Stamps-Eskimos West Division final embodies old-time football

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It got to a point where Dan Kepley abhorred the colour red. One look and he was a mad bull snorting at el matador's cape.

Red, Kepley said, was "their colour," the Calgary Stampeders' primary shade. And being an Edmonton Eskimo meant hating everything to do with that team, its city, its fans, even its mascot, Ralph the Dog, whose flapping tongue matches the colour of his Calgary jersey.

"I don't have anything red at my place," said Kepley, the retired middle linebacker who still feels the burn whenever he watches the Stampeders on TV. "I see it, I throw it out."

They play one another three times during the regular season, every season. They go Labour Day in Calgary, with the rematch four days later in Edmonton. They've clashed repeatedly in the CFL's West Division semi-final.

But when Edmonton and Calgary meet in the West final – as they will Sunday at McMahon Stadium – it rekindles the fervour like few other games. Not only does the winner get an invitation to the Grey Cup, it earns seven months of gloating over its vanquished foe. (The boasting comes even if the winning team loses a week later in the Grey Cup.)

That's the way it works in Alberta. The province's two main cities compete in the oil-and-gas sector, in political clout, but the bragging rights are biggest on turf and ice. There's no such thing as a friendly game between Edmonton and Calgary, not for the fans, the players and ex-players, too.

"Although both teams respected each other, it went from a dislike at the Labour Day games to a hate by playoff time," said Dave Sapunjis, who played for the Stampeders, was chosen the outstanding Canadian in three Grey Cups and is now a member of the club's executive ownership committee. "For me, those were my favourite games."

Both cities have kept count of their wins and losses against each other both in football and hockey. When Edmonton won five Grey Cups in a row (1978-82), and the NHL Oilers won five Stanley Cups in seven years, the provincial capital proclaimed itself City of Champions. Calgary, by comparison, won four Grey Cups dating to 1992 and has always been happy to recall how the Flames won a playoff series against Edmonton when Oilers' defenceman Steve Smith scored into his own net.

The Flames also captured the 1989 Stanley Cup. Edmonton fans scoffed at that accomplishment by joking, "How do they spell dynasty in Calgary? O-n-e."

One last set of numbers to stir the pot: To date, the two football teams have squared off eight times in the West final dating to 1990. That includes a four-in-a-row stretch from 1990 to 1993. Calgary won five finals, Edmonton three.

"We used to say whoever won the West final was going to win the Grey Cup," said Dwayne Mandrusiak, the Eskimos' equipment manager for 42 years. "The atmosphere, excitement, the intensity – it was all there when we played Calgary."

George Hopkins has been the Stampeders' equipment manager for 43 years. After the Eskimos defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders in last weekend's West semi-final, Hopkins texted his friend Mandrusiak to say congratulations, welcome to the West final. Mandrusiak texted back, "It's old-time football." "The way it's supposed to be," Hopkins wrote.

With all that experience between them, Hopkins and Mandrusiak were asked to pick their most memorable West final. Hopkins talked about the 1991 game that saw Demetrius (Pee Wee) Smith score on a late catch-and-run play to give Calgary a win at Commonwealth Stadium. In quick order, Hopkins and Mandrusiak both mentioned the 1993 game – Hopkins for all the wrong reasons, Mandrusiak for the good.

On that bitter afternoon in Calgary, the snow fell and temperatures plummeted. How cold was it? So cold that before the game started, the Eskimos decided they needed more winter clothing. Barb Ambrosie, the wife of Edmonton offensive lineman Randy Ambrosie, made an emergency run to a nearby sporting goods store where she bought balaclavas, gloves, anything she could get her hands on, and brought them back to the dressing room.

Suitably outfitted, Edmonton receiver Jim Sandusky scored on a lengthy touchdown run in the snow. He wobbled, slid, nearly fell, but managed to keep his footing all the way to the end zone.

Stampeders' head coach Wally Buono uttered one of the more memorable quotes after the disappointing loss. It had to do with a Calgary defensive back who was told not to jump out of position when Edmonton quarterback Damon Allen pump-faked a pass, only to pull the ball back and then throw.

"We told Karl Anthony, 'Don't jump the pump,'" Buono said. "And what does that goofy Karl Anthony do? He jumps the pump!"

That wasn't all. The industrial heaters on the Calgary sidelines froze at halftime and couldn't be relit. (Edmonton's worked fine.) Calgary quarterback Doug Flutie's hands were so numb he couldn't hold the football and had to come out of the game. Worse still for the Stampeders, winning the final put the Eskimos in the 1993 Grey Cup, which was scheduled for the following Sunday … at McMahon Stadium.

That meant the Eskimos got to move into the Stampeders' dressing room for Grey Cup week. Think of the most annoying person you know moving into your house for a week and asking, "what's for dinner?" That's how the Stampeders described it.

"I felt for George," Mandrusiak said. "In 2010, we were saying we didn't want the Stampeders in our room."

"It's the ultimate indignity," Hopkins recalled.

If you dig to the core of this made-in-Alberta battle of one-upmanship, you find a sporting axiom that rings true: No great athlete, no great team makes it to the top – and stays there – without being pushed by a great rival. Bjorn Borg needed John McEnroe in tennis. Arnold Palmer had Jack Nicklaus in golf. Nancy Kerrigan suffered Tonya Harding in figure skating.

Both the Stampeders and Flames needed their Edmonton counterparts to transform all those Calgary losses into something beneficial.

Buono remade his defence with players with the speed to keep up with Edmonton quarterback Tracy Ham. Flames' coach Bob Johnson came up with a seven-point plan designed solely for beating the Oilers. (First point: Do not fall behind on the scoreboard early in the game.) Eventually, Calgary's football and hockey teams were able to convert their lessons into wins.

As time went on, the two cities and their pro teams reached out to one another in matters of business. The Flames and Oilers ran a ticket lottery to increase revenue. The Flames bought a majority share in the Stampeders, giving them sway on two sporting fronts. Edmonton and Calgary shared hosting the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Plus, the Oilers led the charge for a multimillion-dollar arena while Calgary quietly took notes on how to get a new facility of its own.

Dan Mason, a University of Alberta professor in physical education and recreation who has followed the Edmonton-Calgary plot lines, believes the two cities can be formidable allies when it suits their needs.

"They are unique up-and-comers as cities," Mason said. "They have advantages in their economies and the teams recognize there are certain things they can work on together. I think it's more strategic now. When it suits the interest of the owners, they play off the rivalry. They are starting to realize that the success of one team is good for the other."

Those who will be playing in Sunday's game are not the least bit interested in what happens in the boardroom. The Stampeders last reached the Grey Cup finale in 2012, and lost. Edmonton is looking to secure its first Cup berth since 2005. The leaders on both teams have told their newcomers that this is not just another game, not even another playoff game. This is a playoff game against "those other guys."

Of all the people with something to say about this storied rivalry, Randy Ambrosie experienced it like no one else.

Signed by Calgary, where he spent two seasons, Ambrosie later became an Eskimo. He won only one Grey Cup in his 10 years in the CFL. It was the 1993 Cup played in Calgary, where all week long he got to sit in the dressing room stall he had occupied as a Stampeder.

That November game was his last with Edmonton. He retired soon after, feeling blessed to have been a part of it all. North versus south. Edmonton against Calgary. A blue-collar crowd versus a more corporate vibe.

Naturally, Ambrosie was asked which team he'll be cheering for on Sunday and there was no hesitation in his answer: "Once an Eskimo, always an Eskimo."

Old-time football, the way it's supposed to be. Just don't jump the pump.