Ranking the CFL team party rooms at the 113th Grey Cup Festival in Calgary

Photo courtesy: John Hodge/CFL.ca

World-class sporting events are not just about the game itself, and the Grey Cup is no exception.

Thousands of Canadians flock to the festival that precedes the game. The parties leading up to kickoff are arguably just as, if not more, important than the result of the CFL championship-deciding contest.

This year was slightly different from a media perspective.

I have attended nine Grey Cups as a member of the media, dating back to 2008. In each of those years, media was granted access to Grey Cup Festival events as a byproduct of their game credentials, in order to provide full coverage for their audience. As I approached the gate with the rest of the crew from 3DownNation, ready to offer a multi-faceted perspective on the team party rooms, I was shocked to be turned away and told our festival credentials were inadequate to gain entry.

This was not an issue limited to our team either, as the collected media and even league employees have been told they would not be granted access without a purchased wristband.

After several phone calls to Festival officials and PR people, it was finally determined that I alone, as the “Senior Festival Correspondent,” would be granted access to tell you, our readers, how it feels behind the velvet rope.

The blame for this does not lie with the people who barred the way initially, as they were only doing their job as instructed. However, the missing communication between the league and the Festival organizers, who decided to revoke a previous courtesy that helps the media tell the story of the week, led to many outlets deciding they wouldn’t tell that story at all.

This does the Festival no favours, and I can’t imagine that will be the case in future years.

The team parties themselves are all in the BMO Centre in downtown Calgary, a collection of cavernous warehouses that do a great disservice to a party atmosphere, with absurdly high ceilings and rooms that extend forever, removing any sense of a crowd or collective experience that is felt in the best nightclubs in the world.

With all that being said, as one of only a few reporters nationally who was granted access, here are my rankings of the team parties as they existed on Friday night between 11:00 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.

6) Touchdown Manitoba

Maybe the hangover from several recent Grey Cup appearances kept Bomber fans from attending this year, but even those in Winnipeg jerseys were spending time in other rooms.  Touchdown Manitoba was virtually empty just after 11:00 when I was finally allowed in.

This was one of the parties hosted in a convention hall, which made the lack of people in attendance even more striking as the room swallowed the stragglers whole.

I’m not surprised at the lack of attendees given the balloon-heavy decor that was reminiscent of a high school graduation, and there being less to do from an activity standpoint, if you weren’t buying merch or beer.

Adding to the high school feel were the long tables and chairs gathered in the middle of the room.

The dance floor was empty, the DJ was playing generic club music, and the whole vibe was that of disappointment and sadness.

The one positive of the room being empty was that drinks could be had without anything resembling a wait, which does bump up the score here, but only slightly.

Score: 3/10

5) Stamps House

Another cavern that could have been better served by being half the size, Stamps House featured an empty dance floor, a DJ spinning club tunes, and a horseshoe pit.

By the time I arrived, all evidence of the cornhole tournament from earlier in the day was gone, but I was a little surprised they didn’t leave one or two sets out for people to play on, as they did in other rooms.

The horseshoe pit was unique to Stamps House, and people were playing as I toured the room.

Several of the rooms featured huge inflatable couches to climb on and take team-specific photos, but in the Calgary room, it was a CFL-branded version instead.

The tables inside were largely standing room only, with fewer seated options, and were spread very far apart in an effort to fill the space.

Score: 5/10

4) Riderville

It’s no secret that Rider fans are everywhere.

You can’t go to any ticketed sporting event in this country without seeing someone wearing some form of Rider gear. While that may be true, Riderville wasn’t the place the people were congregating at this specific time.

The room did feature a miniature golf course in the middle, and a decent layout of tables that would accommodate both larger and smaller groups.

This party would have also been better off squeezing down to a more manageable size, but it at least felt more than half full.

Score: 6/10

3) Spirit of Edmonton

Long considered to be the (green and) gold standard of CFL party rooms, Spirit of Edmonton may have been hampered by being located inside the BMO with the other parties.

The Calgary Stampede Board keeps a pretty tight lid on alcohol sales and service within its borders. As such, there were Edmonton fans who told me that the party lacked some of the “Spirit” of past years.

Gone are the free-er pours and “sociables” after exchanging a few bucks for the poker chips that acted as drink tickets. They were replaced with the same tip screens and tap-to-pay options found anywhere else.

The room did have live music when I was in there, which is likely what led to a larger crowd and a busier dance floor that definitely raised the vibes.

The reputation must also carry, as there were jerseys from every team and era represented within the crowd, showing where the CFL diehards go.

Score: 8/10

2) B.C. Lions Den

This one is hair-splitting with Spirit of Edmonton, largely because the room featured two golf simulators, cornhole, and a basketball hoop that encouraged you to shoot around a little.

The muted orange lighting theme also lends itself better to the atmosphere than, say, the blue of the Bombers or the greens on display elsewhere.

While I was there, the dance floor was about half full, and the table situation seemed to be flexible, without seeming either too crowded or too spread out. A DJ was spinning and doing well to keep the people dancing.

Score: 8/10

1) East Coast Kitchen Party

Perhaps as a reflection of the amount of travelling fans expected, the Argos, Redblacks, and Ticats all jumped into the East Coast party room with the as-yet undefeated Atlantic Schooners.

With four hosts, it’s no surprise that this was the busiest room, but it wasn’t the logos on the door that brought the fans into the place. Much smaller than the convention rooms of the other teams, this party is in a ballroom and gives a much more intimate feel to the goings-on.

There were fewer gimmicks and games inside the room itself, which is almost entirely covered with tables. The lower ceiling and more cozy feel kept a line outside this party the entire time I was there.

“Screeching in” ceremonies, where participants kiss a codfish and drink some Jamaican Rum to become an honorary Newfoundlander, are available for $20, but there were many signs saying that they had to limit how many they did this year, indicating how popular the practice is.

Live Celtic music punctuated the dance hall vibe that was “all things to everyone.” No one chose to “run, run, away.”

The only thing that is keeping this from being a perfect score is that for fans of the three tag-along teams, there were no merch booths for them to refresh their wardrobe, just one table of Schooners merch.

That said, for the team that doesn’t exist, they sure can party.

Score: 9/10