Canadian football
Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
to decide the
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
champions of the 2013 season.
The game took place on November 24, 2013, at
Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field
Taylor Field, known in its latter years as Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field for sponsorship reasons, was an open-air stadium located in Regina, Saskatchewan. It was the home field of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders from 19 ...
in
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...
. It was the third Grey Cup game to be hosted in Regina following the 83rd and 91st editions of the game. The Roughriders won their fourth championship 45–23 against the Tiger-Cats.https://www.cfl.ca/article/101st-grey-cup-awarded-to-saskatchewan 101st Grey Cup awarded to Saskatchewan The game took place on artificial turf, and Mosaic Stadium added temporary seating to bring the total
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
to just under 45,000.
Kick-off occurred at 5:30 p.m. CST (6:30 p.m. EST; 3:30 p.m. PST), while the pre-game started at noon CST (1 p.m. EST; 10 a.m. PST).
This was the third consecutive year that the Grey Cup involved a team from the host city, following the
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions played their first seas ...
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
in the 100th, with all three games seeing the host win. This was also the fourth time that the Roughriders and Tiger-Cats met in the Grey Cup final, having previously met in the 55th, 60th, and 77th editions of the game. The Roughriders became the second western-based CFL team to win the Grey Cup at their home stadium.
Roughriders
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
Kory Sheets
Kory Gerren Sheets (born March 31, 1985) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Purdue and he was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Sheets was also a member of the Miami Dolphi ...
was named the Most Valuable Player after setting a Grey Cup record by rushing for 197 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
Slotback
Slotback, sometimes referred to as an A-back or slot receiver, is a position in gridiron football. The "slot" is the area between the last offensive lineman on either side of the center and the wide receiver on that side. A player who lines up ...
Chris Getzlaf, also of the Roughriders, was awarded the
Dick Suderman Trophy
The Dick Suderman Trophy (french: Trophée Dick Suderman) for the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian (''Le Canadien le plus précieux de la Coupe Grey'') is awarded annually to the Canadian player deemed to have the best performance in the Grey Cup ...
as the Most Valuable Canadian.
Host city
On September 29, 2011, news agencies reported that the game would be awarded to Regina, Saskatchewan. On October 13, 2011, it was officially announced by the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
that the city of Regina would host the game. It was the third time that Regina hosted the event, following the
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
and 2003 games.
It was announced on February 24, 2012 that Mosaic Stadium would be undergoing a series of renovations and upgrades to increase capacity to host the Grey Cup. The
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
spent $14 million to increase seating capacity to approximately 45,000 by adding temporary seats in the end zones. Corporate boxes, concessions and washroom facilities were also added to accommodate the increased number of fans at the stadium. A new 60-foot wide digital LED screen and scoreboard was installed in the northeast end zone while another new 55-foot wide digital LED screen and scoreboard was attached to the west grandstand.
The Grey Cup Committee announced the details of the 101st Grey Cup on November 29, 2012.
Festivities
Numerous festivities within Regina and throughout Saskatchewan were held as part of the Grey Cup celebrations. The festivities were officially named the "Celebration in Rider Nation" by the host Roughriders. The 101st Grey Cup Festival opened on Wednesday with its opening ceremonies and ran up until kick-off, while including such traditional events as the Grey Cup parade on Saturday and the team-based parties on Friday. The festival also featured concerts by several popular Canadian bands, including the Barenaked Ladies and Hedley, who performed during the game at halftime.
Elsewhere in the province, organizers held a Riderville North celebration in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
. Aside from a viewing party of the game, the event also featured interactive games, tributes to the Riders and musical performances, including one by
The Sheepdogs
The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Ju ...
the night before the game.
