101st Grey Cup

On September 29, 2011, news agencies reported that the game would be awarded to Regina, Saskatchewan.[4][5] On October 13, 2011, it was officially announced by the Canadian Football League that the city of Regina would host the game.[2] It was the third time that Regina hosted the event, following the 1995 and 2003 games.

It was announced on February 24, 2012 that Mosaic Stadium would be undergoing a series of renovations and upgrades to increase capacity to host the Grey Cup.[6][7] The Saskatchewan Roughriders spent $14 million to increase seating capacity to approximately 45,000 by adding temporary seats in the end zones. Corporate boxes, concessions and washroom facilities were also added to accommodate the increased number of fans at the stadium. A new 60-foot wide digital LED screen and scoreboard was installed in the northeast end zone while another new 55-foot wide digital LED screen and scoreboard was attached to the west grandstand.[8]

The Grey Cup Committee announced the details of the 101st Grey Cup on November 29, 2012.

Numerous festivities within Regina and throughout Saskatchewan were held as part of the Grey Cup celebrations. The festivities were officially named the "Celebration in Rider Nation" by the host Roughriders. The 101st Grey Cup Festival opened on Wednesday with its opening ceremonies and ran up until kick-off, while including such traditional events as the Grey Cup parade on Saturday[9] and the team-based parties on Friday.[10] The festival also featured concerts by several popular Canadian bands, including the Barenaked Ladies and Hedley, who performed during the game at halftime.

Elsewhere in the province, organizers held a Riderville North celebration in Saskatoon. Aside from a viewing party of the game, the event also featured interactive games, tributes to the Riders and musical performances, including one by The Sheepdogs the night before the game.[11]

As the designated visiting team, Hamilton called heads for the coin toss. With the toss turning up tails, Saskatchewan deferred their choice to the second half. Hamilton chose to receive the ball to open the game and Saskatchewan chose to defend the south end zone, giving Hamilton the notable wind at their backs and the ball to open the game.

Hamilton head coach Kent Austin never used the scramble offence (that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats often used with great results in their two East Division playoff games, deploying backup quarterback Dan LeFevour and occasionally even number three quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to run the scramble offence, temporarily leaving starting quarterback Henry Burris on the sidelines) on even a single play in the entire Grey Cup game.

Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durant started the game off poorly, fumbling the ball twice during Saskatchewan's first two offensive drives of the game, with the first being self-recovered and the second being caught by Saskatchewan running back Kory Sheets and carried for a 39-yard gain. Hamilton opened the scoring early in the first with a field goal by Luca Congi, but Saskatchewan quickly responded with a touchdown pass from Durant to Geroy Simon to make it 7–3 for the Roughriders at the end of the first.[13]

Saskatchewan opened the second quarter with a field goal to make it 10–3, and Saskatchewan running back Jock Sanders scored a touchdown to put the Roughriders up 17–3. Following a turnover by Hamilton quarterback Henry Burris, who missed a snap and allowed the football to shoot past him, Sheets scored his first touchdown for Saskatchewan to extend their lead to 24–3. While Hamilton would score another field goal before the end of the quarter, a 42-yard pass from Durant to Simon at the end of the quarter put the Riders up 31–6 at half-time. The 24-point performance by the Saskatchewan offence ranks as one of the best single-quarter performances in Grey Cup history.[14]

The third quarter opened with neither team able to sustain a meaningful drive until near the end of the quarter, when Burris ran the ball 18 yards for Hamilton's first touchdown of the game. That would turn out to be the only score of the quarter, although Hamilton scored a field goal in the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 31–16 for the Roughriders with fifteen minutes left to play.[14] However, Hamilton was unable to translate its momentum into another touchdown, and with five minutes remaining in the game Kory Sheets scored another touchdown for the Roughriders to extend the Riders' lead to 38–16. Saskatchewan forced a turnover on the following Tiger-Cats' possession which quickly led to a touchdown by Weston Dressler to make the score 45–16. The Tiger-Cats would close the scoring with a touchdown by C.J. Gable, but it proved to be too little as the Roughriders allowed the clock to run down and won the game with a final score of 45–23.[14][15]

Like the 100th edition, the 101st Grey Cup featured an all-star lineup of Canadian musical acts. The opening ceremonies of the game were marked by a performance by the Saskatoon-based group The Sheepdogs, who played two songs, while the national anthem was performed by Ontarian singer Serena Ryder.[17] The half-time show was sponsored by Sirius XM and featured the rock band Hedley in a 13-minute compilation performance of Hands Up, Anything, Invincible and Cha-Ching, which included several stunts by a performer on a snowmobile.[18]

In Canada, the English broadcast was presented on TSN, while the French language broadcast was handled by its sister station, broadcast in Canada by RDS. In the United States, the game was broadcast on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN, simulcasting the TSN feed).

On the radio, the game was covered by TSN Radio, AM900 CHML, CKRM and Sirius XM.[19]

Overall, the game was seen by 11.5 million viewers, or approximately 1 in 3 Canadians, with an average viewership of 4.5 million.[20][21]

In the immediate aftermath of the game, thousands of fans poured into the streets of Regina to celebrate. The Saskatchewan Roughriders held a Grey Cup parade on November 26 that started from Mosaic Stadium, travelled south down Albert Street, and ended at the Legislative Building, where a short ceremony occurred.[22]