else do it, I decided to join the impromptu celebration at mid-field and over the fence I went.


DH 8)

No reason to feel guilty IMO. I would have done the same thing myself
except my seat was at the top of the upper deck, and I figured I would
just stay put and enjoy the trophy presentation.

It's funny how attitudes have changed when it comes to going on the field at the ends of games. I remember this being a common occurance when the Lions played at Empire Stadium. In fact, my first close-up look at artificial turf occured at the end of a game sometime during the 1970 season. As a kid back then, it was a great thrill to walk (and wrestle with your friends) on the same field where the pros had just finished playing. The ironic thing is that I can't for the life of me remember a fan ever going on to the Empire Stadium field DURING
a game.

[sj-roc]

Ah, not-so-sweet memories. The aftermath of the '94 Grey Cup Game will forever be remembered as Vancouver paranoia at its worst. Not only was there no Grey Cup presentation on the field, leaving 55,000 people with a weird sense of emptiness after such a moment of elation, but outside the stadium it was like some sort of police state. It was very clear that the goal of the VPD that night was to get people off the street and out of the downtown as quickly as possible. If you stopped moving towards your car or the skytrain for even a few moments, you were likely to get a not so gentle prod from one of the boys in blue. What a difference in atmosphere the 2005 Grey Cup had both pre and post game. It was nice to see how much Vancouver had grown up in 11 years,

As I already mentioned, I think the fact that the Stanley Cup riot was still so fresh in everyone's minds played a big part in the VPD's approach. Can you imagine the flak they would have faced -- angry letters to the Sun and Province, upset callers to open line radio talk shows -- had they let a second riot break out in less than six months? Between the Lions' presence in 1994, and the Canada vs US angle that year, there was much more potential for hooliganism then than in 2005.

[sj-roc]

It's funny how attitudes have changed when it comes to going on the field at the ends of games. I remember this being a common occurance when the Lions played at Empire Stadium. In fact, my first close-up look at artificial turf occured at the end of a game sometime during the 1970 season. As a kid back then, it was a great thrill to walk (and wrestle with your friends) on the same field where the pros had just finished playing. The ironic thing is that I can't for the life of me remember a fan ever going on to the Empire Stadium field DURING a game.

Attitudes have changed because fan behaviour has changed (for the worse, on average). As you say, mid-game fan invasions were nonexistant during the Empire Stadium era, but four or five years ago, they were practically de rigueur at BC Place (thankfully those are now a rarity). After what happened to Monica Seles and, more recently, Tom Gamboa (the KC 1b coach who was attacked by a father and son team in Chicago) and Eric Carter in the 2002 playoffs, fans entering the field of play can't be taken lightly. If some such idiot committed a weapons offence there'd be hell to pay.

There was a stretch in Winnipeg fairly recently -- shortly after the Reinebold era, IIRC -- when it became commonplace for Bomber fans to storm the field after a win (presumably because they had forgotten what it felt like under the previous regime), but they eventually got it under control, although I was surprised it took them so long to do so.

[Robbie]

A few corrections to make:

Kent Austin's 1st qtr int that gets returned for a TD.

That play occurred with 5:39 remaining in the second quarter.

Tom Europe's recovery of a Tracy Ham fumble near the BC goal line.

While Tom Europe tackled Tracy Ham at about the two yard line, it was actually Tony Collier who jarred the ball loose and recovered the fumble.

[Robbie]

Not only was there no Grey Cup presentation on the field, leaving 55,000 people with a
weird sense of emptiness after such a moment of elation, but outside the
stadium it was like some sort of police state. It was very clear that the goal of the VPD that night was to get people off the street and out of the downtown as quickly as possible

And not only that, but the city didn't throw a parade for their Lions either, unlike in 1985. There was only a small celebration gathering in BC Place. The same thing was held in 2000.

[Robbie]

Danny Mac's 1yd "rushing" TD on the ensuing 3rd & goal (you have to put rushing in quotes when it applies to Danny Mac).

There is actually a factual error on the Lionbackers history section on the 1994 Grey Cup:

http://www.lionbackers.com/history/1990s.html#1994

That article contains the line:
"Then McManus ran in from the two yard line to score and the game was tied at 20-20."

That line is incorrect for reasons:

1. McManus ran it in from the one yard line.
2. After the converted TD, Baltimore still led 20-17.

[sj-roc]

A few corrections to make:

Kent Austin's 1st qtr int that gets returned for a TD.

That play occurred with 5:39 remaining in the second quarter.

Hmm, he threw three picks in that half, right? I must be getting mixed up with an earlier one that wasn't returned all the way.

Tom Europe's recovery of a Tracy Ham fumble near the BC goal line.

While Tom Europe tackled Tracy Ham at about the two yard line, it was actually Tony Collier who jarred the ball loose and recovered the fumble.

Ah, so that's how it went -- I knew Europe was involved in it somehow...

[Balraj]

awesome post!

[Robbie]

A few corrections to make:

Kent Austin's 1st qtr int that gets returned for a TD.

That play occurred with 5:39 remaining in the second quarter.

Hmm, he threw three picks in that half, right? I must be getting mixed up with an earlier one that wasn't returned all the way.

Yes, Kent Austin threw three interceptions in the first half. The first one was early in the game in the first quarter when Karl Anthony intercepted a pass in the end zone. There was no return and it went for a touchback. The second one was the one described above. The third one was late in the second quarter. There wasn't much of a return and Austin was injured on the same play. The interception didn't lead to any points as Baltimore missed a FG.

[Robbie]

This is something that probably has never been mentioned before. I think, along with the Lions cheerleaders, Baltimore's cheerleaders looked good in that game too. It's not often at all that a visiting team's cheerleaders show up, unless it's the Grey CUp.

[TheZeppo]

A lot of great memories there for sure!

Speaking of old Empire, my greatest game memory was a hard-fought 14-14 tie against the awesome Eskies...the best Lion game I ever attended!

Best Empire Stadium memory for me would have to be the 1977
Western Semi-Final. The Lions had not had a home play-off game
since 1964, which I was too young to remember. The '77 game
against Winnipeg was a thriller with a terrific ending. Unfortunately,
the "Cardiac Kids" ran out of miracles the following weekend in
Edmonton.