The Grey Cup officially arrived in Vancouver Wednesday amid military pomp and pageantry and the small, steady hands of atom football player Dario Ciccone.
Ciccone, who plays a defensive role of safety with the Vancouver Trojans amateur football club, handled the holy grail of Canada's gridiron game. He stepped off the Canadian Forces helicopter at HMCS Discovery and carried the Grey Cup, not quite as tall as his four-foot-six frame, through a line of saluting military personnel toward a throng of two dozen TV cameras and reporters.
"It's pretty awesome," he said, confident his touch would bode well for the home team Leos. "It means a lot to me because I play football and I want to make sure the Lions win." The Grey Cup itself: "Not that heavy."
Four more amateur football players accompanied Ciccone and the Cup, including UBC Thunderbird and Vancouver College graduate Adam Konar, son of B.C. Lions alum, Kevin, and Joseph Gabriele of the Notre Dame Jugglers.
"It was really cool flying over the city and seeing everything from inside that helicopter, " said Konar.
Although his father twice won the Grey Cup as a star linebacker with the Lions in 1983 and '85, 18-year-old Konar hadn't ever been so close to the prize CFL hardware. "A situation like this, you can really feel the atmosphere around here. Everyone is getting excited for this weekend."
With UBC this year, the freshman linebacker came close to competing for the Vanier Cup, the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship that goes down Friday night at B.C. Place Stadium. The Vanier Cup was delivered alongside the Grey Cup.
UBC is awash in positive sentiment and publicity, said Olson, Konar's breakout varsity coach.
"It's nice to hear about Adam and the presentation. He is one of our stars of the future and had an amazing rookie season. I have a feeling it won't be the only time he will have his hands on both of those cups."
The decision to include child and teenage football players-four young men and one woman-in the highly orchestrated arrival of the Grey and Vanier cups was a generous nod to amateur football, according to Cory Philpot.
The retired running back won a Grey Cup with the Lions in 1994 and now directs the Vancouver Trojans football club, the same East Side program where Ciccone plays. "It's awesome, being able to go out and do something that you work on for a long time in football and your career, starting as a five-year-old, learning how to play," he said.
Reached in Florida, Philpot said inviting Ciccone to handle the Grey Cup was an honour. Winning one is tops, too.
"It's great having your name on the Grey Cup."
An understatement, surely, as CFL fans and players focus their attention on Sunday's game between the B.C. Lions and Winnipeg Bluebombers. [email protected]
