The Vanier Cup Is Headed To Kingston!

Touchdown! Field Goal! We Want The College Bowl!

At least that’s what we always used to say during football season. That was back in a bygone era in which the Canadian university football championship was, indeed, called the College Bowl.

Yes, in Canada they understand the value of a football playoff system, which has been in effect for as long as I can remember. The BCS and some annoying college presidents would do well to take a visit to the north to witness how great it actually works. A fine perspective by writer Andrew Bucholtz can be found here.

But I digress. Back to today’s excitement!

The Vanier Cup, the trophy given to the Canadian university football national champion, is now on it’s way to Kingston. The Queen’s University Golden Gaels, my alma mater, beat the Calgary Dinos 33 – 31 this afternoon. They were down 25 – 7 at halftime, and stormed back to lead 33 – 25 late in the fourth quarter. Final: 33 – 31. It was a 17 year wait, but it was well worth it.

Over the past few weeks, I have watched the Gaels’ run toward the national championship. With the beauty of modern technology, I was able to follow my beloved Gaels via live blog over the past few weeks. Today, not only did I follow the live blog  (for those of you interested, you can find the transcript here) but I was also able to follow it online with a live radio broadcast from Calgary! This is a far cry from the last time the Gaels were in the national championship (and won) back in 1992.

Today’s game pitted the Golden Gaels against the Calgary Dinos and the country’s Hec Creighton Award (aka the Canadian Heisman trophy) winner  Erik Glavic. The Gaels had already beaten #5 Western Ontario, then #1 Laval, on the way to today’s game against #2 Calgary (Queen’s was #4). It was a rematch of the 1983 national championship, a game that Calgary won. But this time around, it was Queen’s with the stunning victory over another ranked opponent.

Just as an aside, Queen’s University was established in 1841 (older than Canada, I might add!), and is without a doubt one of the proudest educational institutions in Canada. The students study hard, and play harder (just ask any Queen’s Engineer). It is known as “The Harvard of the North”. But the Tricolour also have a long and storied football history in Canada, and continue to provide a fine example that academics and athletics can co-exist in a university setting. Of course, I may be a little biased (McGill who?).

To make a long story short – we are national champions - again! The Golden Gaels now have a national championship record of 4 – 1. But it wouldn’t be a proper Golden Gaels victory without an Oil Thigh – so here we go:

Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill!

Queen's College colours we are wearing once again,
Soiled as they are by the battle and the rain,
Yet another victory to wipe away the stain!
So, Gaels, go in and win!

Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill!

What's the sport of Kings?
Queen's! Queen's! Queen's!
Oil thigh na Banrighinn Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill!
Oil thigh na Banrighinn Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill!
Yay Queen´s!

Many thanks to Andrew Bucholtz (@AndrewBucholtz on Twitter). It was pure luck that I discovered his site and was able to enjoy the Gaels’ adventures fully over the past few weeks!

Photo credit: Tyler Ball, @Queensu, colinmcleod13