The Toronto Argonauts handed the Calgary Stampeders their second successive Grey Cup loss last week in heartbreaking fashion, returning a Calgary fumble 109 yards for a game-tying touchdown with five minutes remaining, then clinching with a late winning field goal. It was the kind of win that will fuel cruel taunts for years to come, and another Toronto team already took advantage of its opportunity.
Ahead of their game tonight against the Calgary Flames, the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to honor the Argos’ epic victory—and Calgary’s failure—with some pre-game festivities. The brief ceremony, which was televised nationally on Sportsnet, didn’t feature much more than a highlight video and a ceremonial puck drop by some Argonauts, but it was still enough to surely demoralize plenty of Calgarians who just wanted to watch some hockey.
To be clear, this was simply the Leafs’ first home game since the Grey Cup, and they probably would have honored the Argos no matter who they were playing tonight, but at the very least, this was a perfect little coincidence. I don’t have a horse in this race, and I’m normally loath to compliment the Leafs for anything, but that fumble was too wild to pass up any opportunity at rubbing it in. Finally, Canada has its own “The Warriors blew a 3-1 lead” joke.