Thousands of jubilant fans cheered the Edmonton Eskimos in the traditional victory parade, less than 48 hours after defeating the defending champion Montreal Alouettes, 34-22 in the 91st Grey Cup at Taylor Field.
It marked Edmonton's first CFL championship since 1993.
"Isn't it sweet?" chimed Eskimos fan Keith Burnett. "Hopefully, we're going to take a run at it and get five in a row -- just like the old days, baby."
Leo Groenewegen hoists the Grey Cup during Tuesday's celebration.(CP Photo/John Ulan)
The Eskimos captured five consecutive Grey Cups from 1978-82.
"On behalf of all the players, we'd like to thank the fans for all their support, thank the City of Edmonton for all their support," Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray said at the post-parade pep rally.
"And it's a great honour for us to bring the Grey Cup back to the city of champions."
Ray, of course, is rumoured to be headed to the NFL next season.
But Eskimos general manager Hugh Campbell tried to get the crowd to convince him otherwise, with a new cheer.
"It goes like this," Campbell said. "Ricky Ray, please stay!"
"We'll see what happens," Ray told reporters afterwards.
"If he wants to go it's his decision," said teenager Jason Killam. "But I think we'd all love to see him stay.
"If he wants to go to the NFL, we do have quarterbacks that'll back him up and have backed him up. I think the team is strong enough that, even without him, we'll get back to the Grey Cup."
with files from CP Online
