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Roar, you Lions

ON paper, the B.C. Lions were favourites to win the Grey Cup. But sports supporters in this province have had lots of practice watching their favourites implode, so they could be forgiven for their nervousness heading into Sunday's final.

ON paper, the B.C. Lions were favourites to win the Grey Cup. But sports supporters in this province have had lots of practice watching their favourites implode, so they could be forgiven for their nervousness heading into Sunday's final.

Indeed, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers scored twice in 97 seconds late in the fourth quarter, the new roof on B.C. Place was trembling along with the fans.

In the end, the Lions roared, the fans celebrated with the hoped-for decorum and an improbable season came to a remarkable end.

It was the sixth Grey Cup in the Lions' history, but the road to it was never more difficult. Playing with some significant personnel changes on both offence and defence and with a quarterback in only his second season, the Lions came out of the CFL's ridiculous apology for a professional pre-season of only two exhibition games and promptly lost five straight while they tried to forge a team identity.

But the key acquisition of wide receiver Arland Bruce by coach and general manager Wally Buono and a change in the defensive alignments saw the Lions scratch their way to a win.

"One game at a time" has become a sports platitude, but the Lions persevered with doing just that and strung together an amazing streak that took them all the way: The first Grey Cup winner to start 0 and 5.

If the Lions could bottle the secrets to their success and pass them across Griffins Way from B.C. Place to Rogers Arena, the Vancouver Canucks would be a shoe-in for the Stanley Cup.