Did someone order a rematch?
Football fans will be treated Sunday to a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup game, this time a week early in the East Final. Nobody likes to say the word “revenge” out loud but you can bet the REDBLACKS still have a sour taste in their mouth from last year’s loss in the championship game. But that game was played in Winnipeg, while this year’s clash will be played in front of an RNation-dominated sold out crowd at TD Place.
Back-to-back
Even in a relatively small league like the CFL, reaching the championship game in consecutive years is no easy feat. When it comes to Ottawa’s football history, the last time a CFL team reached the Grey Cup in back-to-back season, was a pair of victories in 1968 and 1969.
Before that, the Roughriders made it to the final game in 1925 and 1926 (winning both) and 1940 and 1941 (loss and win, respectively). Ottawa’s last Grey Cup win was in 1981, while the city’s last appearance in the game was, of course, in 2015.
Maas is back
Coaching changes are part of pro sports, but this year’s East Final will be somewhat unique when it comes to that particular part of the roster. While REDBLACKS head coach Rick Campbell has guided his team to best-of-the-East finishes in consecutive years, Jason Maas, Ottawa’s offensive coordinator for last year’s run to the final, took the head coaching gig in Edmonton in the off-season.
While Maas already made his return to Ottawa with the Eskimos early in the year, coming back to coach against his former team in the East Final adds another interesting storyline into the mix.