Path to the Grey Cup
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats played the season at
Alumni Stadium
Alumni Stadium is a football stadium located on the lower campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, approximately west of downtown Boston. It is the home of the Boston College Eagles. Its present seating capacity is 44,500. Offic ...
in
Guelph, Ontario
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Well ...
due to the demolition of their home stadium,
Ivor Wynne Stadium
Ivor Wynne Stadium (formerly Civic Stadium) was a Canadian football stadium located at the corner of Balsam and Beechwood avenues, two blocks west of Gage Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The stadium was the home of the Hamilton Tiger ...
, and the building of its replacement,
Tim Hortons Field
Tim Hortons Field, nicknamed "The Donut Box", is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Built as a replacement for Ivor Wynne Stadium, Tim Hortons Field is primarily used for Canadian football and association fo ...
. They finished the season with a record of 10–8 and finished second in the East Division.
In the playoffs, they defeated Montreal 19–16 in the East semi-final, then travelled to Toronto where they won the East final, 36–24.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders had an 11–7 record, which placed them second in the West Division.
In the playoffs, they defeated BC 29–25 in the West semi-final, then travelled to Calgary where they won the West final, 35–13.
Head-to-head
Hamilton and Saskatchewan met twice during the regular season with the Roughriders winning both games. The first meeting between the two was in Regina on July 21, with the Riders dominating the Tiger-Cats in a 37–0 win. The following week, July 27, the two teams met again in a rematch, this time with the Tiger-Cats as the home team. The Riders would win that game as well, with a final score of 32–20.
Game summary
As the designated visiting team, Hamilton called heads for the coin toss. With the toss turning up tails, Saskatchewan deferred their choice to the second half. Hamilton chose to receive the ball to open the game and Saskatchewan chose to defend the south end zone, giving Hamilton the notable wind at their backs and the ball to open the game.
Hamilton head coach Kent Austin never used the scramble offence (that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats often used with great results in their two East Division playoff games, deploying backup quarterback
Dan LeFevour
Daniel Terrence LeFevour (born March 19, 1987) is a former Canadian football quarterback. He was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears and spent time with three other NFL teams (without appearing in a re ...
and occasionally even number three quarterback
Jeremiah Masoli
Jeremiah Taeatafa Masoli (born August 24, 1988) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL as an undrafted free a ...
to run the scramble offence, temporarily leaving starting quarterback Henry Burris on the sidelines) on even a single play in the entire Grey Cup game.
Saskatchewan quarterback
Darian Durant
Darian Bernard Durant (born August 19, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. By the end of his college career, he held school records for completion percentag ...
started the game off poorly, fumbling the ball twice during Saskatchewan's first two offensive drives of the game, with the first being self-recovered and the second being caught by Saskatchewan running back
Kory Sheets
Kory Gerren Sheets (born March 31, 1985) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Purdue and he was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Sheets was also a member of the Miami Dolphi ...
and carried for a 39-yard gain. Hamilton opened the scoring early in the first with a field goal by
Luca Congi
Luca Congi (born June 15, 1983) is a former professional Canadian football punter/ placekicker. He was drafted 12th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2006 CFL Draft. He played CIS football at Simon Fraser University for the Simon Fr ...
, but Saskatchewan quickly responded with a touchdown pass from Durant to
Geroy Simon
Geroy Simon (born 11 September 1975) is the assistant general manager for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is also a former professional Canadian football slotback who played in 15 seasons in the CFL, twelve of them wit ...
to make it 7–3 for the Roughriders at the end of the first.
Saskatchewan opened the second quarter with a field goal to make it 10–3, and Saskatchewan running back Jock Sanders scored a touchdown to put the Roughriders up 17–3. Following a turnover by Hamilton quarterback
Henry Burris
Henry Armand Burris Jr. (born June 4, 1975) is a gridiron football coach, former professional quarterback, and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He is currently an offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the ...
, who missed a snap and allowed the football to shoot past him, Sheets scored his first touchdown for Saskatchewan to extend their lead to 24–3. While Hamilton would score another field goal before the end of the quarter, a 42-yard pass from Durant to Simon at the end of the quarter put the Riders up 31–6 at half-time. The 24-point performance by the Saskatchewan offence ranks as one of the best single-quarter performances in Grey Cup history.
