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There are some things you never get tired of doing and getting to attend Grey Cup each year is certainly one of those.

My Grey Cup resume looks like this:

Toronto - 1992, 2007

Hamilton - 1996

Vancouver - 2005

Edmonton - 2002

Regina - 1995, 2003

Montreal - 2001, 2008

Winnipeg - 2006

Ottawa - 1988, 2004

The only one missing on that list is Calgary so this year's trip is a little special for me. (Still regret that I didn't get to attend the 1997 game when it was originally scheduled for Baltimore.) I had a friend call me this summer and tell me he was thinking of going to either the Grey Cup or Super Bowl and wanted my advice. I've been to eight Super Bowls and while I've felt lucky to be at every one of them -- and had some very good times -- there's really no comparison to Grey Cups when it comes to the overall experience.

Why? Because there are no people at Super Bowls. Lots and lots of suits, a few celebrities and a world of sky-high prices.

But nothing for real fans.

This is Grey Cup No. 13 for me and if I had to rank them it would be hard because there haven't really been any bad ones. Well, okay, the 1996 event in Hamilton really sucked. Not the game, which was great, but the event itself.

First there was the sense that it might actually be the last Grey Cup. Sounds strange but remember that was one year removed from the collapse of the U.S. teams and by the end of the 1996 season three teams in Canada were insolvent - B.C., Ottawa and Montreal (see what happens when David Braley isn't in the league!)

And then there was the fact that even witha Doug Flutie-led Argo team in the game, there was no sellout. In fact, after the Argos won the East Division final that year, barely any Toronto fans at all bought tickets for a game that was 45 minutes away!

So if Hamilton was the worst, what was the best Grey Cup event ever?

I've got to go with 1995, the first one ever held in Regina, where I was living at the time.

Everything that week was a home run, the city went wild and there was an enthusiam about Canadian football that gave the week a terrific feel. (That week also featured a personal favourite story of a guest of mine who arrived home in the middle of the night after one two many beers and helped himself to a bowl of mostly raw chicken wings ... But I digress)

Among the other Grey Cups, they've all been pretty good. Even Ottawa - which couldn't do anything right when it came to the CFL - put on two pretty good ones.

Now, as an aside, some of you may have read my blog last week about my travel misadventures.

That was only five days ago I posted that, but I since have a couple of additions.

Saturday morning my flight to Montreal was delayed by problems "with the hydraulics". A 10-minute delay became 20 and then 30 until they finally announced they would empty the plane.

Fortunately, I was seated near the front of the plane and was able to be among those first in line to stand by for the next flight. But after moving everyone over and re-boking them, that next flight left a little late and so I go to the player availability with two minutes to spare instead of two hours!

It was an uneventful flight home except for the traffic jam at 10:30 p.m. . . . on a Sunday night in Toronto on my way home from the airport.

But as I arrived for my flight to Calgary today, I was surprised to learn I have no ticket. It turns out there was a snafu in the booking process back in September.

And evidently when an airline sends you something that says "confirmed" that doesn't really mean you're going.

Funny that the very first dictionary.com definition of "confirmed" actually uses an airport example.

1. made certain as to truth, accuracy, validity, availability, etc.: confirmed reports of new fighting at the front; confirmed reservations on the three o'clock flight to Denver.

So after a few phone calls, I'm now going tonight instead of this afternoon.

A slow start to this Grey Cup week, but one that will surely get better.