The Lions roared and tens of thousands of B.C. Lions fans erupted with joy as the CFL team held on for a nail-biting Grey Cup victory 34-23 on Sunday.
The final result wasn’t sealed until the final minute, as Paul McCallum kicked a field goal to ensure a Lions win with just 58 seconds left to play.
Fans in the vicinity of the stadium immediately erupted as the game ended, following a spirited Winnipeg comeback led by former B.C. Lions quarterback Buck Pierce and defensive stalwart Doug Brown, who was raised in Port Moody.
“For me this makes everything better” said Mike Manhas of Surrey. “We won and we’re not going to have a riot tonight.”
The downtown was transformed into a happy, horn-blaring crowd with no thought of causing trouble.
“It was a great game, a great crowd,” said Mark Nadeau, who wore his No. 14 Lions jersey.
“Travis Lulay – player of the game, outstanding player in the league – you can’t get any better than that.”
Relieved fans leaving the game hooted for joy.
“The team played really well; it couldn’t get any better than this finish,” said Nadeau.
Even the Hastings/#20 bus got high-fives from the crowd as it passed flashing “Go Lions Go.”
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Asked about the Lions 14-6 lead going into the dressing room at halftime, B.C. Lions head coach Wally Buono was less than impressed with his team, and suitably impressed with the Winnipeg comeback.
“They’re a very, very good team on defence,” said the coach, who looked ready to deliver a strong halftime lecture to a team that started picking fights with the Bombers in the second quarter.
“This is a championship game,” said an unimpressed Buono. “We should play like champions.”
Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup riots lurked at the back of some fans’ minds.
Josh Skopelitis, 18, of Ladner, was watching the game on TV through a restaurant window just across the street from B.C. Place.
He said he couldn’t afford the $400 being demanded by scalpers.
“It’s not bad ‘cause you can hear the crowd when they score,” he said, as Paul McCallum hit a field goal to put the Lions up 10-0 in the first quarter.
Skopelitis said he was expecting a Lions win and a happy street celebration to wipe away the bad memory of the Stanley Cup riot in June.
The need of a redemptive celebration for Vancouver sports fans was suggested by Vancouver police watching outside the stadium.
Before kickoff, one officer was asked if the game would be shown on a giant TV screen that was mounted on the external stadium wall.
He laughed and said “No, definitely not . . . the last time didn’t go so well.”
Into the second quarter fans were still milling outside the stadium trying to score reduced-priced tickets.
Self-described ticket ‘broker’ Kingsley Bailey said business was very brisk all week, and on top of the Stanley Cup playoffs, it was a “very, very” good year for Vancouver ticket traders.
Bailey said tickets traded at as much as $1,500 last week and at a high of about $1,000 on game day.
Up to halftime, before Bailey went inside to watch the game, he was holding prices for the “cheap seats” steady at $250 a piece.
In the final minutes of the third, Just as Lions QB Travis Lulay seemed to be on the verge of getting knocked black and blue by Bombers rushers, he hooked up with receiver Kierrie Johnson for a long bomb touch down that had fans on the street cheering.
“We’re going to win now,” said Harry Dutt. “It’s going to be a party!”
By 60 minutes after the game most fans appeared to be headed for public transit and leaving the downtown core.
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