WINNIPEG — Excitement for the Canadian football showdown of the year is nearing its peak in Winnipeg as Edmonton and Ottawa fans decked themselves out in team colours and engaged in a bit of friendly trash talk for the Grey Cup.
Fans gathered in downtown Winnipeg Sunday for a pre-game march, some dressed head-to-toe in red and black lumberjack shirts and others in green and yellow with faces to match. Ottawa Redblacks fans gathered for a photo, booing a heavily painted Edmonton Eskimos fan who photobombed the group.
Jay Ferguson, 28 from Edmonton, arrived in Winnipeg with two friends Thursday and has been living and breathing the Grey Cup ever since.
"Just passing the time before we win," he said laughing. "It's ours."
Ferguson and his friends, Peter and Matthew Machado, bought their tickets in April hoping that this was going to be Edmonton's year.
"We were down in the dumps for a decade so it's nice to be back on top," Ferguson said.
The trio say they have been a bit put off by the "pro-Ottawa" sentiment in Winnipeg but that's not enough to dampen their spirits.
"It's been nothing but an Ottawa love-fest for four days straight and the Eskimos are getting no respect," said Matthew Machado, 28. "We're going to beat them up on all aspects of the game.
"When the Eskimos win, I'm going to ugly-cry for the next six months straight until the start of the 2016 season."
Ken Macinnes, 40 from Ottawa, admitted he's been feeling the love in Winnipeg as well.
"I think it's probably due to the fact that people are probably cheering against Edmonton as much as it is for the Redblacks," he laughed. "All the restaurants you go to, people are wearing Redblacks hats or jerseys."
Macinnes bought his tickets in the spring, not expecting his team to make the final game. He lost his voice "for about a week" because he was screaming so much at the eastern final.
"I'm recovered now and ready to lose it again," he said, adding he expects a nail-biting, low-scoring game. "It's one game. Anything can happen."
Redblacks fans Donald Maisonneuve and Anne Proulx made a last-minute decision Wednesday to drive to Winnipeg for the game. They didn't have tickets or a place to stay but everything fell into place when they arrived.
Dressed in team colours with a bright, fuzzy red-haired toque, Maisonneuve said they have loved every minute of the party so far.
"I wanted to live the Grey Cup here in Winnipeg," Maisonneuve said. "I even brought my wheelbarrow to bring back that Grey Cup home to Ottawa.
"I know Edmonton deserve it too because they've been waiting so long for that Grey Cup but Ottawa is here so sorry Edmonton!"
