Windsor welcomes Grey Cup

A choir, a jazz band and hundreds of Canadian Football League fans were on hand to greet the Grey Cup Oct. 30 at the Windsor train station.

Canadian Football League officials are touring the Grey Cup through 100 cities across Canada to celebrate their 100th anniversary game this year.

CFL communications officer Carley Smith said the CFL wanted to bring the Grey Cup to as many fans as possible.

“Windsor is such a hotbed of sports and talent. We’ve had a lineup waiting to get in before the event even started and we’re excited to have the Grey Cup here,” said Smith.

The choir from Walkerville Collegiate and the W.F. Herman Secondary School jazz band were on site to entertain fans while they waited to board the train. There were also various games, exhibits and giveaways to distract patrons from the wait times.

In 1909 Governor General Earl Grey donated a trophy to the winner of the amateur rugby football championship of Canada. The first Grey Cup was awarded to the University of Toronto at Rosedale Field after defeating Toronto Parkdale 26-6 on Dec. 4, 1909.

In 1958, the Canadian Football Council withdrew from the Canadian Rugby Union and the CFC was renamed the Canadian Football League. The first ever game played under the newly formed CFL took place on Aug. 14, 1958 in Winnipeg as spectators watched the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeat the Edmonton Eskimos 29-21.

The train has been outfitted as a traveling museum, displaying factoids and memorabilia from the CFL’s long history. Fans were able to take pictures with and examine the Grey Cup.

The tour started Sept. 9 in Vancouver and will end Nov. 25 in Toronto for the 100th Grey Cup game and festival.