107th Grey Cup

Hamilton Tiger-Cats Winnipeg Blue Bombers (15–3) (11–7) 12 33 Head coach:  Orlondo Steinauer Head coach:  Mike O'Shea
1 2 3 4 Total Hamilton Tiger-Cats 3 3 6 0 12 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 8 13 6 6 33
Date	November 24, 2019
Stadium	McMahon Stadium
Location	Calgary, Alberta
Most Valuable Player	Andrew Harris
Most Valuable Canadian	Andrew Harris
Favourite	Tiger-Cats by 3.5
National anthem	Lindsey Kelly with the Calgary Stampede Showband
Coin toss	Lt. Gov. Lois Mitchell
Referee	André Proulx[1]
Halftime show	Keith Urban[2]
Attendance	35,440
Broadcasters
Network	English: TSN French: RDS United States: ESPN2 Mexico: MVS UK/Ireland: BT Sport
Announcers	Chris Cuthbert[lower-alpha 1] (play-by-play) Glen Suitor (analyst) Sara Orlesky (sideline reporter) Matthew Scianitti (sideline reporter)[3]
Ratings	3.9 million (average) 9 million (total)[4]

The 107th Grey Cup decided the champion of the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League (CFL).^[5] The match was played on November 24, 2019, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta.^[6] Winnipeg defeated Hamilton, 33–12. This was the Blue Bombers' first Grey Cup victory since 1990 (and first as a West Division team since 1984, after two victories as an East Division team), ending one of the longest championship droughts in CFL history. Winnipeg's Andrew Harris was named both Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Canadian of the game, which was the first time a player had won both honours in the same game.^[7][8]

Date

On November 24, 2017, at the CFL's State of the League address, League Commissioner Randy Ambrosie stated that he explored the possibility of having the Grey Cup during the third week of October.^[9] Reasons in favour of this were the weather being warmer in October as well as a potential television deal with the American-based NFL Network.^[9] Reasons against would be the increased overlap of the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs in May and June (since the season would also have to start one month earlier) as well as the CFL's playoffs overlapping Major League Baseball's playoffs in October.^[9] It was ultimately scheduled for its usual date (fourth Sunday of November) and took place on November 24, 2019.

Host city

Leading up to the formal announcement, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Calgary Stampeders were the only clubs that publicly expressed interest in hosting the game.^[10][11] The Tiger-Cats' stadium, Tim Hortons Field was completed in 2014, but the city of Hamilton had not hosted a Grey Cup since the 84th Grey Cup in 1996.^[12][13] The main obstacle had been that multiple levels of government and the Tiger-Cats themselves have filed lawsuits against the construction firm due to the stadium construction delays and ongoing maintenance issues with the stadium itself.^[10] The club would also need support from Hamilton City Council.^[10] Temporary seating would have to be installed with the goal to raise seating capacity to 40,000.^[14] Tiger-Cats CEO, Scott Mitchell, had said that the team wanted to host this game in particular since it coincides with the 150th anniversary of the original Hamilton Football Club.^[10]

At the 2018 CFL Week, it was reported that the Stampeders were the most likely host of the game.^[11][15] The team's president and general manager, John Hufnagel, confirmed that they had made a bid.^[11] The speculation was confirmed on April 25, 2018, in a formal announcement that Calgary had won the rights to host the game.^[6] It marked the second time that the province of Alberta hosted the Grey Cup in consecutive years, with Edmonton hosting the year prior (the two cities also hosted back-to-back games in 2009 and 2010).^[6] It was the fifth time that Calgary hosted the Grey Cup, the last time having been the 97th Grey Cup in 2009.^[6]

Background

The 107th Grey Cup featured the only two teams who had not won the Grey Cup since 2000. The Tiger-Cats, who came into the game having won the Grey Cup most recently in 1999, were facing off against the Blue Bombers, who had won most recently in 1990 (when the team competed in the East Division).^[19]

Game summary

Andrew Harris had 170 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the game.

The Winnipeg defence started the game well, forcing two turnovers in the first five minutes of game time. The second turnover was a Willie Jefferson quarterback sack that caused Dane Evans to fumble, losing 35 yards. This led to an Andrew Harris rushing touchdown on the next play, giving the Blue Bombers a 7–0 lead.^[34] Hamilton moved down the field quickly with two long catch-and-runs by Brandon Banks, but a pair of unsuccessful running plays limited them to a field goal, cutting the lead to 7–3. The Bombers immediately answered with a high 30-yard toss from Zach Collaros to Kenny Lawler, but the drive ended with an unsuccessful 48-yard field goal attempt which scored one point. A promising Tiger-Cats drive was ended by David Watford failing a 3rd-and-1 quarterback sneak. This ended the first quarter, with the score 8–3 for Winnipeg. The teams traded field goals in the first part of the second quarter to make the score 11–6. Hamilton's Lirim Hajrullahu had a 46-yard punt returned 32 yards by Janarion Grant, leaving the Bombers with good field position. They were able to take advantage, with Harris providing 40 of the drive's 50 yards in two plays, including receiving a touchdown to make the score 18–6. The half ended with a short Justin Medlock field goal for Winnipeg, extending their lead to 21–6.^[34]

The Blue Bombers began the second half by running down almost four minutes of game time, followed by a 39-yard field goal to make it 24–6. The Tiger-Cats attempted to respond, but on reaching the opposing 25-yard line were again halted by the Winnipeg defence, who forced another turnover on downs. However, Winnipeg went two-and-out. Hamilton capitalized with an eight-play touchdown drive, but missed the two-point conversion to leave the score 24–12. With three minutes left in the quarter, the Bombers moved quickly down the field with a Drew Wolitarsky 45-yard catch-and-run play, leading to another field goal and a score of 27–12.^[34]

