Simply The Best

The most dominating team in pro football, both this year and in recent history, isn't the team you're thinking of.

Yes, the Colts are a perfect 9-0, have made the playoffs seven straight years, won the Superbowl in 2007 and feature a QB who is so ridiculously good he may very well be a robot...but the Colts are not worthy of the title "most dominating team in pro football".

Neither are the Steelers, even though they've won two of the last four Superbowls and have been #1 in total defence for most of the 21st century. The Patriots, with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, have been a model of winning and consistency but they aren't the answer either. The Dillon Panthers (a highschool team, but 'pro' by my standards because their players are paid) have had a good run the last three seasons, but with Coach Taylor leaving for East Dillon High, the Panthers will need a new gameplan.

No, the most dominating team in pro football doesn't reside in Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Boston or on a weekly television show (Friday Night Lights is amazing by the way - watch season one and tell me differently, I dare you). Rather, the title belongs to a team and city further north, that plays in a league which famously claims "Our Balls Are Bigger."

The Montreal Alouettes put the finishing touches on a remarkable 15-3 regular season (where they scored the most points and allowed the least) a week ago and are once again the overwhelming favourite to win the Grey Cup.

The Als host the Lions this weekend in the East semi-final and with a win will go a perfect 10-0 at home in 2009. Soon-to-be 3-time CFL Most Outstanding Player Anthony Calvillo and his league best 108.4 QB rating and plus 20 TD to INT ratio is performing at a Manning-like level, and his receiving corps of Kerry Watkins, Jamel Richardson and Ben Cahoon are miles ahead of the competition. The rushing game, led by Avon Cobourne and his CFL best 13 rushing touchdowns, isn't overwhelming but with the passing game nearly flawless, it doesn't need to be.

The league recently announced the 2009 All-Stars and 14 of the 22 players named to the East team were from Montreal...and it probably should have included a few more.

Since 2002, the Patriots and Steelers have both won a pair of Super Bowls and the Colts have one of their own. The Pats went to another Superbowl in 2008 and lost. Meanwhile, the Alouettes have been to the Grey Cup final five of the last six seasons and are one win away from making it six of seven. If they win, they'll match New England and Pittsburgh in the championship column and they'll have done it without any mention of cheating. (See: Spygate, 2007)

The NFL has it's slick television production, a ridiculously awesome fan friendly schedule (from September to January, Sunday's are amazing) and superior athletes. But the CFL has the most dominating team. A Grey Cup win by Montreal in two weeks will seal their claim to the throne.

10 Reasons to be Excited for Grey Cup Sunday

10. The East-West showdown between the Al's and the Stamps not only features the league's two highest scoring offences, but also its two stingiest defences. If the CFL had a Commissioner, this would be his dream match-up.

9. The half-time show does not include Nickelback. I repeat: No Nickelback.

8. It's the only Sunday of the year that offers the opportunity to watch ten straight hours of live professional football. Seven quarters of the NFL are a perfect lead-in to any Grey Cup party.

7. Another starring role for Rambo. Sure it'll be Ken-Yon of the Stampeders catching passes on the field instead of John dodging bullets in the jungle, but any game involving a guy named Rambo is better for it.

6. It's an easy excuse to get away with drinking more than a few beers on a Sunday.

5. The Hot Team versus the Home Crowd angle. Calgary has won five games in a row and nine of their last ten overall, while Montreal limped home with a 2-3 record to finish the regular season, so momentum is surely on the Stampeders’ side. However, an estimated crowd of 65,000 is expected to be in attendance, the over-whelming majority of whom will be cheering on the hometown team.

4. I have no idea if Montreal natives Emmanuelle Chriqui (Zohan, Entourage) or Elisha Cuthbert (24, The Girl Next Door) ever went to an Alouettes game, but Pamela Anderson was first discovered at a CFL stadium. Perhaps viewers will catch a glimpse of the next big thing?

3. The commercials. Okay, so it’s not the Super Bowl, but considering the American economy, maybe that’s a good thing.

2. This is the Alouettes’ sixth Grey Cup appearance in nine years, and on the surface that sounds dominant, but in those previous five finals they've only managed one championship. Can Montreal finally win another title and shed their label as the CFL's version of the 1990's Buffalo Bills?

1. Anthony Calvillo. The winner of the 2008 Outstanding Player award also happens to be one of the greatest quarterbacks in CFL history and is close to being this country's answer to Brett Favre. Calvillo returned for a 15th season after leaving the Al's at the end of last year to be with his wife after she was diagnosed with cancer, and a victory on Sunday could be the storybook ending to his hall of fame career.