In a display of both the past and present, the Toronto Argonauts celebrated their 150th anniversary on Friday, at BMO Field.
These Double Blue easily handled the Edmonton Elks, 35-12, in front of around three-dozen former greats including Condredge Holloway, Damon Allen, Terry Greer, Michael Eben, Derrell Mitchell, and Rodney Harding.
“I told our guys, you know, this is the 150th anniversary. Look at all these star teams and players, Hall of Famers that are here. Yeah, we want to be one of those teams,” coach Ryan Dinwiddie said, after the game.
“This is great, guys. They’re here and they have their legacy. Just tell them we’re coming for it.”
Being the oldest North American sports team that is still using its original name, the Toronto based football club has a ton of history, but Dinwiddie and his squad are determined to keep adding to it.
They already won a Grey Cup championship last year, and currently have the best record in the league (13-2) with three games left to play.
Aside from having a team loaded with talent and determination, the Argonauts are a unified squad that treat each other like family.
“This locker room is probably one of the most cohesive … I’ve ever been a part of,” said rookie quarterback, Cameron Dukes, who scored two majors while handling the goal line duties for starter Chad Kelly. “You know, every single guy in here has some kind of bond with somebody else.”
Also contributing to this blowout was Wynton McManis, who had three defensive tackles and returned an 83-yard interception for a touchdown. It’s the second-straight home game that McManis was able to get a pick-six.
“I think it just goes back to all the work that we put in and us believing in each other,” the linebacker and CFL All-Star (2022) said. “It’s always easy to create bad habits, but right now I got some good habits going.
“I’m just staying on top of everything that I’m doing outside of the field, off the field … (and) it’s working, it’s starting to show.”
Next up for Toronto is an Oct. 14 tilt at home with the Ottawa Redblacks.