What Goes Around

Man, sport can be cruel.

All week, supporters of the Saskatchewan Roughriders carried signs around the streets of Calgary proclaiming "The 13th Man", referring to the club's terrific fan support.

Then, as fate would have it, the Rider's lost Sunday's Grey Cup game because they had 13 players on the field at the crucial moment.

One moment, Montreal kicker Damon Duval was the goat. The next, because Rider kick returner Jason Armstead wasn't paying attention, Duval had a second shot and ended up the hero.

Cruel, indeed. And that's how Grey Cup lore is created.

So was Sunday the strangest ending to a Grey Cup game?

Perhaps. Those around at the time, of course, would tell you the 1971 Grey Cup contest between the Argos and Cagary Stampeders at Vancouver's Empire Stadium was just as bizarre..

Calgary QB Jerry Keeling, with his team leading 14-11, threw an interception to Dick Thornton with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Argos, with Joe Theismann at the helm, drove deep into Stamp territory and appeared set to kick a tying field goal when Leon McQuay committed his infamous fumble.

Even then, the Argos still had a chance after the Stamps ran two plays and were then forced to punt. Jim Silye lofted a kick towards Toronto returner Harry Abofs. With the ball bouncing on the slick turf, Abofs thought he could just boot it out of bounds. Wrong.

It was ruled a "kick out", giving the ball back to the Stamps, who ran out the clock and won the Cup.

Pretty weird, with the rulebook again playing a pivotal role.

Longtime Rider fans, meanwhile, know their team once benefited from a similar twist of fate as befell Ken Miller's club on Sunday.

In the '72 Western final in Winnipeg between the Blue Bombers and Green Riders, Regina's Jack Abendschan went to kick the game winning field goal with the game tied 24-24 in the dying moments, but missed. The Bombers in true CFL style, booted the ball back out of the end zone to avoid the single. The Riders kicked it back in. The Bombers booted it out again and then covered the kick to keep the game tied.

Or so they thought.

The Bombers failed to give yards on the play and were penalized, allowing the Riders a second opportunity - shades of Duval -- to kick the winning field goal, win 27-24 and advance to the Grey Cup Game in Hamilton.

So apparently what goes around in the CFL, comes around. It just takes a little while.

Comments

[chris]

Too many men in the game benefits Montreal. I think Don Cherry has heard this before.

[other mark]

Gotta' love the CFL. I'd love to see NFL players (with the exception of the fat offensive/defensive linemen... they would likely die of heart attacks) play CFL rules on a CFL field. It would awesome.

[Martin Darling]

Interesting comparison to the 71 heartbreak for the Argos. Thornton actually ran the interception back to the Calgary 11. Theismann didn't drive the offence deep. McQuay just fumbled it away two plays later on the Calgary seven yardline.