Fan In Van

Shrum Bowl XXXI

So last night I had the honour of being able to attend the annual football grudge match pitting SFU and UBC. For both teams there was a lot on the line — UBC’s playoff hopes were hanging by a thread and needed the win, while SFU, who had been having a great season, were hoping to win their first Shrum Bowl in five years.

I think that, for a lot of the SFU players, they really wanted to win this game. If you don’t know it, the reputation of the SFU football program has been ripped for four years during SFU’s lengthy losing streak. Only this August did the team break the losing skid.

In the end, Jeff Biles’ 37-yard field goal with 2.2 seconds remaining in the game was enough to give SFU the slimmest of all victories, a 20-19 Shrum Bowl title.

As I watched it all happen on field level it seemed surreal; players and coaches alike flooded the field and mobbed Biles and the rest of the Clan offense. I saw fans jumping over the security railing in the stands to join the huge crowd.

But what probably stuck with me for the rest of the night was seeing some of the Clan players just emotionally overcome after the game. As they lifted the legendary Shrum Bowl trophy high into the cold night it was incredible to realize that for a lot of these guys who have struggled for years, lifting the Shrum Bowl title was like lifting a gigantic weight off their shoulders.

To cap the post off, I’ll show one picture which can say a thousand words:

Photo courtesy of Andy Fang - Peak Sports