A sea of blue and white surrounded Maple Leaf Square this afternoon as hundreds celebrated the Toronto Argonauts' Grey Cup win with a lively victory rally.
The Argos — the Canadian Football League’s most decorated team — defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 41-24 in Sunday night's championship game at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium. It’s the franchise’s 19th title in history.
Nick Arbuckle, the team’s backup quarterback who stepped up big in his Grey Cup debut over the weekend, was named the game’s most outstanding player.
The organization’s leadership provided speeches next to Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday before the team hoisted the coveted trophy in front of a raucous home crowd.
Paul Murphy, a fan of the team for more than 40 years, remembered hosting his first-ever house party when the Argos celebrated a championship back in 1983.
At the time, it was Toronto’s first Grey Cup victory in 31 years, ending the league’s longest title drought.
With eight championships since then, including three in the last seven years, it’s safe to say the Argos haven’t had too many dry spells as of late.
“I’ve seen a lot of championships in that time,” Murphy said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I love to see them win. Arbuckle really came through; he was fantastic.”
Steven Art, who has also been a fan since he was young, told TorontoToday he gets to watch several games at BMO Field each season, as he lives just a ten-minute walk away from the gridiron.
While he recognized there are bigger teams with much larger fanbases in Toronto, Art said more people should be tuning into Argos games, especially with the results they’ve had.
“It’s wonderful because all the other Toronto sports teams can’t seem to win a championship, other than the Raptors of course,” he said. “If you’re not watching, you’re missing great football. You can buy a pair of tickets for 40 dollars, and the tailgate parties are a lot of fun too. People are very generous with their food and hospitality.”
The Argos’ victory rally, which wrapped up in the early afternoon, also featured a DJ, cheerleaders and a variety of giveaways.