Two touchdowns behind, Hamilton had no success in the fourth quarter. They were forced to punt after a 47-yard pass to Mike Jones (Hamilton receiver) inside the 10 yard line was knocked away by Mike Jones (Winnipeg defensive back). Winnipeg took six minutes off the clock with an 80-yard drive down the field which appeared to score a touchdown, but was overturned after television review. They settled for a field goal and a 30–12 lead with only 6:12 to go. The Blue Bombers defence then did its part, sacking Evans on the next two plays for two fumbles and another turnover. Winnipeg took possession and scored another field goal, giving them a 33–12 lead. With this goal, Justin Medlock tied the Grey Cup records for field goals made (6) and attempted (7) in a single game. Winnipeg had scored points on seven of their last eight possessions. The game ended without further incident, giving Winnipeg a 33–12 victory.^[34]

Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris was named the game's Most Valuable Player and also received the Dick Suderman Trophy as the game's Most Valuable Canadian, the first time a single player had won both awards.^[35]

Blue Bomber players during the Grey Cup parade.

Depth charts

The following diagrams illustrate the teams' depth charts that were released one day prior to game day. Starters are listed in boxes in their respective positions with backups listed directly above or below. As per CFL rules, 45 of the 46 players for each team dressed in the game, with Winnipeg's Chandler Fenner and Hamilton's Marcus Tucker being the teams' game day scratches.^[36]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

30 Rose 14 Sayles 37 Alexander 0 Jones 29 Hecht 25 Taylor 16 Jones 41 Exume 22 Fenner 19 Wilson 45 Jones 34 Briggs 4 Bighill 52 Miles 44 Gauthier 36 Maston 21 Hallett 94 Jeffcoat 2 Kongbo 95 Thomas 98 Richardson 92 Nevis 5 Jefferson 3 Hansen 66 Bryant 61 Desjarlais 62 Speller 67 Eli 53 Neufeld 51 Hardrick 1 Adams 8 Collaros 12 McGuire 17 Streveler 82 Wolitarsky 88 Bailey 33 Harris 27 Augustine 10 Demski 24 Miller 32 Rush 89 Lawler 81 Petermann 9 Medlock 9 Medlock 46 Rempel 80 Grant Italics indicate American player Bold indicates global player Reference: bluebombers.com

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

24 Breaux 25 Rolle 26 Brooks 2 Adeleke 35 Daly 4 Leonard 37 Williams 21 Lawrence 28 Beverette 30 Langa 22 Tuggle 44 Newton 0 Murray 56 Davis 93 McGough 97 Laurent 58 Wade 98 Wynn 99 Dean 95 Howsare 94 Mauldin 77 Gnahoua 61 Mathews 57 Revenberg 67 Gibbon 51 Filer 60 Ciraco 59 Okafor 54 Van Zeyl 80 Acklin 89 Jones 9 Evans 6 Watford 3 Moore 12 Jones 17 Tasker 15 Tucker 19 Sutton 20 Irons 29 Bennett 86 Addison 84 Kalinic 1 Coombs 16 Banks 70 Hajrullahu 70 Hajrullahu 52 Crawford 37 Williams 16 Banks Italics indicate American player Bold indicates global player Reference: ticats.ca

Broadcasting

The game was televised in Canada by TSN (English) and RDS (French), in the United States on ESPN2, in the United Kingdom by BT Sport, and in Mexico by MVS. Outside of North America, the Grey Cup was broadcast by ESPN International and its affiliated networks to 74 countries.^[37]

The game was also available for online streaming for international viewers (outside of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom) through the CFL's streaming platform, in Canada through the TV Everywhere system TSN Go and in the United States via ESPN's TV Everywhere system.^[37]

TSN Radio stations, including Tiger-Cats flagship CKOC and Winnipeg's CFRW (replacing game coverage on CJOB), carried the Grey Cup on radio across Canada. Those stations were distributed online and to mobile devices via iHeartRadio.

The game was watched by an average of 3.9 million viewers, split between TSN and RDS. Nearly nine million Canadians watched some or all of the game. This represented a 19% increase in viewership over the 106th Grey Cup. Viewership on TSN's streaming platforms also increased 77% over the previous year.^[4]

In the United States, the game attracted an audience of 109,000 viewers on ESPN2.^[38]

Halftime show

On September 26, 2019, it was announced that Keith Urban would be performing during the halftime show.^[2] Urban performed a 13-minute medley of songs including "Somebody Like You" and a virtual duet of the song "The Fighter" which featured Carrie Underwood (who is unable to perform due to attending the 2019 American Music Awards) on various screens on the stage.

Officials

The highest rated officials during the 2019 CFL season from their respective positions were selected for the game and announced on November 21, 2019.^[1] The CFL kept the standard seven-person crew as opposed to eight-person after that format was used during the 106th Grey Cup game. The numbers below indicate their uniform numbers.

• Referee: #28 André Proulx
• Umpire: #61 Patrick MacArthur
• Head Linesman: #25 Ron Barss
• Line Judge: #19 Chris Shapka
• Side Judge: #47 Jocelyn Paul
• Back Judge: #44 Blair Brown
• Field Judge: #56 Steve Dolyniuk
• Backup Referee: #60 Tom Vallesi
• Backup Umpire: #31 Ben Major
• Backup Official: #27 Andrew Wakefield
• Backup Official: #18 Pierre Laporte

Notes

References