College football, along with red plastic cups and GPAs, is the stuff of American teen movies. It was definitely on the I'm-going-to-a-North-American-university bucket list, and it definitely didn't disappoint. Score aside.
The first game of the season is the Annual Shaughnessy Cup, played between the McGill Redmen and the Concordia (the other English speaking university in Montreal) Stingers. For only $5, tickets were bargain price and despite how it looks, the game was really well attended! McGill shares the Percival Molson Memorial Stadium with the Montreal Alouettes, so it has a capacity of over 25,000.
In an unexpected twist, the match ball was presented by McGillian astronaut Julie Payette in the presence of three members of the Canadian Olympic team. Following this we had the national anthem, the verses sang alternately in English and French.
The McGill cheerleaders were phenomenally peppy, and I felt so sorry for them in the cold - we were cold enough huddled in the bleachers in our jumpers! The Redmen mascot Marty the Marlet was hilarious and also, in a nice reminder of home, wore a kilt. I got to meet Marty at half time, we had a brief boogie together - now that's team spirit!
As for the game? There were moments, but Concordia really stole the show. The last quarter was even worse than my photo shows. Final score: 41 - 7 to Concordia. I loved the atmosphere though, and think I've figured the basics.
Consensus? Canadian Football makes Rugby League look fast paced, but the good bits were super exciting and the atmosphere was great although I hear attendance tails off as the semester goes on. We're going back for sure! To get my fill of college sports, I'm seeing basketball next weekend and we've found out that McGill are playing ice hockey at Queen's University on Thanksgiving weekend. We'll be coming for you Faye!
Touchdownnnnnn!
No comments:
Post a Comment