The Grey Cup versus the Super Bowl.
Whether it’s on the field or off, the two championship games seemed to be compared on a regular basis north of the 49th parallel.
On the field, the biggest comparison has always been the competitiveness of the game.
There was a time when the Grey Cup had a distinctive advantage over the Super Bowl in terms of competitiveness but the salary cap era has changed all that.
The last nine Super Bowls have been decided by 3,3,22,11,10,8,6,14 and 4 points. That’s an average difference of 9 points.
The last nine Grey Cups have been decided by 4,1,8,21,11,3,3,6 and 4 points. That’s an average difference of 6.7 points.
In reality, there’s really not that much that differentiates these games from a competitive standpoint.
Now when it comes to attending a Grey Cup versus a Super Bowl, the difference is as vast as the Pacific.
You can’t deny the fact that the Super Bowl is not for the average fan. Anthony Beyrouti of Venue Kings – a Vancouver-based ticker broker firm – tells us that it will cost you $8,500 US just to get into Allegiant Stadium on Sunday to watch the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Getting into the building for a Grey Cup game can be done for as low as $100CN during most years.
Then there those that love to compare the two with most bashing the Super Bowl as a corporate event while promoting the Grey Cup as a festival that everyone can enjoy.
Tickets for Super Bowl events can range anywhere from$200 to into the four-figure range depending on what you desire and the closer it gets closer to Sunday.
Compare that to the CFL, where fans can go to usually a banquet hall that has numerous team rooms for a minimal fee.
You’re comparing Shaq’s Fun House at $500US a pop to paying $100CAN for three-days of admission to ALL the CFL team rooms such as Riderville, The Lions Den, Stamps Houses and such.
Yes, the Grey Cup is truly for the fans but that doesn’t mean the Super Bowl can’t be fun too.
We’ve been lucky.
When you do this as long as we have and networked as we have, you have an obvious advantage over someone who is coming for the first time.
Remember that old expression – it’s not what you know but who you know?
Well with the Super Bowl it’s all about who you know.
I’m not going to get into specific events but almost all of the Super Bowl parties that we have been privileged to attend over the years has been a result of having a relationship through a direct contact that we have established or through a one degree of separation’ scenario when it comes to such a contact.
Someone once asked me to compare the two events and perhaps the best answer I came up with is as follows. The Grey Cup is your friend’s house party where everyone dresses super casual, drinks beer and chows down on pizza. The Super Bowl is that gala you go downtown in formal attire with waiters serving you hors d’oeuvres and champagne on a tray.
You can have a great time at both – you just have to make sure that somehow you get that ticket to the gala.
OVERTIME
* We will have full extended coverage from Radio Row at Las Vegas with nightly shows at airing from 10 p.m. to midnight on Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver, AM 1150 in Kelowna and CFAX 1070 in Victoria. Content will also be posted on @TheReal Moj on X, Instagram and TikTok with all interviews and bonus coverage on MojonSports.com and TodayInBC.com.
* All interviews will also be posted on YouTube at Moj on Sports. Through the first two days guests have included Chris Simms from NBC, Brian Baldinger of the NFL Network, JT The Brick from Sirius Radio, former NFL head coaches Brian Billick and Mike Smith, former NFL general manager Thomas Dimitroff as well as former NFL player and current podcast star Taylor Lewan.
* From the Small World Department, we learned that Billick visits his sister in Bowen Island on a regular basis while Lewan’s wife is from Kelowna.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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