MONDAY COMMENTARY – BOMBERS BY EIGHT

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 FM & Rock 98.5 FM)

THE CFL DID IT AGAIN.

ENTERING THE PLAYOFFS THREE WEEKS AGO, WE SAID ON THIS COMMENTARY THAT THE CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE NEEDED TO SHINE IN THE PLAYOFFS AND GREY CUP AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.

DOES IT GET ANYMORE HEART-POUNDING THAN SUNDAY’S 108^THGREY CUP, WHICH NEEDED OVERTIME TO SETTLE A WINNIPEG 32-25 VICTORY OVER HAMILTON AT TIM HORTON’S FIELD?

I WAS RIDDLED WITH ANXIETY WATCHING FROM THE COUCH AND I GENERALLY DIDN’T CARE WHO WON! (I’VE GOT FRIENDS ON BOTH TEAMS, SO WOULD’VE BEEN HAPPY EITHER WAY).

I’M GUESSING YOU WERE PART OF THE MILLION-OR-SO VIEWERS OF THE GAME SO A RECAP ISN’T NECESSARY HERE, BUT JUST TO REFLECT, I FELT IF THE RIDERS COULDN’T BE IN THE GREY CUP, THEN A REMATCH OF THE 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN CALGARY MADE THE PERFECT STORYLINE FOR A LEAGUE WHO NEEDED A BOOST.

AND THE GAME REALLY DIDN’T DISAPPOINT. THE FIELD CONDITIONS WERE PERFECT IN SINGLE DIGIT CELSIUS TEMPERATURES AT A SOLDOUT STADIUM FEATURING ITS HOME TEAM LOOKING TO END THE LEAGUE’S LONGEST DROUGHT.

COULD YOU WRITE SOMETHING BETTER?

THE SOUTHERN ONTARIO SUNSET LOOKED AMAZING PEAKING OUT FROM BEHIND THE STADIUM, AND THE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES WERE ALL GREAT INCLUDING THE ARKELLS AT HALFTIME. WHILE I COULDN’T NAME ONE OF THEIR SONGS EVEN FOR A MILLION DOLLARS, THE SOUND WAS GOOD AND THE SHOW WAS GREAT.

HAMILTON WOUND UP BLOWING A 12-POINT SECOND HALF LEAD AND LOST IN OT, AS MENTIONED, SO THERE’S NO ONE IN HAMILTON TODAY WHO THINKS IT WAS A GREAT GAME OR SPECTACLE.

BUT HATS OFF TO THE BOMBERS WHOM ARE THE FIRST TEAM TO REPEAT AS GREY CUP CHAMPS SINCE THE ’09 & 10 MONTREAL ALOUETTES.

FORMER RIDER PRESIDENT JIM HOPSON FELT THE ONLY WAY TO TOP WINNING THE GREY CUP AT HOME WOULD BE TO WIN MULTIPLE GREY CUPS IN A ROW AND NOW WINNIPEG HAS DONE THAT.

WE NOW HEAD INTO AN OFF-SEASON WITH PLENTY OF QUESTIONS AROUND THE LEAGUE ABOUT POTENTIAL CHANGES AT THE TOP, HEAD-SCRATCHING RULE CHANGES AND THE ALWAYS-PRESENT MONEY ISSUES.

THE ONLY THING CONCERNING ME WAS THE POINT SPREAD IN THE GAME. WINNIPEG WON BY EIGHT.

ALL WEEK I’D PREDICTED BOMBERS BY SEVEN.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)