Winning Poll #3: Comparing the ten BC Lions WDF wins

[Robbie]

Adding a third poll on the Lions West Division Final wins. While the Lions have a winning record of 6-4 in Grey Cup appearances, they have a tied record of 10-10 for division final appearances. With the recent 2011 West Division Final win, how does that compare with the other nine division final wins?

Taking a look at the 10 division final wins, it looks like they could be put in pairs of two given the similar situations and reactions.

1963 – BC 36, Saskatchewan 1 (game 3)
1964 – BC 33, Calgary 14 (game 3)
Good west division final wins in the deciding game that allowed the Lions to make their first Grey Cup appearance and Grey Cup win. But so long along that it’s been forgotten.

1983 – BC 39, Winnipeg 21
1985 – BC 42, Winnipeg 22
Very good wins during the hey days of the mid-1980’s. And in both cases despite the lopsided scores the Lions did not dominate throughout the games and there were tense moments. In 1983 WDF Winnipeg actually led 21-11 in the 3rd before the Lions scored four unanswered TD’s and in 1985 Winnipeg jumped to an early 7-0 lead and the Lions only led 17-16 at halftime.

1988 – BC 37, Edmonton 19
2000 – BC 37, Calgary 23
In 1988 for the first time ever the Lions beat the Eskimos in a playoff game and the fact that it was played at Commonwealth made it even more tough, but for some reason that game appears to be totally underappreciated and forgotten – perhaps because the Lions lost the Grey Cup a week later. Along with what I said about the 2000 GC game being played in the dark ages, with that goes the 2000 WDF despite the Lions jumping to a huge lead and never looked back and easily handled 2000 MOP Dave Dickenson and avenging the 1999 WDF, the game is essentially forgotten.

1994 – BC 37, Calgary 36
2004 – BC 27, Saskatchewan 25
By far, the two most exciting and memorable division wins decided by the last play of the game. In this forum when there’s discussions about the division final wins these two are talked about the most.

2006 – BC 45, Saskatchewan 18
2011 – BC 40, Edmonton 23
I mentioned before the 2006 blowout win in which the Lions took a huge lead by halftime and Big Time didn’t have to suffer a heart attack has been totally overshadowed by 2004. I said before that the amount of discussion about the 2006 WDF is only a tenth of that of the 2004 WDF. And I think it’s good to pair the 2011 win with 2006 in that Lions had a comfortable 26-3 lead at halftime and 33-9 lead by three quarters and could be considered a blowout win. Despite the fact that the WDF win was the first time the Lions beat the Eskimos at home for a WDF after losing in 1987 and 2005 and was part of the season in which the team totally rebounded, I’d say in the years it will be remembered like the 2006: a great win and will not be forgotten, but won’t be talked about too much in the years to come because it didn’t have an exciting finish.

Will anyone beg to differ and consider the 2011 WDF win as more memorable than the 1994 and 2004 WDF wins?

[notahomer]

This game (1994 WDF) had my favourite Lions moment of all-time (so far ).

Winning when you should win= okay
Losing when you should win = worst
Losing when you should lose = okay
Winning when you should lose = BEST of ALL, IMO

Too many goofy, never again stories. Still enjoy memories of poor ex-Lion QB Doug Flutie shivering infront of a propane heater as his younger brother Darren catches a late TD from McManus on the last play of the game. The Lions seemed destined to win BUT, I'd definately put this win in the last column (winning when you should lose).

[squishy35]

This game (1994 WDF) had my favourite Lions moment of all-time (so far ).

Winning when you should win= okay
Losing when you should win = worst
Losing when you should lose = okay
Winning when you should lose = BEST of ALL, IMO

Too many goofy, never again stories. Still enjoy memories of poor ex-Lion QB Doug Flutie shivering infront of a propane heater as his younger brother Darren catches a late TD from McManus on the last play of the game. The Lions seemed destined to win BUT, I'd definately put this win in the last column (winning when you should lose).

[cromartie]

Can I go off the grid here?

Even though they lost, to me, the 2007 WDF loss to Saskatchewan might have been the best defensive CFL game I have ever seen. If I'm being asked to evaluate which games were the best and which one I have the most respect for, it's that one. In my mind, it was the Grey Cup that year. People seriously underestimate how good the Riders were from roughly 2003-2008.

If you're asking me to choose my favorite, it's the prior year, 2006. There's nothing like pasting the Riders at home. It was a four quarter party.

[Dan_Payne_fan!!]

for me its a tie between 2006 and 2011

[Sir Purrcival]

I've got to go with 1994. The Stamps were huge favourites in this game. It took till the very last play of the game to decide it. Snow storm, 2 injured BC QB's (McManus was hurt too), the Flutie brothers sidestory. The blocked field goal that would have all but sealed a victory for the Stamps. You just can't equal that IMO.

[Robbie]

Winning when you should lose = BEST of ALL, IMO

That said notahomer, do you think the same way about the 1988 and 2000 WDF wins? In both cases, the 3rd place Lions were clearly the underdogs.

