2001 CFL season
Encyclopedia
The 2001 Canadian Football League
season is considered to be the 48th season in modern-day Canadian football
, although it is officially the 44th Canadian Football League season.
saw a ratings growth of 55%, while RDS
grew by 116%.
The CFL suspended its Week 11 games due to the 9/11 attacks.
The CFL officially returned to Ottawa
when they were guaranteed an expansion franchise on October 16. The ownership group led by Brad Watters unveiled the new franchise as the Ottawa Renegades
. The ownership group were also guaranteed the 92nd annual Grey Cup
game in 2004.
About 65,255 fans bought tickets to watch the 89th Grey Cup
game at Olympic Stadium
in Montreal
, making it the second largest attendance draw in CFL history.
The Canadian Football League offices in downtown Toronto
moved to Wellington St. East, after having their offices at Eglinton St. for the last 10 years.
Records: Saskatchewan's Paul McCallum
broke the record for longest field goal in CFL history by booting a 62-yard field goal against the Edmonton Eskimos
on October 27, 2001 in a 12–3 victory at Taylor Field
.http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2006/02/22/mccallum_riders_confirmed060222.html?ref=rss
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers
tied a CFL record by winning 12 consecutive games. http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=page&id=42
The 2001 CFL season, along with the 1999 CFL season
, would be one of the closest times when an East Division team could have crossed over to the West Division for that division's last playoff spot since the introduction of the crossover in 1995. The Toronto Argonauts had to only win one more game to go 8–10–1, to beat the BC Lions final standings by an overtime loss advantage, or the Lions had to lose a game for the same result. This was settled in the last game of the season for both teams. The opposing team, which was the same team for both, was the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, longtime rivals of Toronto. The Tiger-Cats were defeated by BC, but defeated Toronto, ensuring no crossover. Close wins and losses by both teams against the Saskatchewan Roughriders also played a role in the final standing outcome.
are the 2001 Grey Cup
Champions, defeating the heavily-favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers
27–19 at Montreal
's Olympic Stadium
. The Calgary Stampeders became the second team in history to have a regular-season losing record to win the Grey Cup. The Stampeders' Marcus Crandell
(QB) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player and Aldi Henry
(DB) was the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
season is considered to be the 48th season in modern-day Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, although it is officially the 44th Canadian Football League season.
CFL news in 2001
The Canadian Football League were able to get new corporate partnerships who bought into the philosophy of "less is more". Television ratings grew again, especially in the ages 13–34 category, in 2001. TSNThe Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
saw a ratings growth of 55%, while RDS
Réseau des sports
Réseau des sports , is a Canadian French language Category C specialty channel showing sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc....
grew by 116%.
The CFL suspended its Week 11 games due to the 9/11 attacks.
The CFL officially returned to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
when they were guaranteed an expansion franchise on October 16. The ownership group led by Brad Watters unveiled the new franchise as the Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades was the most recent name of a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, seven years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded...
. The ownership group were also guaranteed the 92nd annual Grey Cup
92nd Grey Cup
The 92nd Grey Cup game took place on November 21, 2004, at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. The game decided the championship of the 2004 Canadian Football League season...
game in 2004.
About 65,255 fans bought tickets to watch the 89th Grey Cup
89th Grey Cup
The 89th Grey Cup was held in 2001 in Montreal. The Calgary Stampeders claimed their fifth championship in team history with a 27-19 win over the East Division champions and heavily favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers....
game at Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Montreal)
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, making it the second largest attendance draw in CFL history.
The Canadian Football League offices in downtown Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
moved to Wellington St. East, after having their offices at Eglinton St. for the last 10 years.
Records: Saskatchewan's Paul McCallum
Paul McCallum
Paul McCallum is a professional Canadian football player currently playing as a placekicker and punter for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League...
broke the record for longest field goal in CFL history by booting a 62-yard field goal against the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
on October 27, 2001 in a 12–3 victory at Taylor Field
Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field
Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field is a sports stadium located in Regina, Saskatchewan which is used primarily to play Canadian football. It has been the home of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders in rudimentary form since 1910 and as a complete stadium since 1936...
