Vancouver pubs roaring as home team comes through during game last night
Fans growled in triumph yesterday night as they saw their home team go from last to hoisting the Grey Cup.
It was an orange party at the Shark Club in Vancouver with a handful of Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans watching on the big screen, which team will hoist the coveted silver chalice.
But Victoria Howe, who came from the Island, didn’t doubt that the Lions had it in the bag.
“They did really well in the first but they kind of lost it in the third,” Howe said. “It was almost like they were giving up a little bit because they kind of almost knew they had it, but they came back at the very end. It was awesome.”
Howe said her trip to Vancouver was worth it.
“The whole city is full of this great energy,” she said. “It’s something that you can say I did in my life. I’m so glad that we did it because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Mike Beach, who was wearing an Angus Reid jersey, banged the table every time the Leos scored touchdowns.
“I’m a third-generation B.C. Lions fan. so I’ve been a fan since birth,” said Beach, who screamed at the top of his lungs when the time expired.
Jimmy Beaulieu, who came all the way from Abbotsford, said his Grey Cup experience was one for the books because not only did the Leos win, he also won $ 500.
PHYLICIA TORREVILLAS
Bombers fans cling to memorable weekend despite loss
The Grey Cup contest may not have ended in Winnipeg’s favour, but you wouldn’t have known it in at the Elephant and Castle Pub in Vancouver.
“I feel like our offence didn’t go, but at least it was a game,” said Jeffrey Bunn, who lived in Winnipeg for 18 years. “At least we weren’t blown away. It wasn’t too bad.”
Assistant manager Raj Khaira explained that the Burrard Street watering hole had become the Blue Bombers’ local headquarters over the past week.
“Our general manager is from Winnipeg, and so I think that got the ball rolling … Anybody that was here from Winnipeg came to our bar and stayed here until the end,” he said.
“If a B.C. Lions fan walked in here, this whole bar was basically yelling and screaming, ‘B.C. sucks!’”
The establishment became friendlier to Lions fans during the game, however, when most of the recent regulars had relocated to BC Place. Even so, the room still buzzed at every Winnipeg advance.
Anil Kaul, who came from Winnipeg to witness the game in Vancouver, was taken with the excitement leading up to the big game.
“It didn’t matter which team. There were Saskatchewan fans, Edmonton fans, Calgary fans … It’s just four or five days of passion,” he said.
David proctor
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
About The Reporter
