The postcard moment of the 112th Grey Cup came late Sunday night at Princess Auto Stadium when wave after wave after wave of green and white confetti rained down on Canadian Football League commissioner Stewart Johnston as he first handed the iconic trophy to Jermarcus Hardrick who then passed it to the game’s MVP, Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris.
The game delivered as expected — usually does from an overall entertainment perspective — with the Roughriders knocking off the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 in an absolutely epic finale to the 2025 season that delivered the flatlanders their fifth championship in franchise history.
And, yes, it’s OK to admit that the whole scene undoubtedly still stings for everyone in Bomberland as just a few weeks ago there was still hope it would be the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who were playing a featured role in the game played smack dab in their own backyard.
The fact that it was the Roughriders celebrating on their turf isn’t just salt in that wound, it’s that and a swift kick to the nether regions.
Still, the consolation prize if the Blue Bombers weren’t to be in the game was this: what we saw over the last week with Winnipeg absolutely crushing it as Grey Cup hosts was simply sensational with one CFL executive saying, ‘this will be an incredibly tough act to follow.’
Yes, if you can put aside the absence of the Blue Bombers from the finale for the first time in five years — even for just a moment — it’s worth remembering that the CFL’s championship is about more than what happens for three hours on game day. And when it comes to the entire 2025 Grey Cup Festival, the team parties, the Wawanesa Street Festival, the Canada Life Family Zone, the GMC Cheer Extravaganza – shoot, every event all week – was either sold out or held at near capacity.
Winnipeg was simply buzzing in putting on a party that rivalled the excitement of the first game played in this town, way back in 1991, and brought the best and then some of the other Grey Cups staged here in 1998, 2006 and 2015.
Catie St. Germain, Our Lady Peace and MGK brought it through the national anthem, kickoff show and half-time performance, as did all the acts through the Coors Light Concert Series. The scene Friday night as yours truly wandered from one team party to the next at the RBC Convention Centre with the Legendary Bob Irving – he might have posed for more photos than the PM – and his sons Kyle and Reid also hammered home how special this event was.
There were fans mingling from stops all over the country, the nine teams plus the usual rowdies of the Atlantic Schooners, the conditional team first awarded to Nova Scotia in the early 80s that never got off the ground, their fans decked out in makeshift silver and navy jerseys sporting the line ‘Still Undefeated.’
There were the dudes dressed up as polar bears who have been pushing for a 10th team in the Northwest Territories.
Heck, we even saw a Baltimore Stallions fan – his jacket from 1994-95 fading with every winter.
That’s where the spirit of the CFL truly lives during Grey Cup week and it was especially alive downtown and at every venue. This will be a tough Grey Cup act to follow, and all the people that made it work – including a zillion volunteers – deserve a hearty hug, fist bump and slap on the back.
Said Blue Bombers President and CEO Wade Miller, who earlier in the day had been awarded the Commissioner’s Award for ‘an outstanding contribution to Canadian football’:
“Festival Executive director Jenn Thompson and our Grey Cup host committee have done an amazing job. Credit to the Convention Centre, Tourism Winnipeg, the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba… everybody rolled up their sleeves and made this best Grey Cup Festival. An unbelievable Grey Cup Festival.
“I’m so proud of our team. Everyone rallied together and made this an unbelievable experience for every fan of the CFL and the entire province and city.”
On top of that, Miller managed to sign both GM Kyle Walters and head coach Mike O’Shea to contract extensions to which he added with a smile, “It was a busy week.”
As someone who has covered all five of the Grey Cups in Winnipeg I can tell you there was a uniqueness to every one of them and what made this one special was how it was embraced by the entire province – especially after the Blue Bombers were eliminated. Often, when the home side is eliminated there are a flood of tickets from locals that hit the market. That was minimal this week because fans wanted to be in the building to watch the final game of the season – and fill the building once again.
No, it wasn’t the ending so many coveted. But Winnipeg – Manitoba – you sparkled this week and all season.
That might have been best captured by TSN’s James Duthie in the post-game ceremony when he said this to the remaining crowd and a national television audience:
“Winnipeg, you are an awesome sports city. You filled this stadium all season long, including tonight and you threw a heckuva party this week, so we thank you.”
Hear, hear.