.http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2006/02/22/mccallum_riders_confirmed060222.html?ref=rss
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
tied a CFL record by winning 12 consecutive games. http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=page&id=42
The 2001 CFL season, along with the 1999 CFL season
1999 CFL season
-1999 CFL Awards:*CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Danny McManus , Hamilton Tiger-Cats*CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Mike O'Shea , Toronto Argonauts*CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award – Calvin Tiggle , Hamilton Tiger-Cats...
, would be one of the closest times when an East Division team could have crossed over to the West Division for that division's last playoff spot since the introduction of the crossover in 1995. The Toronto Argonauts had to only win one more game to go 8–10–1, to beat the BC Lions final standings by an overtime loss advantage, or the Lions had to lose a game for the same result. This was settled in the last game of the season for both teams. The opposing team, which was the same team for both, was the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, longtime rivals of Toronto. The Tiger-Cats were defeated by BC, but defeated Toronto, ensuring no crossover. Close wins and losses by both teams against the Saskatchewan Roughriders also played a role in the final standing outcome.
Final regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points
|
|
- Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
- Teams losing in overtime are awarded one point.
- Edmonton and Winnipeg both have first round byes.
Grey Cup playoffs
The Calgary StampedersCalgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
are the 2001 Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
Champions, defeating the heavily-favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
27–19 at Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Montreal)
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
. The Calgary Stampeders became the second team in history to have a regular-season losing record to win the Grey Cup. The Stampeders' Marcus Crandell
Marcus Crandell
Marcus Crandell is a Canadian football coach and former quarterback who is the current Offensive Coordinator of the Edmonton Eskimos....
(QB) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player and Aldi Henry
Aldi Henry
Aldi Henry is a former professional Canadian football player who played defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League from 1997 to 2002. He was part of the Stampeders 1998 and 2001 Grey Cup winning teams. He won the Dick Suderman Trophy as the 89th Grey Cup's Most...
(DB) was the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.
Playoff bracket
2001 CFL Awards
- CFL's Most Outstanding Player AwardCFL's Most Outstanding Player AwardThe Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The Most Outstanding Player award can be compared to the National Football League's Most Valuable Player, otherwise known as the "MVP" award...
– Khari JonesKhari JonesKhari Okang Jones [ke-HAR-ee] is a retired professional Canadian football player and former television sports reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Jones played quarterback in the Canadian Football League, where he enjoyed his most success with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...
(QB), Winnipeg Blue Bombers - CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian AwardCFL's Most Outstanding Canadian AwardThe Most Outstanding Canadian Award is annually rewarded to the best Canadian player in the Canadian Football League. This is the second-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted. The two nominees...
– Doug Brown (DT), Winnipeg Blue Bombers - CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player AwardCFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player AwardThe Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually rewarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian Football League. This is the third-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted...
– Joe MontfordJoe MontfordJoe Montford is a Canadian and American football defensive end. Montford was released by the Edmonton Eskimos prior to the 2006 season after playing one year with the team...
(DE), Hamilton Tiger-Cats - CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman AwardCFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman AwardThe Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award is annually rewarded to the best offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. This is the fourth-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it is hosted...
– Dave MudgeDave MudgeDave Mudge is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman who has played in the Canadian Football League since 1999 for the Toronto Argonauts, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Montreal Alouettes. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award in 2001 while playing for the Blue...
(OT), Winnipeg Blue Bombers - CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie AwardCFL's Most Outstanding Rookie AwardThe Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually rewarded to the player deemed to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. This is the fifth-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it...
– Barrin SimpsonBarrin SimpsonBarrin Simpson "The Minister of Defence" is a Canadian Football League linebacker currently playing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Simpson has previously played for the BC Lions, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers....
(LB), BC Lions - CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams AwardJohn Agro Special Teams AwardThe John Agro Special Teams Award is awarded to the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams player that is voted by his peers .-John Agro Special Teams Award winners:*2011 - Paul McCallum , BC Lions...
– Charles Roberts (RB), Winnipeg Blue Bombers - CFLPA's Most Outstanding Community Service AwardTom Pate Memorial AwardEvery year the Canadian Football League Players' Association presents the Tom Pate Award. It is not a "Jock Award," but rather an award given to players who display qualities that distinguish them from their peers....
– Rick Walters (SB), Edmonton Eskimos - CFL's Coach of the YearAnnis Stukus TrophyThe Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada...
– Dave Ritchie, Winnipeg Blue Bombers