A winners' Grey Cup share is $10,000, while the losers get $5,000 each. "The money will come and go," Hamilton defensive tackle Mike Philbrick said before yesterday's kickoff. "It's a competitive spirit. That why championship baseball is so good; that's why championship hockey is so good; that's why championship football is so good. There is no tomorrow, there is no next play. This is it, and if you win you get a championship ring that lasts the rest of your life. You get your name engraved on Earl Grey's cup." (1999)
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Mike Philbrick isn't sure he likes the analogy. "I wouldn't describe the CFL like a roach living on after a nuclear war," the big Hamilton defensive tackle said with a geez-give-us-a-break-here kind of grin. Like one of those trick birthday candles, however, the old flame flickers but never seems to quite go out in the hearts of Canadians. "The CFL has had its troubles come and go," Philbrick said. "But it's a big part of Canadiana, the Grey Cup, and it usually comes right down to the end." (1999)
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