When the Edmonton Eskimos and the Ottawa Redblacks meet to decide the 103rd Grey Cup – the Canadian Football League’s championship game – this Sunday, they are carrying on a time-honored tradition.
The Grey Cup game may well be the oldest team sports championship trophy in the world, although there are some who dispute that. Nevertheless, the game has been held annually since 1909 (except for the war years) and attracts the largest television audience in Canada every year with upwards of 6-7 million people expected to watch.
The game has been played in the worst possible conditions including snow, fog, mud, high winds and freezing temperatures. But it never fails to mesmerize viewers and fans from all over North America. Average attendance over the past 20 years has hovered around the 50,000 mark and this year’s game is expected to be about that mark with the game being held in Winnipeg.
Let’s take a look back at some of the history of the game.
