With nearly 50 years of experience in the CFL, there’s no one better than George Hopkins to chat with about the wonders of the Grey Cup.
As part of the CFL’s Grey Cup Unite Week, we chatted with the long-time Stampeders Equipment Manager to talk about his favourite memories surrounding the big game.

Stay tuned for more from ‘Geo’ as he will be joining members of the ’92 Grey Cup team for a virtual hangout later this week!

Q: With your experience from watching the game, to working it, winning or losing, what makes the Grey Cup so special?

A: I think honestly, the fact that it is almost – as dumb as it sounds – a Canadian holiday. If you happen to be in the city where it’s taking place, it’s so festive. Even in a big city like Toronto, with so many things going on, they can throw a pretty good Grey Cup party. If you’re watching from home, it’s infectious and you can get wrapped up in it. It’s the one thing that I honestly think can unite the country from coast to coast, because the Grey Cup is distinctly Canadian.

Q: Which city throws the best party?

A: I can’t honestly say how good our parties are, because I’ve been involved in the game. I will admit that for the last one in ’19, I did get down and experience Stamps House for the first time, so I’m a little biased against Calgary because I’ve had so few experiences with it. As much as I hate to admit it, Saskatchewan throws one heck of a party for the Grey Cup.

Q: What’s it like for you working the big game?

A: A lot of extra work that you can’t complain about. Just from a logistics standpoint, to get everything packed up and moved, it’s a nightmare. Getting in, moving everything into the locker-room … if you’re fortunate to be in a locker-room the whole week it’s a bonus, but the last few times we’ve been in one place for a few days and then in another for a day and then you have to move into the stadium, because you rarely practice onsite so the field stays in pristine condition. Basically, it’s a lot more work, but there’s no reason to complain because you’re at the Grey Cup. The moving, the setting up, there’s a lot of challenges to it, but there’s no complaints when you’re competing in the big game.

Q: How fortunate do you feel to have participated in and won so many Grey Cups?

A: I put it in the perspective from the standpoint that I was with the team fro 20 years before I went to my first one. It’s been back loaded in my career that I’ve had a lot of success. I started in ’72 and the first one I went to was in ’91 and we lost that one. I don’t take any of it for granted. Every Grey Cup is different, but they’re all very much appreciated.

Q: Of all the Grey Cups you’ve experienced, which one was your favourite?

A: ’92 for sure because it was my first. That one I’ll always remember for a variety of reasons. But I’ll tell you, winning it in Edmonton in ’18 after they won a couple in our facility was awful, awful close.

Q: You’ve got six rings and it’s probably like picking a favourite child, but which one do you like the most?

A: From the story behind it, probably ’14. Because it was the ‘Year of the Horse’, Johnny Forzani had passed and he ends up on the ring, and I got a tattoo of the Year of the Horse on my calf and (former president) Gord Norrie liked it so much that it made it onto the ring. I think the best storyline written into the ring is from ’14.

Q: Is there one moment from any of the Grey Cup games that stands out the most?

A: I do remember and it came back to me when I re-watched the game with the ’92 guys. The first play of that game, Flutie rolls out and hits Derek Crawford for 37 or 38 yards and I was standing next to Patty Clayton (our physical therapist at the time) and I said to him that we had it in the bag. It was the first play of the game, but we were so focused and we knew that we were there for one reason only. I don’t make bold statements like that at the best of times, let alone after the first play of the game, but I remember that one distinctly.

Q: Any other moments stand out?

A: I remember in ’14 when Brandon Banks ran that punt back and I was standing right at the 20-yard line where he caught it because the bench was so crowded so I had wondered down there. I remember that because I was one of the few people who saw the flag so I knew it was coming back. Everyone was going nuts and I just calmly walked back to the bench. In ’18, that was the first time I ever held the Grey Cup on stage. That was as much as anything because it was in Edmonton and I wanted to do it there. Normally I just go inside and I don’t celebrate on the field, but I had fun with that one. I have good memories from the bad games, too. Each one sticks for a different reason. But like I said, they’re all different, but they’re all good.

Q: Is it weird not having the Grey Cup this year?

A: It’s just been such a strange year. I’ve been doing this on almost 50 years and the fact that I had my birthday off at the end of June for the first time since I was 12 was kind of telling. It’s been a weird year. It’s not so much sadness for me, but more of a numbness that there won’t be a game this year.