2000 Team bonding leads to Grey Cup Win
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:29 pm
2000
The B.C. Lions began the 2000 season with training camp in Chilliwack, and they had only one goal in mind: win the Grey Cup. Six months later, they would achieve that goal, but the path to it was one of the most adventurous, unpredictable and memorable ever in the Canadian Football League. The year started well enough with exciting victories over Hamilton and Saskatchewan, but a 35-2 loss to Calgary began a four-game losing streak and a lot of finger-pointing. A win over the Toronto Argonauts halted the slide, but following the game head coach Greg Mohns resigned to go to the XFL. Long-time CFL coach Steve Buratto, who joined the club only two weeks earlier as a receivers coach, was promoted to the top job, and got instant results with a huge 51-4 win over the Argos in the second of back-to-back games.
Despite playing exciting football on offence and being close in every game, the Lions only won one of their next five to sit at 5-9 on Thanksgiving, and a playoff spot seemed questionable, let alone a Grey Cup win. It was put up or shut up time, and the Lions came together when it counted the most. They won three of their last four heading into the playoffs, the offence became the best in the CFL, Damon Allen broke Ron Lancaster’s record for career passing yardage, Lui Passaglia played in a memorable “Luv Ya Lui” night final game at home, and also set a record for single season field goal percentage. The Lions finished the year 8-10 and in third place in the West, but everyone could see they were a dangerous team. A snarly defence started to show its grit, and the Lions roared into Edmonton a confident bunch and emerged with a 34-32 Western Semi-Final victory. Next came Calgary in the Western Final, and the Lions steamrolled to a decisive 37-23 win. The Cinderella season came to a close on November 26th in the Grey Cup, as B.C. won its fourth championship in team history with a nail biting 28-26 victory. It was the only time a sub-.500 team in the regular season won the Grey Cup, and it signaled a marvelous end to Passaglia’s 25-year CFL career.
West Division Team GP W L T OTL PF PA Pts
Calgary Stampeders 18 12 5 1 0 604 495 25
Edmonton Eskimos 18 10 8 0 1 527 520 21
British Columbia Lions 18 8 10 0 1 513 529 17
Saskatchewan Roughriders 18 5 12 1 0 516 626 11
East Division Team GP W L T OTL PF PA Pts
Montreal Alouettes 18 12 6 0 0 594 379 24
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 9 9 0 2 470 446 20
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18 7 10 1 1 539 596 16
Toronto Argonauts 18 7 10 1 0 390 562 15
Semi-Finals - B.C. 34 - Edmonton 32
Semi-Finals - Winnipeg 22 - Hamilton 20
Finals - B.C. 37 - Calgary 23
Finals - Winnipeg 24 - Montreal 35
Grey Cup - B.C. 28 - Montreal 26
For more on the 2000 Grey Cup Click Here
The B.C. Lions began the 2000 season with training camp in Chilliwack, and they had only one goal in mind: win the Grey Cup. Six months later, they would achieve that goal, but the path to it was one of the most adventurous, unpredictable and memorable ever in the Canadian Football League. The year started well enough with exciting victories over Hamilton and Saskatchewan, but a 35-2 loss to Calgary began a four-game losing streak and a lot of finger-pointing. A win over the Toronto Argonauts halted the slide, but following the game head coach Greg Mohns resigned to go to the XFL. Long-time CFL coach Steve Buratto, who joined the club only two weeks earlier as a receivers coach, was promoted to the top job, and got instant results with a huge 51-4 win over the Argos in the second of back-to-back games.
Despite playing exciting football on offence and being close in every game, the Lions only won one of their next five to sit at 5-9 on Thanksgiving, and a playoff spot seemed questionable, let alone a Grey Cup win. It was put up or shut up time, and the Lions came together when it counted the most. They won three of their last four heading into the playoffs, the offence became the best in the CFL, Damon Allen broke Ron Lancaster’s record for career passing yardage, Lui Passaglia played in a memorable “Luv Ya Lui” night final game at home, and also set a record for single season field goal percentage. The Lions finished the year 8-10 and in third place in the West, but everyone could see they were a dangerous team. A snarly defence started to show its grit, and the Lions roared into Edmonton a confident bunch and emerged with a 34-32 Western Semi-Final victory. Next came Calgary in the Western Final, and the Lions steamrolled to a decisive 37-23 win. The Cinderella season came to a close on November 26th in the Grey Cup, as B.C. won its fourth championship in team history with a nail biting 28-26 victory. It was the only time a sub-.500 team in the regular season won the Grey Cup, and it signaled a marvelous end to Passaglia’s 25-year CFL career.
West Division Team GP W L T OTL PF PA Pts
Calgary Stampeders 18 12 5 1 0 604 495 25
Edmonton Eskimos 18 10 8 0 1 527 520 21
British Columbia Lions 18 8 10 0 1 513 529 17
Saskatchewan Roughriders 18 5 12 1 0 516 626 11
East Division Team GP W L T OTL PF PA Pts
Montreal Alouettes 18 12 6 0 0 594 379 24
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 9 9 0 2 470 446 20
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18 7 10 1 1 539 596 16
Toronto Argonauts 18 7 10 1 0 390 562 15
Semi-Finals - B.C. 34 - Edmonton 32
Semi-Finals - Winnipeg 22 - Hamilton 20
Finals - B.C. 37 - Calgary 23
Finals - Winnipeg 24 - Montreal 35
Grey Cup - B.C. 28 - Montreal 26
For more on the 2000 Grey Cup Click Here