The third quarter opened with neither team able to sustain a meaningful drive until near the end of the quarter, when Burris ran the ball 18 yards for Hamilton's first touchdown of the game. That would turn out to be the only score of the quarter, although Hamilton scored a field goal in the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 31–16 for the Roughriders with fifteen minutes left to play. However, Hamilton was unable to translate its momentum into another touchdown, and with five minutes remaining in the game Kory Sheets scored another touchdown for the Roughriders to extend the Riders' lead to 38–16. Saskatchewan forced a turnover on the following Tiger-Cats' possession which quickly led to a touchdown by
Weston Dressler
Weston Dressler (born June 14, 1985) is an American former Canadian football slotback. Dressler last played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Prior to his being signed by the Blue Bombers organization in 2016, h ...
to make the score 45–16. The Tiger-Cats would close the scoring with a touchdown by C.J. Gable, but it proved to be too little as the Roughriders allowed the clock to run down and won the game with a final score of 45–23.
Scoring summary
First Quarter
:HAM – FG Congi 45 (9:44) 3–0 HAM
:SSK – TD Simon 15 yd pass from Durant (Milo convert) (6:59) 7–3 SSK
Like the 100th edition, the 101st Grey Cup featured an all-star lineup of Canadian musical acts. The opening ceremonies of the game were marked by a performance by the Saskatoon-based group
The Sheepdogs
The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Ju ...
, who played two songs, while the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
was performed by Ontarian singer
Serena Ryder
Serena most commonly refers to:
* Serena Williams (born 1981), professional tennis player
Serena may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Serena (genre), 13th-century Occitan poetic genre
* ''Serena'' (1962 film), a British crime t ...
. The half-time show was sponsored by Sirius XM and featured the rock band Hedley in a 13-minute compilation performance of Hands Up,
Anything
Anything may refer to:
Albums
* ''Anything'' (The Cranberry Saw Us demo), by the band later named the Cranberries, 1990
* ''Anything'' (The Damned album) or the title song (see below), 1986
* ''Anything'' (Kinnie Starr album) or the title son ...
,
Invincible
Invincible may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism
* ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane
...
and
Cha-Ching
"Cha-Ching" is a song by Canadian pop rock group Hedley. It was released to radio on August 17, 2009 as the lead single from the band's third studio album ''The Show Must Go''. The song entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number 34, and ended up ...
, which included several stunts by a performer on a
snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...
.
Television and radio
In Canada, the English broadcast was presented on TSN, while the French language broadcast was handled by its sister station, broadcast in Canada by RDS. In the United States, the game was broadcast on the
NBC Sports Network
NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming prim ...
(NBCSN, simulcasting the TSN feed).
On the radio, the game was covered by
TSN Radio
TSN Radio is a semi-national sports radio brand and part-time network in Canada carried on AM radio stations owned by Bell Media.AM900 CHML,
CKRM
CKRM is an AM radio station in Regina, Saskatchewan, broadcasting at 620 kHz. Owned by Harvard Media, CKRM broadcasts a full service country format.
Alongside music programming, CKRM is notably the flagship station of the Saskatchewan Ro ...
and Sirius XM.http://cfl.ca/article/101st-grey-cup-to-be-broadcast-on-tsn-rds-nbc-sports-network 101st Grey Cup to be broadcast on TSN, RDS, NBC Sports Network
Overall, the game was seen by 11.5 million viewers, or approximately 1 in 3 Canadians, with an average viewership of 4.5 million.
Celebration
In the immediate aftermath of the game, thousands of fans poured into the streets of Regina to celebrate. The Saskatchewan Roughriders held a Grey Cup parade on November 26 that started from Mosaic Stadium, travelled south down Albert Street, and ended at the Legislative Building, where a short ceremony occurred.
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...