BC Lions - CFL Western Conference Finals

I can add my first CFL (Canadian Football League) game to my list of things accomplished - a western conference final game at that. While the BC Lions did not fare well in the bout (losing 26 to 16 to the Saskatchewan Rough Riders) I really enjoyed the game and the experience.

A while back I wrote about my "First NFL Experience" and while the CFL experience was similar in some ways, it was also quite distinct. Firstly the atmosphere; there is something about being at a BC football game that makes you a little more patriotic. I found myself standing, cheering, “booing”, and thoroughly absorbed in the game (at least for the first 3 quarters). It wasn’t until the 4th quarter when BC took their fans out of the game by not completing plays, taking penalties, and unable to stop the Saskatchewan offence or defense. I do not pretend to be a big football fan, but even my wife who has rarely ever watched the sport felt that BC’s play-level just wasn’t there. Saskatchewan’s quarterback was bobbing and weaving (sorry more of a basketball fan) and ran more times than the BC QB got sacked.

For those who haven’t been to BC place, the view is great regardless of where you are sitting. The stadium is full enclosed so you don’t have to worry about the rain either. The announcer is bit annoying as his dialogue seems to consist of variations of “make some noise”, “bring the noise”, “louder, louder, and louder”. The stadium does a good job of keeping people entertained between plays with a Kiss Cam (random people from the crowd are displayed on the big screen and encouraged to kiss each other); hold the cup (a picture of the Grey Cup displayed and people pretend to hold it); and the Geroy Simons Dance Cam (random people videoed dancing in the stands). Entertainment was also provided from a few random fights where people were promptly escorted form the stadium or as the tag line goes “Be a Fan, not a Fool”.

While there were not as many people at BC Place (the upper bowl was empty in several sections), the Canadian experience really hit home for me, even if BC lost. On the way out of the stadium, my friend who attended with my wife and I asked if we wanted to go to the Canucks game which was occurring right after. I told him I didn’t have the heart to see 2 Canadian teams lose the same day J (As my sister-in-law would be quick to point out, the Canucks beat the Flames 4-1).

My 2 thoughts anyways…

First NFL Trip

Football is an American pastime. It is also a reason to park your truck in a parking lot to have a BBQ, dance with a marching band called the Blue Thunder, and scream “sack the back” when your team is on defense. I was fortunate enough to enjoy my first football game (ever) in Seattle on Sunday 21, 2007.

A good friend of mine has been the root of my pestering since I moved to Vancouver. I had been asking him to join me in viewing a BC Lion’s game but our work schedules never seemed to coincide and I am not one to go to a game myself. Fortunately for me, he did me one better and asked if I would want to go to Seattle to see the Seahawks play the St. Louis Rams. Our trip started close to the border at the Best Western at 8:45am.

A bus had been chartered for the trip and had made one previous stop prior to picking us up. All told, 45 people were looking forward to seeing the Seahawks and those organizing the annual trip also did not disappoint. Coffee, doughnuts from Tim Hortons, chips, and candy were a plenty along with bottles of water and pop. Seattle is roughly a two-hour drive from Vancouver but roughly depends on border waits. With the dollar above parity with the US, the wait times coming back are the ones you have to consider. Traveling to the US was a breeze as buses are separated from regular vehicle and commercial traffic. The border guards boarded the bus and did a minor check of our passports and containers but nothing that delayed us more than about 10 minutes.

Qwest field is something of a marvel to see. Unlike its immediate counterpart Safeco Field, it is an open structure but with only the field exposed. The front end rises high with steel art on the outside and a giant led screen inside facing the field and allow those in the upper bowls to get a close up of the game. The large parkade the faces the off-ramps as you drive into town have huge pictures of the Seahawk player. Once is of the quarterback and the other couldn’t tell you not being a huge fan. To get to the field is a bit of a chore as you are asked to drive in a large circle through the mounds of people crossing at ever corner before you can make it to large parking lot fronting the stadium. The parking lot itself is a furry of activity as many have been camped out since the morning with trucks parked end-to-end, bbqs a blaze, and tvs hooked to portable satellites viewing multiple games in the league. I have never been witness to a real tail-gate party but can understand the appeal when you are amongst friends and those who love the sport.

The line up moved swiftly inside with some minor drops of rain from the sky. This did not bother me one bit as I was already started to feed from the buzz around me. As we made it through the gates I could hear the marching band “the blue thunder” start to make their way in from the parking lot through the front gates and position themselves on the stairs. I asked a Qwest field employee to take a picture of me and my buddy in front of the band only to realize after the picture was taken that this individual was legally blind!! Needless to say he took a great photo regardless of this minor handicap.

We proceeded to our seats but made a detour after seeing the many adorning fans wearing the Seahawks apparel. Call it novelty or simply fitting-in, but a couple of caps and some gifts for my family later and we were in our seats for the opening kick-off. I have to say that it feels great to shop in the states as I paid for everything with my Canadian MasterCard knowing I would get a deal. Our seats while in the upper bowl had a great view of the field and were sheltered from any rain that might decide to fall. The weather held up though and provided for an entertaining game.

The Seattle fans are die-hards and cheer for each and every play. The sounds is almost deafening and not being to anything larger then a concert (where everyone is chanting in unison) 50,000 fans is a bit hard to handle at first. The cheers are just as large as the “boos” and everyone around me seemed to know exactly who was carrying the ball at any given point in time. There is also no real downtime expect for between quarters and a small intermission. I say small because we went to do some additional shopping for family (greedy for the exchange rate) and we ended up missing a Seattle touchdown the first minute in the 3rd quarter. Final score for the game was 33-6.

The ride back was largely uneventful until we hit the 1 mile mark from the border. I faced this exact point before when you are asked to make the choice of going to the Peace or Pacific border crossing (Highway 99 or Highway 15 for Canadians). I was coming back from dropping my brother-in-law off in Portland where he is studying Chiropractics and ended up waiting 3 ½ hours starting 1 mile from the border with my wife and cousin. This time around the wait was only 2 ½ hours but wasn’t as bad considering I didn’t have to drive and was able to catch a nap on the way in.

Definitely a memorable trip.

My 2 thoughts anyways.