Ottawans tickled pink as RedBlacks bring city its first Grey Cup victory in 40 years

City of champions

Sunday's victory sparked jubilation on social media from the nation's capital, which will honour the winning RedBlacks at a parade on Tuesday.

The mayors of both cities watched the game, eager to collect on their friendly wagers. Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi will have to wear a RedBlacks jersey, read a poem chosen by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and donate 10 times the score differential to a food bank in Ottawa.

The two also offered an exchange of local cuisine: Mr. Watson will receive salty caramel doughnuts from Calgary, while Mr. Nenshi will receive Beaver Tails, a fried pastry that are hot sellers on cold winter days along Ottawa's Rideau Canal.

Ottawa-born Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in Madagascar leading the Canadian delegation to the summit of la Francophonie, congratulated the RedBlacks on Monday morning and said he had been following the game on the plane ride home.

The Prime Minister also sent fans a video message before the game, where it got a few boos from the audience, some of it apparently due to the controversy around Mr. Trudeau's laudatory remarks after the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Friday.

On the field

At BMO Field in Toronto, it was like a collective paralysis followed by fits of joy for an Ottawa-heavy crowd after the RedBlacks victory in overtime.

"I'm feeling frigging awesome! I thought I was going to have a heart attack and now I feel great, good, awesome," said Karen Greenwood-Milne. "I even cried a bit – oh man, that was unbelievable, holy crap!"

The victory had special meaning for Daniel Way, who went to Rough Riders games with his father as a child decades ago. On Sunday, he watched his hometown team win with his son and daughter, both of whom live in Toronto. "It's great to share this with these two," Way said. "But I don't think Toronto gets the Grey Cup and I don't think they get the CFL, but this was like a home game for the RedBlacks tonight."

There were plenty of Canadian heavyweights in the crowd. The Governor-General of Canada, David Johnston, flipped the coin for possession before kickoff and former prime minister Stephen Harper was at the game wearing a Stampeders jersey.

Outside the stadium

Before the game, tailgating reviews were mixed as fans of all colours mingled in a jovial and "typically Canadian" party in a parking lot before kickoff.

RedBlacks fans said they loved the experience outside the stadium, where beers sold for $4 and fans grilled hot dogs and calamari. "It's a really good opportunity for fans to get together, have some food and drinks before the game," said Lordele Greenyer, who came down from Ottawa a few days ago to take part in the festivities leading up to the game. "There's no tailgating in Ottawa, definitely nothing like this and I think they've done a very good job of it."

Some fans complained about the tailgating lot's location, which was across six lanes of traffic and in the opposite direction of the stadium. Stampeders fan Denae Lallier wasn't thrilled with the $500 ticket price. She had reason to complain, given she bought her ticket well before the Toronto Argonauts, who are the hosts of this year's Grey Cup, slashed prices last month in an effort to fill the stadium. Tickets were being peddled for about half price on the grey market outside the stadium.

Some Stampeders fans said they preferred the tailgating back home. They also complained about the ticket prices and the "terrible" public transit. "It wasn't well organized, it was difficult to find out where to go and the volunteers didn't know where the tailgating spot was," said Barry Wilson. "But we had a really good time when we got here – and we can't gripe about the weather."

With a report from Globe staff

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