Winning when you should win= okay

Likewise notahomer, do you consider the 2004 WDF win in the same category as the 2006 and 2011 wins - it's simply okay because they Lions were expected to win anyways, and it was actually disappointing that the Lions almost lost to the 3rd place Roughriders in 2004. They should have blown them away like 2006.

If you're asking me to choose my favorite, it's the prior year, 2006. There's nothing like pasting the Riders at home. It was a four quarter party.

for me its a tie between 2006 and 2011

Good choices, guys. It's good to see some appreciation and long-time recognition for blowout wins.

[Dan_Payne_fan!!]

for me its a tie between 2006 and 2011

Good choices, guys. It's good to see some appreciation and long-time recognition for blowout wins.

and it doesnt hurt that i was at both either

[Robbie]

It looks like the 1994 WDF is still by far the most popular and memorable Lions WDF win.

Everyone remembers that last Lions drive of the game and a clip of that can be seen on this thread: http://lionbackers.com/bc_lions/viewtopic.php?t=10531

But I have a feeling that few people remember other aspects of the game, including the Lions penultimate drive that almost turned out to be disastrous.

This clip starts off with a scene of the head Stampeders cheerleader, BLEACHER CREATURE, a man with his face and head painted all in red banging a drum. And it shows that Calgary led 7-4 after 1Q, 24-21 at halftime, 34-31 after 3Q with both teams scoring 17 points each in the 2Q and 10 points each in the 3Q and Calgary got 2 singles so far in the 4Q for a 36-31 lead. On second down for the Lions with 3:01 left, McManus completes a long pass to Cory Philpot, but three Calgary defenders tackle him and Alondra Johnson strips the ball, Junior Thurman recovers the fumble, and Matt Clark makes the tackle. That gave the Stampeders the ball at the 53 with only 2:48 remaining and I'm sure all Lions fans thought it was all but over. Shawn Daniels then makes two long runs to give Calgary a first down at the 30 with less than 2:20 remaining before the clip ends.

[video][/video]

The Lions must have forced the Stampeders to lose two yards as the blocked FG was a 39-yard attempt. And speaking of BLEACHER CREATURE, as soon as the Darren Flutie winning TD catch was made one cameraman immediately pointed the camera to him showing him walking off the field dejectedly.

[Belize City Lion]

1994, but 2004 almost as exciting for me. 1994 had the snow, and Flutie vs. Flutie. Plus I didn't really expect us to win that game.

[Robbie]

Anybody intending to go to re-opening of the BC Sports Hall of Fame Museum today, January 6, 2012?

Courtesy of its revised web page on the 1994 BC Lions induction entry, the curator provides a detailed summary of the run:
http://www.bcsportshalloffame.com/induc ... &type=team

And that page also contains a YouTube clip of the playoff run, which includes a different vantage point of Darren Flutie's TD catch from field level in the WDF.

-------------------------------------
An uneven third-place West Division finish (11-6-1 record) behind bitter rivals Edmonton and Calgary meant expectations weren’t high heading into the West semi-final against the heavily-favoured Eskimos.

Sean Millington’s thirty-four yard touchdown run and Less Browne’s major off a blocked punt had BC close, but Edmonton led 23-21 with four minutes remaining, sitting first-and-goal at the Lions’ eight-yard line eager to deliver the knockout blow. With the season hanging in the balance, the magic began. Lions’ defensive back Charlie Gordon intercepted a touchdown-bound pass on the goal line and ran the Leos out of imminent danger. The Lions responded by driving down the field, a last-minute Passaglia field goal giving BC the unlikely 24-23 victory.

On to McMahon Stadium for the Western Final against the mighty Stampeders. By halftime, the offensive shootout was in full flight, Calgary leading 24-20 with Lions’ TDs by Millington and Darren Flutie. Behind 34-21, on came Danny McManus and down came the snow. A Flutie touchdown and a Passaglia field goal cut the lead to 36-31. With 1:34 remaining and Calgary threatening, magic again intervened, the Lions’ Ray Alexander blocking a Stamps’ field goal with a remarkable one-armed leap. McManus then engineered a drive for the ages punctuated by a last-second TD strike to—who else?—Flutie, capping an unforgettable 37-36 win in one of the most dramatic playoff finishes in CFL history.

Home to BC Place, where the 82nd Grey Cup pitted the Lions defending Canada’s honour against Baltimore, the first-ever championship in professional football history to feature a Canada-vs-US match-up. Baltimore carried the play into the third quarter holding a 20-10 lead. As the Lions’ all-Canadian O-line opened massive holes for Millington and Cory Philpot, the McManus-Flutie combo again sparked a BC comeback. Flutie perfectly executed a fake field goal to set up a McManus TD scramble. Two Passaglia field goals and a Tony Collier fumble recovery on the BC one-yard line when Baltimore looked certain to salt it away left the score knotted at 23-23.

It came down to one kick. Hometown boy Passaglia stepped up booting a thirty-eight-yarder with no time remaining to seal the 26-23 victory, the Lions’ third Grey Cup in club history. Sweet ‘Lu’ rode on the shoulders of teammates and fans, while players and coaches cried tears of joy mobbing one another. The delirious 55,000+ in attendance gave one of the longest standing ovations in the city’s history after witnessing one of the unlikeliest playoff runs in BC sport history.