Over the Edge -November 2ist 2012

GEOFF SARGENT

SPORTS EDITOR

This Sunday marks the 100th Grey
Cup, a milestone achievement for a
league that has seen no end to its trials
and tribulations, especially in the last
two decades following the failed U.S.
expansion bid and the resulting swath
of contracted franchises. This season,
the annual championship of Canadian
football features the Calgary Stampeders
facing off against the host city Toronto
Argonauts. This has only been the
second Grey Cup in the last ten years
(Saskatchewan vs Winnipeg, 2007)
where both Montreal and B.C. have
been absent, a testament to the way the
two perennially contending franchises
have been owned and operated.
Attendance in the CFL has been on a
slow decline over the last few seasons,
and one likely factor is the emergence
of the NFL’s popularity in Canada,
particularly among younger sports fans.
The stereotypical CFL fan is someone in
at least middle age; if they live in B.C.,
it’s likely by way of Saskatchewan,
and they will undoubtedly support the
Roughriders until their death. The health
of the league until said point is not in
question, but to remain on the landscape
of Canadian sports for future decades,
the CFL needs to re-energize and attract
a younger audience, something they
must be aware of. To this point, they
contacted only the best in Canadian
entertainment for the half-time show:
Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen.
While that move is sure to generate more
negative publicity than good among

100 YEARS OF CANADIAN FOOTBALL

the average sports fan, it absolutely
served its purpose of generating media
attention directed towards the CFL that
otherwise would have gone elsewhere.
The CFL is showing signs of life, not
only with continued efforts to revitalize
the suspended franchise in Ottawa and
add a tenth in the Maritimes or Quebec
City, but also by addressing their obvious
lack of youth present everywhere from
the league’s structure to its followers.
Contrarily, the league remains an
afterthought in Toronto. While Toronto
still made sense as centennial host due
to its power and influence in Canada,
the residents have yet to come around
on the CFL and prefer other sports - a
problem the CFL must eventually fix.
The Argonauts playing this weekend

can’t hurt.

One oft-repeated mantra about the Grey
Cup is that the game itself, isolated
from everything extraneous, is always
worth watching. This is usually true
— last season’s Lions dismantling of
Winnipeg notwithstanding, the CFL has
seen an impressive stream of Grey Cups
in the last decade including the Riders’
infamous 13th Man game, a double
overtime thriller between Edmonton and
Toronto, and others within a single score
in the closing minutes. With the Sunday
afternoon slate of NFL games only
sporting three games, each likely to be
blowouts, consider watching the Grey
Cup instead. You’re allowed to mute the
half-time show.

UBC TOP CIS MEN'S SOCCER

ANDREW BATES

THE UBYSSEY

VANCOUVER (CUP) — They were
always in command.

The University of British Columbia
Thunderbirds (UBC) won the Canadian
Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national
championship in Quebec City Sunday
with a 1-0 win over the Cape Breton
University Capers (CBU). They were
undefeated throughout the 2012 season
and never conceded a goal at the national
tournament.

UBC took the lead early, with Steve
Johnson heading in a free kick from
Marco Visintin to score in the eighth
minute. It was Johnson’s second headed
goal of the tournament, and it came on
UBC’s first shot of the game.
Throughout the contest, Cape Breton
couldn’t gain a foothold in UBC’s final
third, with UBC defending well in wide
areas and converting any attempts to play
route-one balls up the middle into rapid
counter-attacks. The Capers managed
only two attempts, with their only shot
on goal coming in the 81st minute. They
did not win a single corner kick.

The Thunderbirds used a possession
game to create something of a
shutdown offence, keeping control of
the middle of the park and shipping

it to potent attacking players such as
Reynold Stewart and tournament MVP
Gagandeep Dosanjh. UBC turned 13
attempts into eight shots on goal, but
despite not finding a second goal, a
consistent attack prevented the Capers
from gaining a toe-hold in the match.

After winning 4-0 against the University
of New Brunswick and 3-0 against
Laval University, UBC finishes the year

S. E UBYSSEY

with an undefeated record, going 5-0 in
the playoffs and collecting 11 wins and
three draws in the Canada West regular
season. Dosanjh was also named the
Canada West most valuable player.
With the win, Thunderbirds head coach
Mike Mosher secures his fourth national
title, and the 12th national championship
for the UBC men’s soccer program, a
CIS record.

canadawest
Standings

Men’s Basketball

Pacific Division

5-1 UBC
5-1 Victoria
4-2 UNBC

3-3 __—- Fraser Valley

2-4 — Mount Royal

2-4 — Thompson Rivers
2-4 Trinity Western
1-5 UBC-Okanagan

Prairie Division

5-1 Alberta

4-2 Manitoba

4-2 Saskatchewan
4-2 Winnipeg

3-3 _ Lethbridge
2-4 Calgary

1-5 Brandon

1-5 —- Regina

Women’s Basketball

Pacific Division

6-0 Fraser Valley

4-2 Thompson Rivers
4-2 UBC

4-2 Victoria

3-3. UNBC

2-4 — UBC-Okanagan
1-5 Mount Royal

0-6 Trinity Western

Prairie Division

6-0 = Calgary

5-1 Regina

4-2 Alberta

3-3 _ Lethbridge
2-4. —— Manitoba

2-4 — Saskatchewan
2-4 ~~ Winnipeg

0-6 Brandon