THE VOICE OF THE GREY CUP
By: Stephen Lylyk, RP Show Intern
Canada’s ultimate sporting event is the Grey Cup. For every edition of the game, there is a different story; a victor on one side, a loser on the other.
As the official play by play commentator of the 109th Grey Cup TSN’s Rod Smith will be the one responsible for telling this year’s story.
As Smith explained on Wednesday’s Rod Pedersen Show live from Ballers Rec Room at Grey Cup Week in Regina, the TSN veteran explain how he is preparing for Sunday’s game.
“It’s not as much about names and numbers anymore,” Smith began, “we’ve seen these teams so many times this season. The final couple days I’ll be locked in my hotel room, looking at a lot of film from the season.”
It was the 108th Grey Cup where Rod made his Grey Cup broadcast debut as play-by-play man. The game was an overtime classic as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for their second straight championship.
“The storylines were incredible,” Smith reminisced. “Hamilton leads into the 4th. Winnipeg comes back to force overtime. To be there in Hamilton, with the long Grey Cup drought. The storylines just made it so compelling to me.”
The excitement of the game’s storyline is what makes the broadcast special to Smith. As he explained, “It’s the ultimate way to get wrapped up in the event. You feel like you’re apart of it as you describe the storyline, and that’s just such a cool feeling.”
Being a CFL fan, dating back to the days of the former Ottawa Roughrider franchise, Rod’s witnessed many Grey Cup stories.
One such Grey Cup, that Smith remembers, was the 1989 edition. Considered by many the Greatest Grey Cup in CFL history, the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43-40 on a last minute field goal by Dave Ridgway.
“That was one of my favourite Grey Cups,” Smith admitted. “The game was so back and forth, I remember just loving the story, loving the drama.”
That game had other significance for Smith as it was his first one he attended as a media member.
“I was at CBC radio filing hourly reports,” said Smith. “We were live, and I gave my phone to Bill Baker (then CFL Commissioner, formerly Saskatchewan Roughrider General Manager). I asked him a question during a timeout, on that final drive, and he was just shouting into the phone like an excited kid, watching the Roughriders drive down the field.”
While Smith finds the festivities of Grey Cup Week enjoyable, to him, the moment he looks forward too is the kickoff, come Sunday.
“When the game begins,” Smith reported, “There’s a tension. It’s something that doesn’t physical exist, but you can feel it. That’s what I’m looking forward to, that moment the game starts. I’m a fan of the game, the intensity, the passion. I’m a fan of the fact that these players care.”
Being the official voice of the 109th Grey Cup, Smith reminisced on all the years watching the game, dating back to his childhood.
“I’ve been a fan of this game for so many years,” Smith offered. “I grew up with it. I remember the dark times, and how the league rallied, and bounced back. I grew up watching the Great Canadian Football League Broadcasters, and if I can just get close to the level of some of them, it would be a dream come true.”
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio. Call our cable provider to subscribe. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)
